Thirsty Thursday

Jamie Stewart, the man behind the Cali. outfit Xiu Xiu (pronounced ‘shoe-shoe’) has jumped back on the pop bus with his latest album, “Women As Lovers”.

With their sixth proper LP, the Xiu Xiu gang serve out some pretty accessible indie rock, as opposed to their wonderful, experimental, confrontational songs of yore.

This time out we get the excellent “I Do What I Want, When I Want”. The first song on the album has that classic Xiu Xiu sound, with the hushed, calm lyrics and the experimental instrumentals full of bops, scrapes and melancholy. There’s even the surprise appearance of a saxophone in the last third of the track that pops out of nowhere, giving it that avant-garde feel.

“In Lust You Can Hear The Axe Fall” has Stewart showing off his amazing, emotive howl that he’s trademarked over the years. More curious, provocative wordplay fuels the track as it jumps from moments of calm to the explosive screams (though they’re never heavy metal yells, they always remain the sounds of someone cracking, of the real them ripping through the surface). It’s almost the kind of song you may have found on the groups perfect “Fabulous Muscles” album from ‘04.

The group doesn’t seem to shy away from covers. They’ve done excellent versions of both Tracey Chapman’s “Fast Car” (which reached into the dark and miserable void to add some much needed flavor) and “Asleep” by the Smiths (which adds nothing to the original, but it‘s still nice to hear Jamie sing it).

“Women As Lovers” includes the bizarre choice of the Queen and David Bowie duet “Under Pressure” with guest vocals by Michael Gira, formerly of Swans (and currently fronting The Angels of Light). It clings relatively close to the original, but it’s warped just enough to be a worthy listen. Gira’s formerly demonic voice (check out some of that early Swans material if you’re ever planning on starting a satanic cult and need some music for your get-togethers) lends itself well to the track, with Stewart falling apart on the lyrics “Why can’t we give ourselves one more chance” in a spectacular fashion.

Stewart has been confronting and titillating listeners since 2000 and “Women As Lovers” is just another of many notable, amazing releases from him and his. To check out some .mp3 action, head over to myspace.com/xiuxiuforlife and behold their mighty voices.

Originally published in the St. Cloud Times on 03-20-08.

Oh my goodness, put on your dancing’ shoes and pop in “Version”. British producer Mark Ronson has deconstructed a slew of massive hits and his tender favorites, creating something entirely new in the process.

DJ, producer, and label head Mark Ronson is spectacularly famous overseas. He’s worked with Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Sean Paul, Macy Gray and many others over the years, producing and arranging tracks. He’s the man standing behind a variety of amazing tracks, yet he remains pretty unknown over here in the states. Now, I’d like to say that’ll change once “Version” catches on over here, but that’s not the situation. It’s been out for months and its barely registered, which is a shame, as it rocks.

If you have more than one pet, you may have noticed that when one throws up, the other one comes along and eats it. That’s what Ronson is doing. He’s gobbling up the end product of someone else’s and digesting/making it his own. “Toxic”, originally released by Britney Spears a few years ago, weaseled its way into everyone’s ears with it’s hypnotic, synthetic beats. By layering in horns and some vocals by the late Dirt McGirt (ODB of Wu-Tang) and the work of Triggers, Ronson has completely warped “Toxic.” It’s still “Toxic”, but it’s about as similar to the original as say, I don’t know, maybe Elvis singing a Megadeath song. McGirt’s crass rhymes contrast the classic sound and otherwise smooth vocals. Instead of a pulsing club track, it’s this charming R&B song full of horns and sex, slowed down and rich with cool.

Brit indie group the Zutons have had their track “Valerie” smooshed and molded into another tasty Amy Winehouse track. Winehouse, normally constant tabloid fodder, proves once again that she’s very deserving of all the acclaim she’s earned. “Valerie” is hopeful, like something that the Supremes might have done. Its gorgeous vocals and happy, jumpy beat make it an instant winner.

Over fourteen tracks, Ronson twists tracks by Maximo Park, The Jam, Radiohead and many others into club jams steeped in R&B, hip-hop, soul and a twist of techno. It’s an amazing conceptual feat, the kind of move that shows you what can happen when people think outside of the box and stop trying to out rhyme or out scream each other.

If you feel like dancing, head over to columbia.co.uk and click on Ronson’s page to stream the entire album.

Originally published in the St. Cloud Times on 03-20-08.

The Raveonette’s third LP, “Lust Lust Lust,” strikes a perfect balance between the distorted garage rock and bubbly ’50s love ballads the Raveonettes experimented with for years.

Dual vocalists Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo have been pumping out their brand of dark and moody rock since the turn of the century. They took their cue from Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers and garage rock; crafting eloquent, eerie songs that always bloom with beauty.

The “Whip It On” EP introduced the Danish duo in 2002 and it’s been on top of its game ever since. Drawing from Jack Kerouac and the cheesy juvenile delinquent films of the ’50s, it has taken the leatherjacket ruffian vibe and put it to music.

“Lust Lust Lust” needs you to crank up your speakers and violate your neighbor’s space with its songs. These tracks are meant to be played at full volume to truly appreciate the fuzz-laden melodies and luscious vocals.

The song “Lust” tiptoes right into your heart. Three chords, clap-able drums and the singsong vocals of Foo make it the peak of the album. It screams “rainy day” on every level; it’s the type of song you play to thoroughly enjoy the sloppy winter rain as it comes down. Like the majority of the other songs, it’s melancholy, yet not really depressing.

The Raveonettes is similar to the Cure in that its music is perfect when you’re miserable and just as good when you’re chipper.

“You Want the Candy” mimics hundreds of teen love songs from the ’50s. If you sucked out the distortion, you could slip it into a boxcar diner’s jukebox and nobody would be the wiser. It’s adorable, slightly dirty and entirely catchy.

It’s almost hard to comprehend how the duo could crank out 12 perfect tunes, unless you take this into account: Wagner wrote hundreds of songs before settling on the ones that made it to the album. All of those tracks were whittled down into the cream of the crop, giving the Raveonettes its crowning achievement as a band.

I can’t begin to comprehend how the band could have made “Lust Lust Lust” any better than it already is.

Originally published in the St. Cloud Times on 03-13-08.

The band’s debut, self-titled album came out at the end of January, but it’s been knee-deep in praise and frenzy for months, thanks to the blogger revolution bringing the band’s songs to the forefront.

With a mixture of indie rock and Afro-pop, the foursome (who met while they were attending Columbia University) has crafted some of the most poppy ditties you’re likely to hear this year.

The profanity-laden “Walcott” has a bit of a Voxtrot (the buzz band from 2007 who dropped off the map after releasing a horrid first album) feel to it. The urging chorus rails on about escaping Cape Cod, even if just for tonight. It’s upbeat and preppy, and those keyboards just don’t quit.

“The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance” drips with a Paul Simon “Graceland” sound. It’s another poppy, succulent tune chock full of violins and deep bass grooves. Could this be the band that finally brings world music to the kids? Perhaps.

“M79″ sounds like it should be in a Wes Anderson movie. The hurried, happy cello beckons and you’re thrown into a whirlwind oddity of a song that seems upbeat in instrumentation but hints at sadness in its lyrics. I have no idea what these guys are going on about, but it sounds good, and that’s really all you can ask for.

The fresh young faces of Vampire Weekend are making the rounds by hitting up David Letterman and Saturday Night Live while touring everywhere. Vampire Weekend is a hardworking, hard-touring machine and if it never makes another album, it’ll still be the band that wrote “M79.”

Originally published in the St. Cloud Times on 03-13-08.