Concrete Playground

Glitchy abstractions, ambiguous beats and Nintendo bleeps. Sounds like you? Sounds like Xiu Xiu. Where some people paint still-life, watercolour canvases to express a part of their identity, lead singer Jamie Stewart uses dark words and a stormy demeanour (mashed in with experimental rock) to express his.

Stewart may be a little bit angry, but it’s not personal — instability seems to be his driving force (the band has had four lineup changes in eight years), and it's clearly reflected in the spontaneity of sounds on Xiu Xiu’s seven-spinner discography. Stewart is now joined by Angela Seo for Xiu Xiu’s latest release, Dear God, I Hate Myself (2010), which has been described by their label, Popfrenzy, as "more overtly poppy and electronic". The making of the album included Nintendo sounds, a vibraphone, tenor recorder, optigan, desk bells, a Game Boy, harmonium, chamberlain — even a celeste.

Joining them on the September tour, also from NYC, are electronic fringe-dwellers High Places and Sydney's experimental-pop darlings, Kyu. All three groups will be playing new material. These will certainly be high-calibre performances, but what I want to know is (1) will Jamie Stewart be as angry as I'm afraid he is in concert; and (2) how will they play all those instruments? There’s only one way to find out.

Image by Huy Ngo.