Xiu Xiu
La Forêt
5RC
2005
Rating: 4 old drugs out of 10
Every time I try to listen to Xiu Xiu, and oh how I’ve tried, I never
seem to “get it”. It’s like everyone else is in on the joke, and it’s very frustrating. I’ll give Jamie Stewart
one thing for sure – he’s a very original singer and songwriter with his own distinct voice, something not many can
claim these days. And while that is certainly admirable, it doesn’t necessarily make me want to listen to
his music. I don’t even know how to describe the band’s sound – sometimes it’s hauntingly folky and
mellow, then the next track will be a glitchy electronica-rock song, and then he kinda rocks out…there are even a
couple of numbers on here that remind me of Joy Division, and not in that Interpol “gets compared to
them but doesn’t actually sound like it” way, but the songs honest-to-god sound like Joy Division. That, or
my ears are broken, which is certainly possible. Anyways, I can’t really say to buy or not to buy this, but
Xiu Xiu is a band worth checking out just to see how you react to it. You may hate it, but at least you’ll know you
haven’t missed out on anything.
Hella
The Devil Isn’t Red
5RC
2004
Rating: 7 surf brahs out of 10
Hella are definitely a “love them or hate them” type of band...luckily I love them and was extremely stoked to get their new record to review, but I know a number of folks who either don’t get it or don’t want to. And that’s fine, because they’re not for everyone; people who only listen to pop music and require strict song structures from their music are not going to be pleased when they hear the spazzy sounds of this Sacramento, CA-based band. In fact, I would be hard pressed to tell you exactly what they sound like; made up of two members, Zach Hill on drums and Spencer Seim on guitar, they play a brand of music that lands somewhere between improve jazz and math rock and sounds absolutely nothing like either one. What I can say for certain is that Zach is the best drummer I’ve ever seen, equally bewildering and infuriating with the amount of talent that man has. He’s so good that I almost want to take friends who have no interest in their music to see this band live just so they can check
out the clinic that takes place on his Frankenstein-version of a drum kit.
