Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark With XIU XIU And Their New Album ‘IGNORE GRIEF’

4 March 2023

Band: XIU XIU
Who: American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart
in San Jose, California who worked with artists such as. Mitski, Sharon Van Etten, Deerhoof, Chelsea Wolfe, Twin Shadow as well as with avant-garde composers like Charlemagne Palestine.

New album: IGNORE GRIEF – their 13th

Info: “Xiu Xiu has spent twenty years grappling with how to process, to be empathetic towards, to disobey and to reorganize horror. Ignore Grief is a record of halves. Angela
Seo sings on half of the record. Jamie Stewart sings on half of the record. Half of it is real. Half of it is imaginary. The real songs attempt to turn the worst life has offered to five people the band is connected with into some kind of desperate shape that does something, anything, other than grind and brutalize their hearts and memory within
these stunningly horrendous experiences. The imaginary songs are an expansion and abstract exploration of the early rock and roll “Teen Tragedy” genre as jumping off point
to decontaminate the band’s own overwhelming emotions in knowing and living with
what has happened to these five people.”

(Press photo)

AllMusic: “When several people close to Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo were victims
of human trafficking, addiction, murder, and other horrors, the duo had to process its feelings through music. Compared to the empowering messages of support and friendship on their previous album Oh No, Ignore Grief’s overwhelming fear, despair, anger, and loss is all the more jarring, and a potent reminder that few other acts can express trauma in their music so completely… As relentless as it is, somehow the album isn’t numbing. Stewart, Seo, and Kendrick make every tragedy and outrage feel fresh, and those who thrill when Xiu Xiu are willing to go to the places many artists won’t will be awed by Ignore Grief’s ferocious empathy.” Score: 4/5.

TUTV: This is not happy music, this is grim reality music, this is truly fascinating
music. Cinematic electronics, orchestral maneuvers in the dark. Experimental and
sonic David Lynch exploration. Give it a couple of spins and you’ll find out that Xiu Xiu‘s bone-chilling world is more accessible than you thought at first. Grand accomplishment.

Singles/clips: Maybae Baeby / Pahrump

– MAYBAE BAEBY –