La Foret means The Forest in French; this is an important tidbit of knowledge for anyone who attempts to listen to Xiu Xiu"s 5th album. In early Europe the forest was a place of mystery and terror, it was the setting to many stories and fables, almost none having happy endings. Xiu Xiu on the other hand, formed far away from the European forests, in California"s beautiful San Francisco bay, they named themselves after the proclaimed most depressing movie in the world, Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl. It is almost fitting that a band such as Xiu Xiu be formed on this basis. The band is infact the perfect mix of beauty and depression. Their music echoes that of early 80"s European bands mixed with a ferocious sonic terror. In the world of Post-Rock music (a genre Xiu Xiu skips around) vocals are hardly the points of main attraction, but Xiu Xiu"s Jamie Stewart is an exception. His cold baritone vocals are the center of many of the songs on this album, and while keeping an almost heartless tone they drip emotion from every pore. His lyrics are extremely difficult to uncode, but I guess everyone thinks they know what he"s saying. In some ways his vocals are childish, or pedifilistic. He has a very unsure tone with his whispery man-child vocals, but he"s all the better for it. In many ways Xiu Xiu are a band made up of people pretending to be children. Pots and pans percussion so genius their stupid melodies turn the band from a couple of adult musical prodigies to a few kids exploring their creative side. La Foret is a harrowing journey through the minds of people you might never hear from again.
Minimalist production on track"s like album opener Clover make a statement unmatched; you can have the emotional strength of an acoustic track without using any actual acoustic guitars. Other tracks, such as "Mousey Toy", prove that even with such a joyous name a track can be incredibly depressing. Church bells ring alongside random piano smashes as Jamie name checks the holocaust among other things in his almost disturbing reenactment of a seduction gone wrong.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Mousey Toy
how did two tiny ribbons untie
and unfold into a lime tree?
then to darken a room for other men
a dove hit mid-flight turns away"
|
Track #5, "Baby Captain" makes for an extremely personal forgiveness letter to a man love scorned. It begins with the soft twang of an acoustic guitar and Jamie whispering about the crying eyes of a girl named Black Phoebe. Two minutes into the song it is transformed into a blend of slightly frantic house beats, machinist noises and nursery rhyme melodies. Sort of a dark experimental electronica answer to "Hey Jude", but much less catchy. Then the hellish beats of "Saturn" begin. A man who I previously compared to a child begins an ode to the devil himself, screaming synth lines and ferociously fast paced drums build and crumble underneath the Jamie"s new found satanic sneer. The song is inspired by the horrific sculpture of the god Saturn devouring his sons. Jamie says the song is about wanting to rape the president to death and eat his body. Perhaps the most chilling political tunes ever released. American Idiot has nothing on Saturn.
If I had to pick a song on this album that was the most tear-jerkingly brilliant it would be "Rose of Sharon", inspired by deceit and Jesus, it pours a molten sense of rejection over the corpse of some depressing orchestra strings. These days singers inspired by Ian Curtis should look to this song for a new inspiration. Jamie sounds perfectly on par with the fallen alternative rock icon releasing ghostly wails about a woman"s ringless finger and knowing you are no one.
Quote:
you try so hard to be as sweet as you can for me
but I don't see you for who you are
rose of Sharon in my failing light
ringless finger
pretend you don't know how you stand it
cause you know you are nobody
|
.
A song like this can only be appreciated in its sonic form. A MUST download song.
Overall, La Foret is one of the most depressing albums I have ever heard, while the amount of powerful rock songs is almost non-existent the album"s very own "Muppet Face" is a certain stand-out track. Before torture, love, and murder set in Muppet Face is a very lovely, yet abrasive explosion of sound Featuring quiet verses and anti-catchy noise choruses. While it doesn"t fit the mold the album forges it stands on its own extremely well. Tunes like Bog People also bring a welcome break from the sonic pain that is Xiu Xiu, but this time in the form of jangly sing-along songs. By the time the album"s closer comes around listener"s have heard everything Xiu Xiu has to offer. After the heartbreak, murder, non squetiors and blasphemy and synthesizers, the album ends with the distorted ballad-time jaunt of "Yellow Raspberry" and fades away. La Foret was many things for me, a journey through depression it"s very self and a great alternative electronica album in certainty. I"m just glad it"s over now (even though it was nothing short of amazing).
-Joe
