Written By Joseph Diehl
The world of covers is not at all something unseen by the band Xiu Xiu, following up 2013’s Nina and 2016’s Plays the Music of Twin Peaks, Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol 1 is their third album of exclusively covers. XMFX takes a dozen tracks that were exclusively shared through their subscription series on Bandcamp and finally releases them for public enjoyment. Starting all the way back in 2020, we finally have the first volume of what is easily their most varied covers to date. Previously, Xiu Xiu’s cover albums have felt more like tribute albums, focusing on one idea and expanding on it to the fullest. XMFX doesn’t subscribe to this theme at all. With tracks varying from all different sides of the musical spectrum, like the 60’s track “In Dreams” by the country/pop-rock artist Roy Orbison, all the way to the last 3 years with “Lick or Sum” by hip/hop artist Glorilla. Looking through the track listing of this compilation will almost give you whiplash. This is Xiu Xiu doing covers at their most liberated; they don’t need to stick to one distinct sound or one distinct idea, they never have and will never do so when it comes to their music.
Even though the project has provided us with one of the most all-over-the-place compilations from the band, the experimental Xiu Xiu sound that fans like myself have grown to love is always at the forefront. Every new project is just incredibly unpredictable. The varied nature of this cover album compared to previous cover works allows for a greater range of noise to be experimented with and distorted. If you take a look at any of these tracks, it almost never seems like a cover; it is a once-existing song given a new life. That song still exists, but so does the Xiu Xiu version. These songs take the word “cover” and stretch it about as thin as its definition allows, but that is what makes this album so unique. It is this stretched and distorted take on every song that allows the band to show their musical talents and the limits of their experimentation.
Tracks as popular as “Psycho Killer” still sound distinctly new under the sound that Stewart and Co. produce. Never once are the words changed around, but the tone is every shifting. “Dancing on My Own” goes from what sounds like a club banger to a sorrowful confession when the band interpolates it. It may be hard to distinguish a cover from an original on this album, but listening to them side by side, nothing seems to lose its original “aura”. You can still feel the bratty rebellion on tracks like “Cherry bomb” even through the industrial instrumentation and outright ridiculous percussion. “Some Things Last a Long Time,” originally by Daniel Johnston, sounds like it’s been stripped to its core and beamed up through a spaceship, but the sentiment can still bring a tear to your eye. The orchestral rendering of the track “Triple Sun” by Coil shows me that the band is becoming increasingly comfortable with their production; they don’t need to be incredibly in-your-face with their style to create something interesting and unique. Sometimes less is more, and I think that almost no one demonstrates that better than Xiu Xiu.
XMFX feels so personal to the band itself. These covers are love letters to these tracks and the soundscapes that surround them. As someone who has been following Xiu Xiu’s music for quite a while, I’ve seen their sound evolve so much, but that sense of dark pop and twisted experimental rock has always been an underlying inspiration across all their projects. These tracks feel like a note of adoration for all the things that have inspired the band over the years, whether new or old. Xiu Xiu has always been about showing a pure love for all kinds of music, even when they’re hidden behind Stewart’s screams and cries. It almost feels perverse at times, leaving the listener baffled by just how much they wear their heart on their sleeve. Listening to XMFX and then going back to some of their previous albums, I had gained a new perspective on quite a few of the tracks. The newest release is them showcasing their love for the different corners of music around them. XMFX makes you feel more connected to the band and to what drives them to create art.
It is not my favorite Xiu Xiu album. There are a couple of tracks on this project that I don’t find myself returning to, but that does not detract from the others. XMFX desperately leaves me wanting another original release, even so shortly after the 2024 release of their previous album. I would love to see the band doing even more experimental things. This is about as experimental as covers can possibly get, but Xiu Xiu has always been infinitely innovative, and the normal levels of experimentation I expect from a project of theirs are just not as present here. At the end of the day, that doesn’t make much of a difference. This new release has reminded me what makes the band so compelling in the first place. The band feels like they are in total control of their sound and their artistic vision. Xiu Xiu will continue to release music and create art that strays away from what we expect as the audience, and they will do so unapologetically. I would highly recommend checking out this project if you want to hear just how crazy the act of interpretation can get.
