Lav's Music Corner

Review by Lavender: Xiu Xiu are a California-based experimental music outfit with more than two decades of critical acclaim under their belt. Since a 2016 covers album of the Twin Peaks soundtrack they've re-ignited critical praise for their music, highlighted by 2019's harrowing Girl With Basket Of Fruit . The last time we heard from the band was on last year's  Ignore Grief,  an album whose sonic darkness and expanse didn't resonate with all of their fans, even though I liked it quite a bit. Now in their hilariously titled new album 13' Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grip  we have a spiritual successor to 2017's Forget. It's a catchier and more accessible version of the band's defining sound, but one that still delivers their gritty production and chaotic arrangements.  I had a pretty strong feeling this album was going to be good based on the singles alone. First came "Common Loon", which I like a lot despite the fact that i...

Was on vacation this week but I'm cooking up plenty of good stuff for the next week, let's do it. 5.  Vanessa  - Midwife If you're familiar with the brooding cloudy slowcore Midwife typically serves up then you basically know what you're getting with Vanessa . Across a full 6-and-a-half minutes Midwife makes use of swaying repetition to slowly weave together an impressively spellbinding cut that will swallow you whole if you give yourself to it.  Listen 4.  Garmonbozia  - Flying Lotus  I think everyone was anticipating a return from Flying Lotus, but I bet most people weren't expecting something like this. He returns by taking over lead vocal duties on a reserved and murky jazz number backed by his usual fluttering electronics. The slow pace and dark demeanor of the song actually plays to his strengths as a vocalist, even if its plodding pace feels a tad dry by FloLo standards.  Listen 3.  Shake It Like A  - Frost Children (feat. Danny Brown)...

This week was stacked FULL of potential favorites and breaking down the best to just 5 wasn't easy, but here's what rose to the top  5.  Getting No Sleep  - Tinashe Asking Tinashe to follow-up on Nasty, the freaky anthem of the summer, was always going to be a tall, if not impossible take. But honestly Getting No Sleep  does a pretty admirable job with a rumbling R&B instrumental with drums that pop out of the mix. More importantly, the song is effortlessly sensual in Tinashe's hands with vocals and charm that is nearly unmatched.  Listen 4.  Flipside  - Melt-Banana Melt-Banana have absolutely nothing to prove as the legendary Japanese rock outfit returns for their first new album in over a decade. That's why it's no surprise that their lead single is a fiery no-holds-barred slugfest of a song that pummels you for a rapid-fire two minutes and unceremoniously fades out. I fully expect it to be just one of many punches the band has in store.  Li...

Xiu Xiu is the long-running experimental music project fronted by Jamie Stewart. The band has long had a devout following in the critical underground, which was strengthened off the back of a run of acclaimed projects from 2016-2019. After releasing an album centered around collaborative efforts in 2021, the band is back with their 13th album, Ignore Grief . Review by Lav: In the years since I first gave a glowing review to Xiu Xiu's 2019 album Girl With Basket Of Fruit  I've grown even fonder of one of the scariest albums I've ever heard and one of my favorite experimental releases of the entire 2010s. After OH NO , which felt like more of a themed project that saw Xiu Xiu collaborating with dozens of talented musicians but losing some of the conceptuality and uniquely haunting poise of their best work, I was excited for this to be a proper follow-up to Girl . What Ignore Grief  actually does is less about demanding comparisons to its predecessors and more about challengin...

Sometimes the best song of the week is very predictable, but there are still four more slots to fill behind it. Enjoy <3 5.  Gonna Go - serpentwithfeet While I'm not particularly impressed by this song in a weak week (ha ha) for new songs it slipped onto the list. I mostly just think it's a great idea for a song and I particularly love the recurring idea of "going back to your friends" as a mantra for turning someone down. With that in their pocket as well as the talent serpentwithfeet possesses the bassline for how good this could be was high.  Listen 4.  That Girl  - El Michaels Affair & Black Thought This track surprised me quite a bit and while I wish it was longer and I have some issues with the mixing I mostly just enjoy Black Thought really putting his all into just pouring his heart out for a woman. His creativity alongside that level of topical focus works perfectly.  Listen 3.  Pahrump  - Xiu Xiu This is a minimal and spacey but still ...

Xiu Xiu is the long running experimental music project of singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart. The band has been through many iterations and line-up changes over the past 20 years and their most recent era was defined by horror themed experimentations starting with a covers album of the Twin Peaks  soundtrack and culminating in the brash an terrifying Girl With Basket Of Fruit  in 2019. OH NO  appears to be a transition in the bands style as they recruit guests vocalists on every single track here to craft a series of uniquely strange duets. Review By Lav: The last two Xiu Xiu albums have been particular favorites of mine so I think the band can be described as being in some sort of 2nd stage renaissance. With that being said I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this album. I wasn't sure how much influence the featured artists would have on the tracks but ultimately the album feels very pretty recognizably Xiu Xiu throughout.  Generally speaking most of the mor...

With a quarter of the year behind us we're all starting to get a little bit of a picture of what music and the music industry is going to look like in 2019. There have been plenty of flawed records but a handful of them have shown off something really special, so on this list I will run through the ten best albums I've heard so far this year and dive into why they shouldn't be missed. 10. FIDLAR - Almost Free Almost Free  isn't a perfect record by any means and it has some experiments that seem a little strange as well as some moments that don't stand out. But at its best the album is one of the most rattling and fun challenges to rock music that's come out all year. Songs like By Myself , Can't You See and Scam Likely  sound so different from each other but find common ground on excellent songwriting, exciting performances and a refreshing energy not found in so much tame and lifeless modern rock music.  Review 9. Foals - Everythin...

Many of the best pop records of all time will click instantly. Michael Jackson's Thriller , Madonna's Like A Prayer  and The Beach Boys Pet Sounds  are full of buttery smooth songwriting that is easy to understand and delicious on the ears, and they all deserve the acclaim they collect. These next ten records relish in their difficulty and craft compositions and concepts that push the boundaries for music and as a result, can be tough on their first listens. These albums may be jarring and confusing at first but sticking with them will provide some of the most rewarding musical experiences of all time. 10. Xiu Xiu - Forget (2017) Xiu Xiu have a long history of making music that can turn your average listener away, but  Forget  is not only one of their best records, but one of their hardest to fully engage with. Frontman Jamie Stewart can turn from whispering devilishly into your ear to screaming his brains out from a distant and if his erratic but brilliant p...

Xiu Xiu is a lot, and I mean that. The band blends genres from every reach of experimental music to make some extremely indulgent bastardizations of rock, electronica, goth and pop music. Despite collaborating with indie acts like Grouper and Michael Gira of Swans a surprising amount of indie fans never caught on to Xiu Xiu's presence until their 2010 album Dear God, I Hate Myself   a foray into video game based music using the Nintendo DS music maker app in their recording process. Getting a shoutout from The War On Drugs for their 2014 album Angel Guts: Red Classroom was the biggest stop on their way to 2016's Xiu Xiu Plays The Music Of Twin Peaks . A universally acclaimed covers album of the Twin Peaks soundtrack that set them up for a fantastic follow up in Forget and drew attention to frontman Jamie Stewart's solo instrumental project last year.  Review By Lav: I, like most people first heard of Xiu Xiu in 2010 and even then it was pretty clear to me that th...