Xiu Xiu
Forget
Reviewed by: Lauren Rosier
Singer/songwriter, Jamie Stewart, who is the brains behind experimental rock band, Xiu Xiu, is back with another stellar record that expresses the band’s dark existential worries in Forget.
Forget is arranged as disciplined pop focused on creating a more acceptable pop format. And it’s definitely more poppier while maintaining its classic experimental rock sound the band is known for. With that said, it should be added that the material on this record is concerned with death and what happens afterwards.
On “Queen of the Lovers” he states “…everyone loves you/the pain has just begun…” and “…we’re often ready to be never awake”. Its darkness among the other tracks on the record focus on the morbid theme of death, after death, and the physical aftermath.
Stewart’s shivering vocals on the track “Jenny GoGo” create an eerie atmosphere in which he seems to be upset over a recent murder victim. While on the track “Get Up,” it illustrates the death of Stewart himself, a victim of a piano is falling from sky, and crushing him.
The morbidity of the lyrics, as well as his shaking, unsettling voice throughout the album shows that Stewart has a brokenness to him. It proves that he sings from a place of being pushed beyond psychological limitations.
Forget is both eerie, scary, and morbid while also being beautifully morbid. It’s a collection of musical art in its lyrical and musical arrangements.
Rating: Iconic
