Xiu Xiu
"A Promise" CD
5 Rue Christine
Genres: no
5RC
PO Box 1190
Olympia WA
98507-1190
Jun 16 - 22 2003 |
If
there's one thing that's more pretentious that A Promise itself, it's
the reviews people have written about it. Just about every reviewer on
the planet has had a go at writing about this disc, and it's as if
they were all in a big race to see who could best match up to the extreme
intellect and unmatched, stripped-down honesty that Xiu
Xiu display on this album. Well, fuck that. You know, we can all use long words and make
deep - albeit contrived and illogical - observations. Why should
I bother? I'm no likely to be more correct about what exactly Xiu
Xiu's intentions were in writing and performing A Promise
than any other reviewer. I doubt anybody's even come
close. And the fact that the band got hundreds of writers to put
together lengthy, boring-yet-"hip" analytical essays on what
exactly they've gotten out of listening to this disc just makes me
laugh.
What do I know? There's a naked guy on the cover. A
battered, frail guy. Holding a baby doll. On a slightly rustled
bed. Clothing - jeans, sweater, underwear - lay beside
him. It's a haunting image, to say the least. And the music is no less
disturbing. Whether it be a passionate "pop" number
with lyrics like "I like my neighborhood/I like my gun/Drive in
my little car" or a breathy, despaired cover of Tracy Chapman's
"Fast Car," there's always a sense of impending doom carried
through A Promise. By the end of it you'll be happy it's
over but you'll probably play it again and again anyway.
Well. This review's been pretty pretentious itself, hasn't
it? Inconsequential, but pretentious. Fuck.
89%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
10 songs, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |
