Oh No

Xiu Xiu makes beautiful music for hard times. For nearly 20 years, the band has a track record of crafting experimental music for moments when life’s harsh realities meet its existential mysteries. On the latest album, Jamie Stewart explores a recent revelation and is reminded of the power of the band’s music to surprise and connect. Listening to the songs on OH NO, it is hard to feel truly alone. Instead, it is a reminder that even when we’re alone, we’re alone together.

OH NO, the group’s newest album, is an album of duets, with Stewart sharing the stage with an array of guests who have made an impact on him personally and musically. This is the first Xiu Xiu album where every song spotlights Jamie Stewart and a collaborator. The album features artists across the musical spectrum, including Sharon Van Etten, Circuit des Yeux’s Haley Fohr, Grouper’s Liz Harris, Alice Bag, Chelsea Wolfe, Owen Pallet, and Twin Shadow’s George Lewis Jr., all drift into Xiu Xiu’s distinctive soundworld. The album was born out of anguish and isolation, but exists as it does because of a profound rediscovery of community and friendship. It is the sound of finding one’s place in the world after the destructive powers of jealousy and mistrust make any map seemingly unreadable.

Released: March 2021
Cat: PRC426
Label: Polyvinyl

Listen

Tracklist

1. Sad Mezcalita
2. I Cannot Resist
3. The Grifters
4. Goodbye For Good
5. OH NO
6. Rumpus Room
7. Fuzz Gong Fight
8. I Dream of Someone Else Entirely
9. One Hundred Years
10. A Classic Screw
11. It Bothers Me All The Time
12. Saint Dymphna
13. Knock Out
14. A Bottle of Rum
15. ANTS