video review: 'girl with basket of fruit' by xiu xiu

So apparently I need to really step up my game when it comes to cross-posting, because apparently the algorithm cares about that... /sigh

Anyway, this album didn't really wow me as much as I was hoping - eh, it happens, but what to cover next...

album review: 'girl with basket of fruit' by xiu xiu

Well, it's about time I finally got to this. And here's where we also need some backstory - at the start of February on Twitter I participated in a writing exercise called, appropriately, Music Writing Exercise, or #MWE. And for me it was a cute little side project for me to knock out some quips surrounding back catalogs I was covering alongside my regular reviews, and I figured that given that Xiu Xiu had been one of the most glaring holes in my musical knowledge, I'd listen to their entire discography for #MWE and so I could review their newest, critically divisive project. And...

Well, it's complicated - but also not nearly as much as I was expecting, because Xiu Xiu has put out a lot of wiry, abrasive provocation for its time. Now there are some absolutely great albums and you can definitely hear their influence across plenty of experimental acts, especially the ones with more of a focus on queer sexuality and especially Perfume Genius, but in hearing the discography as a whole it's easy to get burned out on shock tactics, or notice when the group isn't playing to their strengths. For one, I've always been convinced that they've had a knack for striking pop melodies and high concept ideas that rarely get the credit or analysis they deserve - mostly because it's way easier to focus on the profanity and explicit content and sheer noise - but at the same time there are stretches in that discography that seem to be coasting on airs, especially when they bring in a delicacy that feels undercomposed, and that's not counting when the great ideas don't quite stick the landing. And while singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart is a potent mastermind behind the project, if you have a keen ear you can very much tell how and where his sound is inspired and shaped, which can put a damper both on the provocation and the "unique, boundary-pushing experimentation", and that's not getting to the points where Xiu Xiu recycles old material and ideas a little too readily. But still, they ditched John Congleton's production this time around and with the subject matter surrounding female martyrdom... well, why not dive headfirst into some transgressive art, so what did we get from Girl With Basket Of Fruit?