"Shinshi-Shinshi" is defined as a sexual act involving the male genitalia and its penetration of the ear canal. I wouldn't know from experience, but I imagine this would be very uncomfortable and perhaps as difficult as listening to Xiu Xiu.
Noted for their disturbing and often taboo lyrics as much for their stripped and often minimalist sound, Xiu Xiu (pronounced shoo-shoo), returns with more of the same on their fifth full-length album, The Air Force.
Xiu Xiu confronts their listeners with shifting dynamics, sudden swarms of pulsing drum machines over top of oddly delicate waves of guitar, keyboard, vibraphone, violin and any other instrument the outfit can get their hands on. Lead singer Jamie Stewart whispers broodingly about suicide, self-loathing, love, rejection and sex.
The Air Force is their most accessible album to date, which is kind of like saying Blue Velvet is David Lynch's most accessible movie. Whereas 2004's Fabulous Muscles often felt like a depressed teenager screaming, "Look at how weird I am! Please, please somebody notice me!" The Air Force is what La Forêt could have been (if not for a few regrettable tracks) -- a true breakthrough album.
The album feels as though Xiu Xiu anticipated that this would be the album that expanded their fan base, and the group wastes no time welcoming potential first-time listeners into their fold with the first cut, "Buzz Saw." If Xiu Xiu were to be said to have a sound, "Buzz Saw" is the epitome of that sound. It is an oddly cluttered and dense song that is somehow minimalistic -- soft and gentle yet grating and antagonistic.
"Buzz Saw" starts with a plodding piano line over which Stewart whispers. Abruptly a single snare drum tears into the composition along with snarls of drum machine and synthesizer blurbs. The song drifts away below the audience's consciousness, riding the gentle waves of wind chimes. Stewart seems to poke fun at the emo genre with lyrics like, "Your black hair is like black hair / Mine, I promise is like a jerk's hair / Your acne is like a pearl / Mine, I swear is brimstone."
The song ends with some avant-garde, industrial-type noise (bonus points awarded here) before segueing into "Boy Soprano," which starts with distorted guitars that you'll be hearing two hours later. Programmed beats soar in the background and when Stewart croons, "Boy Soprano!" it sounds heroic.
"Hello from Eau Claire" is the best Xiu Xiu song ... ever. I will stand by this statement and if you disagree with me, then watch out for your ear canal at night. Stewart hands the microphone over to his cousin, Caralee McElroy, whose haunting voice bounces along with a vibraphone. McElroy sings, "I know it's stupid to say that you are on my mind ... I can button up my own pants / I can buy my own cigarettes," at once declaring her power and independence while subjecting herself to the dominion of another individual.
"Bishop, CA" floats along a keyboard riff before hurtling into a wall of noise that can be only likened to an orchestra sans sheet music. The composition briefly descends again before the listener is thrust back into a raging sea of industrial noise. The song fades into something that could be the distorted sounds of a baby crying.
The majority of The Air Force leans toward the more avant-garde of their catalogue, but there is continuity present in the album lacking in previous efforts. The songs ebb and flow into each other. Xiu Xiu has been challenging audiences for five years and with The Air Force rewards the diligent listener.
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