Known for fidgety experimentalism and crabby lyrics, San Jose’s Xiu Xiu would not win a lifetime achievement award for cheerfulness. Nevertheless, the group has often channeled a certain joy of noise. Unbound by genre, Xiu Xiu unwinds nervous energy, creating songs that land halfway between accessible and off-putting. On…

Like any supergroup, it’s impossible to mention Human Impact without also mentioning its members’ credentials. With Unsane’s Chris Spencer on vocals and guitar, Chris Pravdica of Xiu Xiu and Swans on bass, Jim Coleman of Cop Shoot Cop handling electronics and Phil Puleo of Swans and Cop Shoot Cop…

Clockwise from top left: Yumi Zouma, Eyelids, Whyte Horses, Wrekmeister Harmonies featuring Thor Harris and Xiu Xiu, HEALTH and Swamp Dogg. Every week, there’s more new music waiting to be discovered. No one really has enough time to watch that indie channel on TV that just happens to be…

Xiu Xiu’s 14th album, Girl with Basket of Fruit, expands on the experimental band’s thought-provoking spoken word lyricism with aggressive, often disorienting instrumental soundscapes. Girl with Basket of Fruit Xiu Xiu Polyvinyl, Feb. 8 The album begins with its title track, which thrusts listeners into a complex and  abstract sonic…

It was a long journey, but we’ve made it to the top 10. Before you get upset that I excluded your favorite album, let me first give a shout out to this year’s honorable mentions: The War on Drugs’ A Deeper Understanding, Algiers’ The Underside of Power, Cigarettes After Sex’s self-titled record,…

Jamie Stewart started Xiu Xiu 15 years ago and has been going strong with the project ever since. Just last month, Xiu Xiu released new album Forget, which is gaining critical praise and is generally considered to be the band’s more accessible albums yet. Where before Stewart was not bound to…