Featured image and gallery: Sophie Robinson
Following the release of their fourteenth album, 13” Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips (the name coming from a switchblade owned by frontperson Jamie Stewart), experimental rock collective Xiu Xiu played St Mary’s Parish Church in Stockport, a venue as unique and intimate as their music.
The night begins with a set from Leeds-based duo Drum Wife, who, as the name suggests, use a pair of drum machines, along with droning synths to create an endlessly building loop of feedback, percussion and vocals.
Xiu Xiu continued the theme of instrumental variety, incorporating anything from custom-built symbols to a personal massager attached to a cowbell into their performance, alongside the traditional guitar and synth.
Jamie Stewart and Angelo Seo, the group’s core members, are joined live by ex-Devo member David Kendrick, who’s drumming provides a solid backbone to the pair’s wild sonic excursions.
Stewart’s soft spoken vocals bring a hushed, melancholic atmosphere to St. Mary’s despite the wall of noise created by the band. There’s barely a whisper between songs from either band or the spellbound audience.
While primarily playing tracks from their latest album, Xiu Xiu’s setlist takes time to delve into fan-favourites such as the endlessly haunting ‘Sad Pony Guerilla Girl’, as well as a number of deep cuts from their lengthy discography, including the spoken word ‘Maybae baeby’.
The show ends with Stewart returning to stage for a solo encore of acoustic track ‘Fabulous Muscles’, a fittingly sombre note to end the night.
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