Xiu Xiu in the Air Force

In an earlier post called Love it/Hate it, I discussed some of my favorite artists that lay quarantined in my music collection. The tracks that never make it onto a road trip mix - "Ok gang, lets start this trip off right with a little Locust!" The post was originally going to be about Xiu Xiu, but somehow morphed into me confessing my "noise" habit.

Most of my friends don't know I listen to Xiu Xiu. It's not from me denying allegations - it just never comes up. They've never heard of the band (aka Jaime Stewart), and I'm never going to play them a song. In the past I've held similar reservations with other artists (Blood Brothers, Bright Eyes, Modest Mouse), all of whom somehow turned into household names.

I doubt Xiu Xiu will be making it on the OC anytime soon, unless Seth puts a Fabulous Muscles poster on his wall next season. Jaime Stewart has two things going against him: he's gay and he's brutally honest. His albums leave me with a voyeur's guilt that only Bonnie 'Prince' Billy can match.

I confess that La Foret is still sitting in my itunes, mostly untouched. Maybe it was just bad timing, but somehow I couldn't hold onto it's subtle whispers. Xiu Xiu's, Air Force, is coming out on Sept. 12th, and I'm really excited about it. Have a few MP3s and some far off tour dates!

[mp3] Xiu Xiu - Boy Soprano
[mp3] Xiu Xiu - Buzz Saw

West Coast Dates:

11-05 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall
11-07 Visalia, CA - Howie and Sons
11-08 Goleta, CA - Hard to Find Showspace
11-09 Los Angeles, CA - Echo
11-10 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

Get the full dates here.