Fabulous Muscles, by Xiu Xiu (LP on Tomlab)

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What the label says:

Fabulous Muscles is Xiu Xiu's 3rd album, certainly the most electronic sounding and undoubtedly the most pop influenced so far. With a savant's genius Xiu Xiu attack the established pop idioms, inverting and reclaiming them in fascinating if sometimes disorienting ways with all kinds of weird cut-ups, juxtapositions, and unexpected arrangements. In that sense Fabulous Muscles is a strong breath of fresh air from an "indie rock" band who pretty much throw all the predictable stuff out the window.

The title song "Fabulous Muscles" that exposes the lead singer's super intense voice (a la The Cure / Talk Talk / Ultravox) is one of Xiu Xiu's most hook driven songs ever - melded with the greatest over-the-top lyrics we have heard in a while. "I Luv the Valley" is based on a guitar riff that gets into your brain immediately - probably the catchiest song on this album. "Clowne Towne" - our personal favorite - is using electronics and clattery percussions to make the most beautiful, sad and absurdly happy Xiu Xiu song on this album.

A couple of the songs on Fabulous Muscles are very very spare and quiet ("Nieces Pieces"), with "Little Panda McElroy" we can even listen to the first actual love song from Xiu Xiu. Others like "Support our Troops" and "Mike" are non melodic noise/experimental songs, that are mournful, dramatic, almost heartbreaking reminders of the dark side of what Fabulous Muscles also talks about. Beep, beep, beep, bzzzz poing!

"The songs on FM are about violence as an expression of power, child molestation, my father's suicide, disgusting, pointless war and trying to have hope for love to exist and persist in the midst of all this, but having doubts that it will" - Jamie Stewart

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