La Forêt (2024 Vinyl Reissue)

• FIRST TIME ON VINYL IN 15 YEARS
• SUNSET SWIRL VINYL, LIMITED TO 1K COPIES WORLD WIDE
• INCLUDES DOWNLOAD CARD WITH "DRUNK COMMENTARY"

“guided by dream logic, flowing and crashing unexpectedly. And, like a dream, Xiu Xiu’s music is unique, difficult to describe, and utterly compelling once you give yourself over to it.” – AllMusic

“a record that seems so brash on the surface reveals its subtlety by increments lyrical blend of the sweet and profane” – Pitchfork

As conceptual as Xiu Xiu's fusion of post-punk, gamelan, synth pop, folk, and noise might seem, the group's music never feels overly cerebral or detached. On the contrary, it's usually brimming over with often contradictory emotions: love, hate, sex, violence, fear, and humor cling together so tightly in Jamie Stewart's songs that they can't be separated. Harsh and beautiful words and sounds remain intertwined on La Forȇt, which ranks among Xiu Xiu's subtlest, and scariest, albums. Stewart and company trade the deceptively bouncy electronics of 2004's Fabulous Muscles for a more subdued but eclectic backdrop that includes vibraphone, autoharp, and harmonium as well as the more expected keyboards and guitars.

The folk and classical elements explored on earlier work like Knife Play and Fag Patrol resurface, beginning on La Forȇt's opening track, "Clover." Delicate acoustic guitars, vibraphone, and double bass play an aching, hesitant melody, while Stewart intones, "Don't don't don't walk like my single hope/I can only say it so many times," mining the song's pauses for all the beauty and pain that they're worth. Later, "Ale"'s clarinets -- which make the song sound like a kissing cousin to Björk's "Anchor Song" -- add to the air of barely restrained heartbreak and disgust. The scary-pretty synth pop of "Muppet Face" is the closest the album comes to the typical Xiu Xiu sound (if there is such a thing), and shows off Stewart's expressive beat programming.



1. Clover
2. Muppet Face
3. Mousey Toy
4. Pox Baby
5. Captain Saturn

6. Rose of Sharon
7. Ale
8. Bog People
9. Dangerous You Shouldn't Be Here
10. Yellow Raspberry 

Cat. No. GER081
Release date: February 23, 2024