It’s tempting to say this is Xiu Xiu’s most solid release since their debut, 2002’s Knife Play, but it could be that it just feels more akin than this project has in a while to the acoustic instrumentation and serio-comic histrionic magic of that record.
It is this polymorphism of Girl With Basket of Fruits that really shifts Xiu Xiu from their work in Forget, and sees them evolving further.
Affecting, cathartic and unsettling, Girl with Basket of Fruit reflects that while the edge to Xiu Xiu's music has changed with time, it never dulls.
Words really can't accurately describe what makes Xiu Xiu and Jamie Stewart's writing so timeless no matter the sound or the subject matter, but it never fails to have an emotional power that very few can retain for so long and captivate with ease.
Unsettling. That is the first (and kinda only) word that comes to mind just after listening to ‘Girl With Basket of Fruit’.
Xiu Xiu’s latest album is a difficult listen with a payoff surpassing anything that a review could say.
Stewart's machete may lop off sensitive ears, but here he cuts deep into centuries of unmerited violence, proving that women still have more uphill battles to face.
Girl With A Basket of Fruit is a remarkably bold release, which speaks volumes considering the polarizing nature of this ever-evolving collective. With ricocheting post-industrial energy operating as the musical lifeblood, this album is sadistically cathartic when blasted full-volume.
The duo’s latest speeds between fragmented beats and mournful balladry but rarely makes an impression beyond its sound and fury.
The level of pandemonium and desperation here makes for deeply unsettling but fascinatingly involved listening.
On their own, the tracks sound disjointed and lost, but together they do exude a sense of dread and anxiousness difficult to shake off.
Within all its pandemonium, Xiu Xiu’s execution on Girl… feels vapid; it’s as though they’re running on fumes.
Deleting my old review. It was a bit messy, especially with me now feeling like this is one of my strongest 10/10s. It is also my favorite album of 2019 easily
When I first heard the single “Punpkin Attack On Mommy and Daddy” I can remember waking up in the morning after falling asleep to Swans and this track was just auto playing. I liked it a lot, and had no idea it was a new song
I see the whole album drops on AOTY and it has about a 64 average score. A pretty low score for ... read more
This album genuinely terrifies me. It's very effective at what it's trying to do - I just never want to hear it again. Jesus christ
This is an album that didn't click for me immediately. This sounds great, often chaotic, but great. Initially the lyrics and vocal performance from Jamie Stewart held this back for me. The bizarre writing felt pretty pretentious and unnecessarily inaccessible on a first listen. It also felt like often the absurdity took away from how disturbing the rest of the music was. For this reason the only tracks that really clicked with me on a first listen were "Mary Turner Mary Turner" ... read more
1 | Girl with Basket of Fruit 4:16 | 92 |
2 | It Comes Out as a Joke 3:01 | 89 |
3 | Amargi ve Moo 4:51 | 83 |
4 | Ice Cream Truck 2:37 | 86 |
5 | Pumpkin Attack on Mommy and Daddy 5:00 | 93 |
6 | The Wrong Thing 4:54 | 89 |
7 | Mary Turner Mary Turner 3:48 | 93 |
8 | Scisssssssors 4:27 | 90 |
9 | Normal Love 3:38 | 91 |
#5 | / | The Needle Drop |
#23 | / | Sputnikmusic |
#41 | / | Obscure Sound |