Xiu Xiu at Rozz-Tox -- April 27.
Thursday, April 27, 8 p.m.
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Lauded by PopMatters for “the band's playfulness with both sound design and the use of sound effects,” the Los Angeles-based experimental rockers of Xiu Xiu headline an April 27 Rozz-Tox concert in support of their March release Ignore Grief, a recording that incorporates violins, violas, cellos, double bass, flutes, and piano in addition electronic percussion, synthesizers, gongs, and found objects.
Experimental artist Jamie Stewart, a veteran of the bands Former Ghosts and Sal Mineo, formed Xiu Xiu in 2002 in San Jose, California, after the disbanding of his previous outfit Ten in the Swear Jar. Stewart and Cory McCulloch continued from the previous group and were initially joined by Yvonne Chen and Lauren Andrews, with their new band's sound characterized by its use of indigenous instruments and programmed drums in place of traditional rock instruments: harmonium, mandolin, brass bells, gongs, keyboards, and a cross between a guitarrón mexicano and a cello. Xiu Xiu toured its first LP Knife Play and its EP successor Chapel of the Chimes in 2002, blending both melody and cacophony with a heavy reliance on percussive and bass instrumentation. Vocalist Stewart, meanwhile, earned comparisons to The Cure's Robert Smith, while the band itself drew inspiration from post-punk, synth pop, and avant-garde music as well as directors and authors including Todd Solondz, V..S. Naipaul, Yukio Mishima, and David Lynch.
That latter figure became a direct inspiration when Australia's Gallery of Modern Art commissioned Xiu Xiu to rework the Grammy-winning score to Lynch's iconic TV series Twin Peaks. But the musicians of Xiu Xiu, by then, had already established themselves as singular talents through albums such as The Air Force, Women as Lovers, and Dear God, I Hate Myself, with 2013's Angel Guts: Red Classroom receiving eight out of 10 stars in Drowned and Sound & Mojo and War on Drugs' David Hartley praising the album as a “stereoscopic assault.” With the ensemble now composed of Stewart, fellow multi-instumentalist Angela Seo, and percussionist David Kendrick, Xiu Xiu's current releas Gnore Grief was preceded by 2021's Oh No, an achievement that inspired All Music to rave, "Embodying hard times as well as the way friends lift each other out of them, Oh No also exemplifies the drama, mystery, and deeply felt emotions that have made Xiu Xiu a vital musical force for decades."
Xiu Xiu headlines their Rock Island engagement on April 27 with an additional set by Blue Lick, the doors open at 7 p.m. for the 8 p.m. concert, and more information is available by calling (309)200-0978 and visiting RozzTox.com.
