Xiu Xiu has shared the video for Get Up, the third single lifted from the trio’s upcoming full-length ‘FORGET,’ which is out February 24th via Polyvinyl. Get Up is one of Xiu Xiu’s most poignant songs, with Xiu Xiu bandleader Jamie Stewart reflecting on the patience his bandmates Angela Seo and Shayna Dunkelman show him in his moments of internal crisis.
“[They are] my best friends,” he told The Fader. “They are deeply patient, kind, and encouraging while never allowing my peculiarities, temper, or bossiness to trample over their day. When I behave badly or pathetically they roll their eyes, flick holy water from their fingers and eternally say, Well, get up, or dont.”
Producer John Congleton (Sleater-Kinney, Sigur Ros) remarked of the song, “While mixing this song I always had to hold back the tears everytime we got to the section where Jamie says two times, ‘You’re the only reason I was born.’ Jamie always has a way of saying something so succinct in a way that is soul crushing.”
The video itself follows a woman while she lights a molotov cocktail in an abandoned industrial area in California and hitchhikes to Anywhere But Here. It was directed by longtime Xiu Xiu collaborator Marty Marquez who described the video shoot: ”‘Get Up’ was pulled together by my somehow convincing a bunch of people to bring their expertise, their thousands of dollars worth of equipment and blindly (stupidly?) trusting me with it. Shot outside of LA in a not-to-be-named industrial area, what you see is the product of a guerilla production at its finest; no permits, no permission, leaping fires, basically everything you’re NOT supposed to do when trying to fly under the radar. But, nobody, not even passing cops, gave us a second glance, even though a crew of 10 was following our beautiful actress around with a ridiculous amount of equipment on private property. Amazingly there were no injuries, no street hassles and we got what we needed.”
Xiu Xiu will be touring North America this spring, including two performances at Big Ears Festival in Knoxville. In addition to a set of their own music, Xiu Xiu will be performing a special set where they will play the music of Twin Peaks (which was released last year on Polyvinyl). The tour kicks off in the bands hometown of Los Angeles for a record release celebration March 16th.
Xiu Xiu tour dates
Mar. 16th – Los Angeles, CA – Union
Mar. 17th – Escondido, CA – A Ship in The Woods
Mar. 19th – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
Mar. 21st – Seattle, WA – Kremwork
Mar. 22nd – Portland, OR – Holocene
Mar 23rd – 26th – Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival
Mar. 30th – Detroit, MI – El Club
Mar. 31st – Chicago, IL – The Empty Bottle
Apr. 1st – Jacksonville, FL – The Sleeping Giant Film Festival
Apr. 6th – Brooklyn, NY – Villain
Apr. 7th – Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
Apr. 8th – Harrisburg, PA – Cathedral Room at Der Maennerchor
Apr. 9th – Baltimore, MD – The Wind-Up Space
Apr. 11th – Jersey City, NJ – Monty Hall
Apr.12th – New Haven, CT – Bar
Apr. 13th – Providence, RI – Colombus Theatre
Apr. 14th – Portsmouth, NH – 3SArtspace
Apr. 15th – Boston, MA – The Hardcore Stadium (Cambridge Elks Lodge)
‘FORGET’ was recorded during a period of epic productivity for Xiu Xiu. While writing ‘FORGET,’ they released the lauded Plays the Music of Twin Peaks, collaborated with Mitski on a song for an upcoming John Cameron Mitchell film, composed music for art installations by Danh Vo, recorded an album with Merzbow and scored an experimental reworking of the Mozart opera, The Magic Flute. All of this frantic, external activity lead to a softly damaged dreaminess and broadened intent that has not been heard before in other Xiu Xiu works.
The album was produced by John Congleton (Blondie, Sigur Ros), Greg Saunier of Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu’s own Angela Seo. It features guest appearances by fabled minimalist composer Charlemagne Palestine, LA Banjee Ball superstar commentator Enyce Smith, Swans guitar virtuoso Kristof Hahn and legendary drag artist and personal hero of Xiu Xiu, Vaginal Davis.
Standout track, Wondering is one of the catchiest boogie pop gems in the Xiu Xiu catalog, but like much of ‘FORGET,’ it still bears an underlying tension that manifests differently in each piece. From the haunted guitar duet of Petite, the hilariously fraught lyrics of Get Up, the advanced industrial boxing match of Jenny GoGo, or the experimental goth explosion of Faith, Torn Apart, all the songs in their own way build to a roiling boil of a fate in vanishing.
The calligraphy on the cover translates literally to “we forget.” It bows to the universality of everything and everyone’s inevitable decline and foggy disappearance. Regarding the album title, Xiu Xiu singer Jamie Stewart said, To forget uncontrollably embraces the duality of human frailty. It is a rebirth in blanked out renewal but it also drowns and mutilates our attempt to hold on to what is dear. ‘FORGET’ is both the palliative fade out of a traumatic past but also the trampling pain of a beautiful one’s decay.
‘FORGET’ track listing
1. The Call
2. Queen of the Losers
3. Wondering
4. Get Up
5. Hay Choco Bananas
6. Jenny GoGo
7. At Last, At Last
8. Forget
9. Petite
10. Faith, Torn Apart
Pre-order ‘FORGET’: http://smarturl.it/XiuXiu-Forget
