Xiu Xiu

Xiu Xiu share double single "Arp Omni / Veneficium" from new LP "13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips" out September 27th via Polyvinyl.

Over the course of the last two decades, Xiu Xiu’s prolific and influential output of acclaimed albums and collaborations has been consistently dazzling. They’ve released 17 full-length LPs that have been praised in outlets such as The New Yorker, The Wire, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and many others. They have toured the globe relentlessly, performing in places as far off the beaten path as Kazakhstan and Lebanon and places institutionally vital as the Guggenheim and Centre Pompidou.

Today Xiu Xiu shares a dual single release for the songs "Arp Omni," a swelling, textural string-filled ballad, and the jolting, maximalist, industrial prog-pop banger "Veneficium." Both songs appear on the new album 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, due for release September 27th via Polyvinyl.

On 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, Angela Seo, David Kendrick and Jamie Stewart deliver some of the band’s most compelling and mesmerising music to date. Mixed by John Congleton (Chelsea Wolfe, Lana Del Rey) this album is unlike anything the band has ever recorded previously and was motivated by the destruction of previous aesthetic notions, as well as the band's recent move from Los Angeles to Berlin.

According to Xiu Xiu, “Arp Omni” is

“A little sweetie ballad about falling for a person who takes risks in life,”

while “Veneficium” is about

“Being lost; literally lost, emotionally lost, lost in a smashed psychological dimension beyond your control, being overwhelmed by the weight of one’s insignificance in the face of time, space and death, and pointlessly railing against what does not notice let alone care about you.”

The release of the two songs is accompanied by visuals, including a beautiful visualiser for “Arp Omni directed by Lin You, and a thrilling, visually stunning allegorical video for “Veneficium” directed by Luke Orlando, bookended by cameos from Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo as “Toast Masters.”

Jamie Stewart shares:

"A Veneficium is an instance of being poisoned or the preparation of magic potions or the substances that make up a poison.

The point of any involvement with said substances or pursuits is at best meddling with risky and significant transformation and at worst taunting the nefarious, even up to the point of death.

Either way, what lies in wait on the path to these in between and far away places from our present world is dangerous and unsettling and unknown.

But perhaps also and why not, it could be being turned into a psychedelic BDSM train or the inspiration to benevolent and anonymous used toast and toaster delivery."

Director Luke Orlando shares:

"On the conceptual level, I wanted to make something about the absurdity and complexity of how we connect with each other in the modern world.

It started off as a critique of doomscrolling, but Xiu Xiu pushed and enabled me to make it more esoteric and interesting at every turn.

Where we ended up is a much more positive spin on finding community by openly sharing your interests with the world.

In the end it became a very ideal art project - I found myself working with some of my best friends to hand-paint toast, fabricate a bespoke costume, and create a unique logic inspired by the occult for the world in this video.

Videos like this don’t happen often because artists/directors are rarely given the freedom to create without inhibition, and for that I thank Xiu Xiu and everyone at Polyvinyl for letting me go off."

Today’s dual single release follows June’s enthralling lead single “Common Loon” which features squealing, anthemic, arpeggiated guitars countered by Jamie Stewart’s trademark haunting, confessional vocals, a song which Stewart calls:

“A boogie embrace for queer perverts across the multiverse.”

The release of “Common Loon” came with an NSFW video which was shot, directed, edited, and starring performance artist Alicia McDaid (aka Mcdazzler). According to Jamie Stewart:

“The song ‘Common Loon,’ for us, is about revelling in perversity, cuckooness, queerness and/or the unquenchable personal requirement to wild out. As MASSIVE fans of Alicia McDazzler's work, we could think of no one else more qualified to embody those ways of being and no one else who would crank them up further than we would have ever imagined. She is an inspiration and icon to all LOONS!" 

Upon its release, “Common Loon” caught the attention of Pitchfork, Stereogum and Under The Radar among others.

Xiu Xiu plans to embark on an extensive World Tour surrounding the album’s release.

Picture by David Kendrick

Xiu Xiu - WORLD TOUR DATES

 # w/ EVICSHEN

% Special commission by Seattle Theater Group – dance by Zoe Juniper with live music by Xiu Xiu

20/09 - Reno, NV @ The Holland Project  

21/09 - Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club  

22/09 - Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project  

23/09 - Portland, OR @ Holocene  

24/09 - Arcata, CA @ The Miniplex  

26/09 - San Diego, CA @ The Loft at UCSD  

27/09 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge  

28/09 - Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole  

30/09 - Austin, TX @ The Parish  

02/10 - Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves  

03/10 - New Orleans, LA @ Siberia  

05/10 - Orlando, FL @ Conduit  

06/10 - Miami, FL @ Gramps  

07/10 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar  

08/10 - Savannah, GA @ Lodge Of Sorrows  

09/10 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl  

10/10 - Durham, NC @ TBA

 11/10 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat  

13/10 - Baltimore, MD @ Metro  

14/10 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMoca  

15/10 - New York, NY @ LPR  

16/10 - Providence, RI @ AS220 Live Arts

 17/10 - Portland, ME @ Space Gallery  

18/10 - Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmont  

19/10 - Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground  

20/10 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups  

21/10 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village  

22/10 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club  

23/10 - Des Moines, IA @ xBk  

24/10 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck  

26/10 - Fort Collins, CO @ The Coast  

27/10 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge  

29/10 - San Francisco, CA @ Gray Area Foundation for the Arts  

30/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Lodge Room  

08/11 - Groeningen, Netherlands @ Vera  

09/11 - Den Bosch, Netherlands @ FAQ Festival  

10/11 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ De Doelen  

11/11 - Brussels, Belgium @ La Botanique  

13/11 - Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew  

14/11 - Brighton, UK @ Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts  

15/11 - Stockport, UK @ Saint Mary’s Parish Church  

16/11 - Glasgow, UK @ Room 2 Cottiers  

17/11 - Oxford, UK @ The Bullingdon  

19/11 - London, UK @ Heaven #  

20/11 - Cardiff, UK @ Clwb Ifor Bach #  

22/11 - Brest, France @ Festival Invisible #  

23/11 - Paris, France @ Hasard Ludique #  

25/11 - Grenoble, France @ Le Ciel #

 27/11 - Nurnberg, Germany @ Soft Spot / Kantine #  

28/11 - Prague, Czech Republic @ Meet Factory #  

29/11 - Berlin, Germany @ Lido #  

30/11 - Poznań, Poland @ Próżność #

 17/05 - Seattle WA @ Moore Theatre %  

18/05 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre %

13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips

Pre order here