Customer Reviews

A Promise

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Right from the first sight of cover of this album you pretty much know that it's going to be confrontational. And, it is. You're either going to love this album or hate it. This is an album of extremes.

The music itself doesn't seem to be based in normal pop song structure at all. Using found objects for percussion and electronic instruments for the broad noise making, it appears to be a collection of extremes (loud/quiet, melodic/free-form, sing/scream). But, underneath it all are often soft, beautiful guitars. The electronics are used in the most opposite way from tradition. No cheesy loops or beats, no passing off sounds in place of real instruments.

Next, Jamie Stewart lets out lyrics that are nothing but raw. He either hits the mark dead on (Apistat Commander) or produces eye-rolling groans (Walnut House). Regardless, the album is so naked and open about its emotion you are either swept in or completely put off. Where the music doesn't grab you, the voice and lyrics will.

It's hard to even compare anything to Xiu Xiu. You can't; I've yet to hear anything close and that's a good thing. This is a very polarizing album. Even the cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" is uncommon. Instead of a slightly uptempo folk song, it becomes a slow, heart-wrenching near dirge. I think it's one of the best albums I purchased in years. Uncompromising, unique, and raw.

I am not sure if Xiu Xiu is a band or a solo act. I say that because it seems like Jamie Stewart is the only person who plays and sings on every song. Xiu Xiu is from the Bay Area. They are a very unique act. The vocals remind me of Scott Walker backed by a more experimental noise. The songs go from very quiet to very noisy. The best song "Sad Pony Guerilla Girl" is a good example of what is going to follow: low voices with acoustic guitars, with a lot of racket in the background. The lyrics go: "I like my neighborhood/I like my gun/drive in my little car/I am your girl and I will protect you." They are surreal stories that supply no answers. The middle of the album dabbles in more experimental noise and film soundtracks. Like the band Plaid, Xiu Xiu is heavy into bell sounds. The album peaks emotionally with the song "20,000 Deaths For Eidelyn Gonzales..." Then the album gets darker, with some Joy Divison like moments. "Blacks" is a homicidal story. The final song is even called "Ian Curtis Wish List." On a previous album they cover a Joy Division song. On this one they do "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. Not sure if this is supposed to be sincere or ironic. Xiu Xiu have made an impressive statement nonetheless, and it is much like reading a suicide note, years after the fact.

this is very unique, good or bad, bordering on almost "performance artist" territory... VERY way over the top. sometimes seemingly over the top just to be over the top. often intentionally embarrassing or painfully pathetic, self-indulgent... you don't know whether to laugh, cry, or ignore this... it is hard to ignore thou. the second song is a standout. if you easily bored by what is called "rock" on the radio, you may want to give this a try.

and the album cover... most unique album cover of the year 2003! utterly bizarre... and it is hard to grab the attention of the jaded indie crowd anymore, this did.

I first heard xiu xiu when I was driving in my car one day and instantly was taken away by thier dynamic vocal and instrumental ingenuity. I love listening to them when I am riding my bike or driving in my car and just watching all the things around me interact and go along their day. It channels this deep sense of imaginative and creative emotions in my mind that transcends understanding. What I like the most about them is that they are not that genre type music that you always are subjected to. Xiu Xiu is Xiu Xiu. If you have an open mind to avant-garde listenings then you should really give them a try, you won't be let down I "promise" you.

Xiu Xiu are one of the most inventive and imaginative bands out there right now. Their music evokes dark imaginary in my mind when I listen to it. Personally, A Promise is my favorite album by them, but I would recommend any. If you are reading a review for Xiu Xiu then you are on the right track and you should by this album. A side note: I had the pleasure to see Xiu Xiu play last weekend in my town of Missoula, Montana.. Unfortunately, their van was broken into late in the night and their equipment was stolen. They have cancelled their tour. Hopefully, their instruments will surface. By this disc and support real musical genius.

You Either Love 'em or Hate 'em. I love 'em. I think that anyone who listens carefully and with an open mind will find incredible range and expression in the music and especially the vocals. Although not what I had hoped entirely, the cover of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' is quite dynamic and sometimes stunning.

These are songs of pain and emotional torture, as well as of love.

The meandering keyboards and seemingly pointless anarchic percussion and screaming for the first two Xiu-Xiu releases are all but forgotten here. Without losing a bit of the geniunely disturbing angst of the "Knife Play" or "Chapel of Chimes," we're treated to a more orchestral, more organized Xiu-Xiu, and the results are staggering.

A promise is a bit less balanced and refined than its follow-up Fabulous Muscles (I bought the latter one first), especially the second half of the album, but it's still pretty impressive.

It has all the Xiuy Xiu trademarks; outbursts of synth noise and distorted screams followed or preceded by calm moments and quiet bits.

Xiu Xiu always border on being over the top and almost ridiculously pretensious, both musicaly as well as lyricaly, and though on this album they sometimes cross that invisible line, it's still an accomplished effort.

Xiu Xiu does not create ordinary music. In my judgement, this is a very good thing. I have never heard anything quite like them; rarely does one across music that is as textured, intricate, and creative as this. Jamie Stewart confronts his audiences with an emotional directness that is almost unprecedented, which can be difficult for some listeners, but which is undeniably powerful. A Promise's greatest strength, however, is its layered instrumentation. Xiu Xiu manages to dress their songs with haunting minimalism when necessary (such as on their cover of Tracy Chapman's fast car), and also with orchestrated mayham. Distorted synthesizer drones tangle with the chimes of asian percussion and acoustic guitars to formulate a sonic backdrop that is utterly unique. This is a riveting listening that makes the very experience of discomfiture a fully-formed aesthetic process.

To think there was a time when I equated Stewart's pretentious moaning with emotional sincerity and the band's clunky compositions as unhinged indie makes me sadder than hearing poor Chapman's "Fast Car" butchered past exploitation.