Oh No

by Xiu Xiu

Overview

Nearly everyone, musicians included, longed for connection in 2020, but not many incorporated it into their work as purposefully as Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo. Following 2019's Girl with a Basket of Fruit, several of Stewart's personal and professional relationships ended suddenly, spurring him to reach out to some of his nearest and dearest friends, many of whom join him and Seo on Oh No's duets. While some of Xiu Xiu's finest songs have featured other vocalists alongside Stewart, more often they've excelled at music that embodies alienation and isolation in ways that make their fans feel less alone in their own lives. On Oh No, Seo and Stewart put a little bit of hope in companionship and humanity, and the results are more than merely therapeutic. These collaborations present a calmer, more introspective incarnation of Xiu Xiu than the one that appeared on Girl with a Basket of Fruit, but the band never sound complacent. Frequently, Stewart, Seo, and their guests play with the different ways two voices can complement each other within a song. On "Sad Mezcalita," Stewart and Sharon Van Etten's exchanges resemble a conversation, even as the song's choruses reach for the heavens; on "I Cannot Resist," Stewart's shaky but resilient calls are met by responses from a majestic choir of voices including Drab Majesty's Deb Demure; and on "Saint Dymphna," the intertwining of Stewart's voice with Twin Shadow's George Lewis, Jr. makes for one of the album's loveliest moments. Of course, it wouldn't be a Xiu Xiu album without some boundary pushing. With Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo, the band focus on the most experimental aspects of their music on "A Classic Screw," and the riot of noise that tears through the album's title track (a collaboration with actor/director Susanne Sachsse) becomes liberating. The heartache from the separations that sparked the album reverberates throughout all of Oh No, but reaches a peak on the caustic version of the Cure's "One Hundred Years," which finds Stewart and Chelsea Wolfe magnifying the anguish of the original. Several other pairings are nearly as inspired: Angus Andrew brings some of Liars' knotty percussion and angular outbursts to "Rumpus Room," while the Owen Pallett duet "I Dream of Someone Else Entirely" is one of the more graceful songs here. All of Xiu Xiu's collaborators honor the bravery and vulnerability of their music, and as Oh No comes to a close, its feeling of hopefulness grows with "A Bottle of Rum," a radiant duet with Grouper's Liz Harris. Embodying hard times as well as the way friends lift each other out of them, Oh No also exemplifies the drama, mystery, and deeply felt emotions that have made Xiu Xiu a vital musical force for decades. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	03/26/2021
Label:	Polyvinyl
UPC:	0644110042613
Rank:	59748

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Xiu Xiu   Primary Artist
Shearwater   Primary Artist
Greg Saunier   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Cymbals,Sampling,Synthesizer,Guitar (Bass),Featured Artist
Owen Pallett   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Chelsea Wolfe   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Liars   Primary Artist
Liz Harris   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Sharon Van Etten   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Alice Bag   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Twin Shadow   Primary Artist,Vocals,Saxophone,Featured Artist
Angela Seo   Primary Artist,Gong,Piano,Vocals,Harmonium,Percussion,Featured Artist,Synthesizer Bass
Haley Fohr   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Drab Majesty   Primary Artist
Susanne Sachsse   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Valerie Diaz   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Charlie Looker   Guitar,Guitar (Bass)
John Congleton   Optigan,Synthesizer
Jherek Bischoff   Double Bass
Angus Andrew   Vocals,Featured Artist
Jonathan Meiburg   Vocals,Animal Sounds,Featured Artist
David Kendrick   Bongos,Percussion
Gwendolyn Sanford   Vocals
Zachary Dawes   Double Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Jamie Stewart   Banjo,Organ,Viola,Guitar,Vocals,Autoharp,Mandolin,Sampling,Xylophone,Percussion,Stylophone,Bajo Quinto,Synthesizer,Guitar (Bass)
Deb Demure   Vocals,Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Greg Saunier   Engineer,Producer
The Cure   Composer
Owen Pallett   Engineer
Angus Andrew   Engineer
Alan Douches   Mastering
Lawrence English   Producer
Dan Duszynski   Engineer
Xiu Xiu   Design,Composer
Brandon Jay   Engineer
Dirk Dresselhaus   Engineer
George Lewis Jr.   Engineer
Justin Higgins   Engineer
Paul Beauchamp   Engineer
Angela Seo   Producer
Haley Fohr   Engineer
Ben Chisholm   Engineer
Jamie Stewart   Engineer
Danelle Abad   Design