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49-595: The duo formed in Portland, Oregon in 2001. From here they established their own collective art label, JYRK where the band self-released several CD-Rs and cassettes of their music. The JYRK collective also included E*Rock and sometimes Pat Maherr (Sisprum Vish, Indignant Senility, DJ Yo-Yo Dieting). With frequent touring and shows with artists including Tussle, Xiu Xiu and Japanther , the duo moved to Oakland , California for two years. In 2003, they recorded their debut album, Bring The Neon War Home , and continued to tour across

98-590: A Bandcamp subscription service titled "XIU MUTHA FUCKIN XIU". At its basic tier, it grants access to a monthly "XIU MUTHA FUCKIN XIU" digital audio package, consisting of a new fully produced cover (notable examples being Xiu Xiu renditions of " Dancing On My Own ", " In The Garage " and " Dancing with a Stranger "), an exclusive solo Xiu Xiu song, and an edition of the 12 chapter 120 part experimental piece "Lamentation". So far, two chapters of "Lamentation" have been revealed, chapter one being Spider Lamentation and chapter two being Woodpecker Lamentation. Tier two grants all

147-438: A San Jose dance club alone on a Christmas night: "Xiu Xiu came from feeling stupid and lonely and then wanting to dance it away, but having the club and its music only magnify that stupid and lonely feeling." At the time of A Promise , Stewart said that they were influenced by gamelan and Japanese and Korean folk music, and had been listening to contemporary classical and "gay dance music". In 2003, Stewart told Pitchfork that

196-538: A bigger location in Champaign in Spring 2015. After the label’s move, Beach Slang released their debut full-length that autumn. In 2016, the label celebrated its 20th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, Polyvinyl released a compilation titled Polyvinyl Plays Polyvinyl , on which twenty Polyvinyl artists covered songs by their labelmates. With the help of Girl Skateboards and artist Jesse LeDoux, Polyvinyl also created

245-684: A concert featuring Headlights , of Montreal, Owen , and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin in Urbana, IL. The following year, Polyvinyl released Architecture in Helsinki ’s Places Like This and of Montreal’s critically acclaimed Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? , the best-selling album in Polyvinyl history. Polyvinyl closed out the decade in 2009 with the release of Japandroids ’ debut full-length, Post-Nothing . Polyvinyl’s 2011 15th anniversary bash expanded on its previous anniversary show with

294-576: A cross between a guitarrón mexicano and a cello for bass, etc. Stewart states that the group is equally influenced by Nina Simone and Krzysztof Penderecki , by The Birthday Party and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Xiu Xiu would tour their first LP Knife Play , and its successor EP, Chapel of the Chimes , in 2002, blending both melody and cacophony with a heavy reliance on percussive instrumentation and brass instrumentation . Following 2002,

343-1133: A frustration which Stewart had felt throughout the process of recording the 2004 record. Centered around the topic of "horrible times in horrible lives" as well as Stewart's personal frustrations with then-U.S. President George W. Bush , La Forêt is characterized by an altogether different sound – layered by mandolin , harmonium , clarinet , cello, autoharp , and tuba . In addition to La Forêt , Xiu Xiu would join Italian experimental group Larsen in forming XXL, which released its first LP, ¡Ciaütistico! , in 2005, followed later by its successor ¿Spicchiology? , in 2007. Stewart also issued formative splits throughout 2005, working with artists such as The Paper Chase , Kill Me Tomorrow , and Devendra Banhart . In 2006, Stewart would break from tradition by ending their professional relationship with McCulloch. They then started recording with San Francisco-based band Deerhoof 's drummer Greg Saunier as producer for Xiu Xiu's fifth LP entitled The Air Force . Saunier, who had previously worked with Stewart on Knife Play , created for

392-401: A nine-band bill including Asobi Seksu , Braid, Deerhoof , Japandroids, Joan of Arc, Owen, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, STRFKR , and Xiu Xiu . Polyvinyl moved into their 16th year with the release of Japandroids’ Celebration Rock . In 2014, Polyvinyl released another best-seller, Alvvays ’ self-titled debut , and leading up to the label’s 20th anniversary, Polyvinyl expanded to

441-699: A partnership with Brooklyn-based independent label Double Double Whammy . Double Double Whammy, which started in 2011 as a project to release the founders’ project, LVL UP , has a catalog that includes Mitski , Frankie Cosmos , Yowler , Ó , Hatchie , and Florist , among others. Through this partnership, Polyvinyl provides distribution, accounting, webstore fulfillment, and other shared services, while Double Double Whammy maintains creative autonomy. In May 2023, Polyvinyl announced that they would be purchasing Urbana's American Football house in collaboration with American Football, photographers Chris Strong and Atiba Jefferson , and Chicago's Open House Contemporary, with

490-421: A similar theme. Metro Silicon Valley ' s David Espinoza likened Stewart to an explorer charting new territories of sound in 2001 as he started Xiu Xiu. He compared Stewart's voice to a combination of Robert Smith 's fragility and The Downward Spiral -era Trent Reznor 's anger, and noted Stewart's deliberate and considered choices towards developing the band's tone in light of the disparate wackiness of

539-401: A skateboard deck as a symbol of skate culture’s influence on Matt Lunsford’s musical discovery and the label’s early identity development. 2017 brought the release of sophomore records from White Reaper and Alvvays, The World's Best American Band and Antisocialites , respectively, as well as Jay Som ’s first proper record for Polyvinyl, Everybody Works . All three albums closed out

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588-470: A split 7” featuring Back of Dave and Walker. With the fifth and final issue of Polyvinyl Press in May 1996, Lunsford and Knight put out an accompanying 20-track compilation, Direction , chronicling the current state of mid-‘90s Midwestern D.I.Y and marking the official transition of the fanzine to Polyvinyl Record Co. Lunsford and Knight established a 50/50 profit sharing model for the label. Early releases, like

637-682: Is an American experimental rock band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California . Currently, the line-up consists of multi-instrumentalists Stewart (the only constant member since formation), Angela Seo , and percussionist David Kendrick . The band's name comes from the Chinese film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl , which has influenced the sound of their music, according to Stewart. Xiu Xiu released their first two albums, Knife Play (2002) and A Promise (2003), on 5 Rue Christine to positive critical reception. In-between

686-493: The Nintendo DS to write many of the songs which appear on their 2010 release. The music video for the song "Dear God, I Hate Myself" received attention online in 2010. The video consists of Seo inducing vomiting over the course of the three-minute song, culminating with her vomiting on Stewart, who has been eating a chocolate bar during the entire video. Seo and Stewart have defended the video online and in interviews, stating that

735-704: The Music of Twin Peaks (2016) followed, an album consisting of covers from the Twin Peaks soundtracks originally as a Record Store Day exclusive release but re-released by Polyvinyl later that year. Forget (2017) and Girl with Basket of Fruit (2019) were released afterwards, and Xiu Xiu released their twelfth album Oh No in 2021. Their thirteenth album, Ignore Grief , was released in March 2023, and their fourteenth, 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips ,

784-518: The Polyvinyl family include Jeff Rosenstock , Laura Jane Grace , Anamanaguchi , IAN SWEET , Oceanator, Chris Farren , Squirrel Flower , and Yumi Zouma . In 1994, high school students Matt Lunsford and Darcie Knight from Danville, Illinois founded Polyvinyl Press, a fanzine created to celebrate the Midwestern D.I.Y. scene. As part of Polyvinyl Press’ third issue in July 1995, Lunsford and Knight released

833-604: The Swear Jar . Released as a handmade CD by Rob Fisk's and Kelly Goodefisk's Free Porcupine Society, Fag Patrol was limited to only a few hundred copies (however saw a CD repress in 2005, and a vinyl reissue by Improved Sequence in 2021). In the spring of 2004, Stewart and McCulloch released what is considered by many to be the group's most accessible album, Fabulous Muscles . More pop-friendly in its sound than previous releases, Fabulous Muscles boosted Xiu Xiu to new heights in terms of popularity, largely thanks to its single "I Luv

882-488: The USA. Their debut album garnered much recognition and soon the band were invited to perform shows across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In October 2005, Numerical Thief , a Melbourne -based label, debuted the release of the band's second studio album, Psychic Secession . It was later re-mastered and released on LOAD Records the same year, and then released on 12" vinyl by Weird Forest in 2006. Throughout their existence,

931-578: The Valley OH!". The tone of the album reflected an "incredibly, incredibly violent, incredibly jarring, and difficult to take" string of events in Stewart's life. Stewart described their lyrics as "never fictional". They told Pitchfork that Xiu Xiu songs are based around five topics: family, politics, sex, love and lovelessness, suicide, and how they are connected. With the departure of Lauren Andrews in 2003 – who wished to focus on her academic studies – Stewart

980-501: The above and "30 to 50 license free samples , full stems of one Xiu Xiu song for non commercial exploration". Tier three includes the benefits from tiers one and two and a unique hand-made postcard illustrated by Angela Seo or Jamie Stewart with a haiku written to you and posted on the Xiuxiu69 Bandcamp page. Their twelfth album, Oh No , was released on March 26, 2021. Its lead single, "A Bottle of Rum" featuring Liz Harris ,

1029-774: The band War on Drugs praised the album, calling it a "stereoscopic assault." In June 2015, Xiu Xiu started a new Bandcamp page under the title " xiuxiu69 ". Since its creation, they have self-described the page as an " ephemera shoppe specializing in exclusive, obscure, out of print, experimental & overlooked zonk." The page is used to host projects such as non-studio Xiu Xiu releases, solo Jamie Stewart albums, ambient projects, out of print Xiu Xiu collaborations and recordings from Jamie Stewart's former band Ten In The Swear Jar . Xiuxiu69 also hosts sales of physical music and merchandise, including LPs of Xiu Xiu material and material loosely related to Xiu Xiu such as Jamie Stewart and Lawrence English 's band HEXA. On November 16, 2016,

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1078-598: The band announced their next album FORGET , set for release on February 24, 2017. The announcement was accompanied with lead single "Wondering", signifying a return to more pop-oriented songwriting. Xiu Xiu performed a long piece "Deforms the Unborn" based on the demonic possession of children at the Guggenheim Museum in May 2018. The band released their eleventh new album titled Girl with Basket of Fruit on February 8, 2019, via Polyvinyl. In April 2020, Xiu Xiu started

1127-412: The band's break up. In an email to Pitchfork , Swanson stated "There are no specific reasons why we've come to this point, but both Gabriel [Mindel Saloman] and I have decided that it's in our best interest to move on from the project. Neither of us have any intention to stop playing music anytime soon, but we will not be playing or performing with each other again." The group played their last US show in

1176-587: The band's first album-based songs without vocals by Stewart – with McElroy singing "Hello From Eau Claire", as well as the instrumental piece "Saint Pedro Glue Stick". A third EP – Tu Mi Piaci ("I like you") – of songs originally recorded by acts such as Bauhaus , Nedelle , Big Star , The Pussycat Dolls , and Nina Simone was released in 2006, along with a collaboration with ambient artist Grouper , entitled Creepshow . Shortly thereafter, Xiu Xiu would record their sixth album, 2008's Women as Lovers . Their longest LP to date, Women as Lovers attempts to hone

1225-418: The band's live shows were starkly different from the recorded material. They said this was largely due to the technical limitations of being able to reproduce the way it was recorded. In their live shows, the band increased the intensity of their loud rock parts, though Stewart reported their set to be half "louder, more dance-y stuff" and half "really quiet stuff". They said the latter was sometimes at odds with

1274-710: The city of Chicago. After over a decade of inactivity, the band began an archival project in 2020, reissuing out of print records and uploading old content to their Bandcamp page. This was eventually followed by the February 2023 announcement of their first live performance in 15 years at the Austin-based Oblivion Access Festival in June 2023. A new recording, Out Of Practice , was announced in June 2024, consisting of live recordings from 2023. Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( / ˈ ʃ uː ʃ uː / SHOO -shoo )

1323-513: The collaborative album Xiu Xiu & Eugene S. Robinson Present: Sal Mineo on Important Records after having toured Europe together in February to promote the project. In an email sent to fans on January 28, 2013, Xiu Xiu announced that "Ches Smith, Mary Halvorson , Tim Berne , Tony Malaby , Andrea Parkins and Jamie Stewart just finished recording an album in NYC of free jazz and art song versions of all Nina Simone songs." The album, Nina ,

1372-594: The debut album from the Direction-featured band Rainer Maria , Past Worn Searching , and Braid ’s 1998 album Frame and Canvas , set a national eye on Polyvinyl. The following year, Polyvinyl released American Football ’s self-titled debut . This record has grown to be one of the best-selling releases on the label and established a working relationship with Mike Kinsella , who would later go on to release albums as Owen , Joan of Arc , and Their / They're / There on Polyvinyl. In 2001, Knight and Lunsford moved

1421-444: The duo used the moniker of D Yellow Swans, where the "D" can be substituted for any word beginning with the letter. This began as a joke when the band formed, and became "a fun take on anti-branding...[it's] not really meant to be elitist though". They used several different names over the past six years, as can be seen in their discography, but are most commonly referred to as simply Yellow Swans . In April 2008, Pete Swanson announced

1470-650: The group after five years of recording and touring, though no explanation was given other than her subsequent membership in Manhattan-based darkwave group Cold Cave , which she soon after departed from in 2010. With the vacancies left by both Hoff and McElroy, Stewart and Smith recruited Angela Seo in late 2009. Thereafter, the group would begin work on its seventh LP Dear God, I Hate Myself , recording in both Oakland, California as well as Durham, North Carolina. Once again shifting motifs, Xiu Xiu would this time choose to experiment with video game-based programming, using

1519-433: The group shortly afterwards. Dear God, I Hate Myself was released in 2010 and was the first Xiu Xiu album to prominently feature longtime member Angela Seo. Following a signing to Polyvinyl and Bella Union , Xiu Xiu released Always (2012) and Angel Guts: Red Classroom (2014). In between those two projects, the group released a Nina Simone tribute project, Nina , in late 2013 via Graveface Records . Plays

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1568-438: The group would shrink in membership as Yvonne Chen left to focus on her vegan boutique Otsu and self-published magazine Zum , while Cory McCulloch also stopped touring, focusing instead on producing the band's next two LPs. A personal loss would affect Xiu Xiu as well, as Jamie Stewart's father, musician and record producer Michael Stewart was found dead after an apparent suicide. Coping with these losses, Stewart would record

1617-447: The group's follow-up to Knife Play , 2003's A Promise . Continuing to focus on the subject matter of Jamie Stewart's personal life – as witnessed previously by Knife Play – A Promise acts like a concept record of internal despair. Consisting of ten tracks, the record was oriented towards a more or less acoustic presentation, rather than relying on the booming brass and percussion which had worked to make Knife Play . However,

1666-558: The individual instruments. Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork noted a "continual poetic and romantic beauty" behind "the violence" in Stewart's lyrics. He wrote that the band inspired fandom of the kind where teenage girls ask for Stewart's autograph. Stewart has added that the band was a product of San Jose pirate radio stations that played house , hi-NRG , freestyle , and techno , which Stewart considered unpretentious, plain, heartbroken, clear, and based around dancing away sadness. They said they wrote their first Xiu Xiu song after leaving

1715-451: The label from Danville, IL to Urbana-Champaign , IL to give Polyvinyl a better infrastructure to grow. Such growth led to the Polyvinyl 2003 Winter Tour, which commenced right after the January release of Rainer Maria ’s Long Knives Drawn . Rainer Maria and Mates of State went out on the road with fellow labelmates Owen and Saturday Looks Good to Me . Later that year, Polyvinyl released

1764-464: The record a greater wall of sound – a stark contrast to that of McCulloch's discordant attitude towards production. The Air Force would be supported throughout 2006 by a three piece ensemble, as Stewart and McElroy were joined by drummer/percussionist Ches Smith, who himself had previously worked with the group on Knife Play . Produced by Greg Saunier, Stewart said that the album is about "making other people feel bad" instead of feeling bad oneself and

1813-480: The record did not veer from the formulated programming for which Stewart and McCulloch would be praised by fans and critics alike. A Promise also contains a cover of Tracy Chapman 's " Fast Car ", a version that has been praised for its stripped sound and Stewart's distressing vocals. During this time, Stewart recorded Fag Patrol , a collection of previous recorded material as well as covers of songs by The Smiths and their previous group with McCulloch, Ten in

1862-573: The synth-pop influences of the group's sound. Stewart's and McElroy's duet with Michael Gira of Swans on a cover of David Bowie and Queen 's "Under Pressure" is representative of this. Touring that year alongside Xiu Xiu aluminist Devin Hoff on bass, the band's second four-piece incarnation would not last long, as Hoff abruptly left the group soon after touring began. In May 2009, it was revealed that Caralee McElroy would no longer work with Xiu Xiu. Speculations ran as to what reasons McElroy had for leaving

1911-547: The two, the EP Chapel of the Chimes was released via Absolutely Kosher . The compilation album Fag Patrol was released shortly after, and their third studio album Fabulous Muscles was released in 2004. La Forêt was released in 2005 after Caralee McElroy joined the group, and The Air Force followed in 2006. 2008's Women as Lovers was released via the main Kill Rock Stars label in 2008, and McElroy departed

1960-750: The type of venues they played. Studio albums Polyvinyl Record Co. Polyvinyl Record Co. is an American independent record label headquartered in Champaign, Illinois . The label also has satellite offices in New York , Austin , and the Bay Area . Polyvinyl has put out over 400 releases to date. The Polyvinyl roster currently consists of 30+ active artists, including Alvvays , Xiu Xiu , Jeff Rosenstock , Kero Kero Bonito , and Julia Jacklin as well as longtime label signees like of Montreal , American Football , STRFKR , and Rainer Maria . Recent additions to

2009-448: The video illustrates the subject of the song in an extreme and visceral fashion. In 2010, Xiu Xiu left Kill Rock Stars and signed with Bella Union and Polyvinyl . Xiu Xiu released Always on these new labels in 2012. It was called "magnificent" and given 5 stars by The Independent and given a 9/10 by Drowned in Sound. In April 2013, Stewart and Eugene Robinson of Oxbow released

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2058-466: The video of Rainer Maria’s Winter Tour set at Chapel Hill’s Cat’s Cradle and Mates of State’s third record, Team Boo . In 2004, Polyvinyl began to be distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance and added Athens’ of Montreal to the label family. of Montreal released their first album with Polyvinyl, Satanic Panic in the Attic , the same year. Polyvinyl celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006 with

2107-434: The year it was released was "one of the first not dominated by personal tragedies" Its major themes are "guilt and sex as opposed to sorrow and sex". Stewart considered it their best and most consciously pop album yet. They said that the band was obsessed with Weezer's Blue Album and The Smiths's The Queen Is Dead while on tour, though the album does not reflect those albums particularly. The Air Force also contained

2156-517: The year with spots on several year-end publication lists, including Pitchfork , NPR , Stereogum , and Paste . At the start of 2018, Polyvinyl committed to donate 10% of mailorder revenue one Friday per month to deserving causes, especially organizations that strive to make progress in music communities. Donation recipients have included the Tegan and Sara Foundation, OurMusicMyBody, and Girls Rock! Champaign-Urbana. In February 2018, Polyvinyl announced

2205-410: Was announced on June 25th, 2024 and released on September 27th. Current members Former members The band's name comes from the film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl . The band found its first tracks to match the "rotten realness" spirit of the film, "that sometimes life turns out with a worst possible case scenario". Stewart said Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car", which Xiu Xiu covered on A Promise , had

2254-526: Was joined on stage by their "long-lost" cousin, Caralee McElroy in 2004. The two would tour relentlessly throughout that year, releasing not only the group's third LP, but also split recordings with This Song Is a Mess But So Am I and Bunkbed , along with the "Fleshettes" single – which featured a rendition of the Ten in the Swear Jar track "Helsabot" by McElroy. Seen as a return to Stewart's more dark and crabby demeanor, Xiu Xiu's fourth album La Forêt alluded to

2303-439: Was released along with the album's announcement on January 27, 2021. Its second single, "Rumpus Room" featuring Liars , was released on March 4, 2021. "Maybae Baeby", the first single from their thirteenth studio album Ignore Grief , was released on January 12, 2023. The album features new member David Kendrick , formerly of Sparks and Devo . Their fourteenth album, 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips

2352-491: Was released in September 2024. Jamie Stewart formed Xiu Xiu in 2002 after their previous band, Ten in the Swear Jar, disbanded. Stewart and Cory McCulloch continued from the previous group, and were joined by Yvonne Chen and Lauren Andrews. The band's sound was characterized by its use of indigenous instruments and programmed drums in place of traditional rock instruments: harmonium, mandolin, brass bells, gongs, keyboards, and

2401-454: Was released on Graveface Records on December 3, 2013. In the same email, Xiu Xiu also announced that a new Xiu Xiu album was being made. Xiu Xiu said that it is possible that it will be named Angel Guts: Red Classroom and that "it will be a mean, tight hearted, blackness of Neubauten vs Suicide vs Nico ." Angel Guts: Red Classroom was released February 2014. It was given an 8 out of 10 by Drowned in Sound and Mojo . David Hartley of

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