| A Promise | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 18, 2003 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:54 | |||
| Label | 5 Rue Christine | |||
| Xiu Xiu chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   link |
| Pitchfork | 8.6/10 link |
| PopMatters | Positive link |
| Stylus Magazine | B link |
| Tiny Mix Tapes |   link |
A Promise is the second studio album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on February 18, 2003 by 5 Rue Christine.
The track "Sad Pony Guerrilla Girl" is a reworking of a song by Jamie Stewart's previous band Ten In The Swear Jar (XITSJ), called just "Sad Girl", which first appeared on their 1999 album My Very Private Map. "Pink City" also has its roots in a two-part song from XITSJ's unreleased album Eat Death Orphans!, which was eventually published in 2003's Accordion Solo! as "Hot Karl".
The album includes a stripped-down cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car", of which Stewart said "That song really, very, very, very directly shaped how I wanted to write lyrics or what I wanted songs to be about...I wanted them to turn out in so far as the song very specifically narrates some particular horrible things that happen to somebody and there's no positive resolution in the end at all." [1]
Referring to the closing track, "Ian Curtis Wishlist", Stewart explained that "an Ian Curtis wish list is a list of things that you have convinced yourself that you want to have happen, but you know that are never going to happen." [2]
The cover art shows "a nude man kneeling on a bed and holding an upside-down baby doll". [3] The photograph was taken by Xiu Xiu frontperson Jamie Stewart, who met the photo's subject, a prostitute, at a gay cruising spot in Hanoi, Vietnam, and paid the man to take photos with the baby. [4] The original release was printed with an orange rectangle covering the man's penis, as the distributor told the band that only a tenth of the stores would carry the album without the censor. The rectangle censor was based on Todd Solondz's Storytelling , and Stewart was fine with it since "the point of the photo was him and not his dick". [3] The vinyl reissue went uncensored, and the label (Absolutely Kosher) threatened to take their business elsewhere if the manufacturer did not want to print the cover. [3]
Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork wrote that Stewart "came into his own" on A Promise. [3] A Promise is Canadian musician and 2006 Polaris Music Prize winner Owen Pallett's favorite album.
All tracks are written by Jamie Stewart, except as noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sad Pony Guerrilla Girl" | 3:18 | |
| 2. | "Apistat Commander" | 4:35 | |
| 3. | "Walnut House" | 4:41 | |
| 4. | "20,000 Deaths for Eidelyn Gonzales, 20,000 Deaths for Jamie Peterson" | 3:16 | |
| 5. | "Pink City" | 2:13 | |
| 6. | "Sad Redux-O-Grapher" | 3:19 | |
| 7. | "Blacks" | 3:14 | |
| 8. | "Brooklyn Dodgers" | 3:51 | |
| 9. | "Fast Car" | Tracy Chapman | 5:53 |
| 10. | "Ian Curtis Wishlist" | 4:33 |
Xiu Xiu is an American experimental rock band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of multi-instrumentalists Stewart, Angela Seo, and percussionist David Kendrick. The band's name comes from the film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, which has influenced the sound of their music, according to Stewart.
Fabulous Muscles is the third album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on February 17, 2004 on 5 Rue Christine. The album marked a change in the band's sound, described as a depressive mix between experimental rock and synth-pop. It is considered to be more accessible than Xiu Xiu's previous two studio albums, A Promise and Knife Play. Fabulous Muscles has received mostly positive reviews from critics.
La Forêt is the fourth studio album by Xiu Xiu, released on July 12, 2005 on 5 Rue Christine. The album features John Dieterich of Deerhoof and Devin Hoff as contributors.
Chapel of the Chimes is a 2002 EP by Xiu Xiu. It features a cover of "Ceremony", originally by Joy Division. The title of the EP is a reference to the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, California, located north of San Jose, the band's city of origin.
Life and Live is a live album by the American experimental band Xiu Xiu.
Accordion Solo! is a 2005 album by Ten in the Swear Jar. It is the band's third release under that name, a complete discography derived from all their previous releases. It is released by Asian Man Records who described it as "A collection of live recordings, "field recordings" and studio tracks with complex lyrics, beautiful melodies, and diverse instrumentation." The live tracks are acknowledged to be of imperfect quality.
Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers is the second studio album by indie rock band the National. It was released in 2003 on Brassland Records. This is the first album on which the band worked with Peter Katis, who would produce the band's next albums Alligator and Boxer.
The Air Force is the fifth album by Xiu Xiu. It was released on September 12, 2006, and is produced by Greg Saunier of Deerhoof, who also performs on the album with band members Caralee McElroy and Jamie Stewart.
Music for Tourists is an indie pop album by Chris Garneau. It was released in the year of 2007 on January 23 on the Absolutely Kosher record label.
Grouper is the solo project of American musician, artist and producer Liz Harris. She has released material on her own label and other independent labels since 2005. Grouper released the critically acclaimed Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill in 2008, followed by five more records, including a two-part album, A I A, and the piano-led album Ruins. Her twelfth album, Shade, was released in 2021.
Dear God, I Hate Myself is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Xiu Xiu released on February 23, 2010. This is their first album since the departure of Caralee McElroy. The album features new member Angela Seo on piano, synthesizer and drum programming, with production by frontman Jamie Stewart and Deerhoof's Greg Saunier. This album marked a departure from the more analogue styles of Women as Lovers and The Air Force, and shifted stylistic choices to a more chiptune style, utilizing the Nintendo DS' KORG DS-10 software to program drum and synthesizer tracks.
Former Ghosts is a project of Freddy Ruppert, former member of This Song Is a Mess But So Am I, with loose collaborations from multiple people including Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart, Zola Jesus originator Nika Roza Danilova, Yasmine Kittles of Tearist, Annie Lewandowski of Powerdove, and Carla Bozulich. Past live incarnations have included Jherek Bischoff and Sam Mickens. Ruppert is the lead songwriter on this project. The title of the debut, Fleurs, is a reference to the white-flowered iris.
Barely Real is the 1992 extended play (EP) by the American indie rock band Codeine. After releasing their previous album Frigid Stars LP in 1990, the group accepted an invitation from the quartet Bastro to tour in Europe in 1991. Following the tour the group was invited to record a single for Sub Pop Singles Club and attempted to record their follow-up album The White Birch in 1992. The recording sessions proved to be disastrous for the group since it found themselves often with unusable tracks over several different studios. As Codeine could not record enough material for a full-length album, they decided to release what tracks they had as an EP.
Always is the eighth studio album by Xiu Xiu, released on February 28, 2012.
James Stewart is an American musician and writer best known for their role in experimental rock band Xiu Xiu. They have appeared in other bands, including XXL, Former Ghosts, and Sal Mineo.
Angel Guts: Red Classroom is the ninth studio album by Xiu Xiu, released on February 4, 2014. It was released in the US via Polyvinyl Records and in the UK via Bella Union. The album was recorded in the Los Angeles home studio of frontman Jamie Stewart, and in the Dallas, Texas studio of producer John Congleton.
Plays the Music of Twin Peaks is a tribute album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu. Composed of cover versions of the music from the Twin Peaks soundtrack, it was released exclusively as a Record Store Day release on April 16, 2016, by Polyvinyl in the United States and Bella Union in Europe. It was produced by former Xiu Xiu member Jherek Bischoff and mixed by Deerhoof member Greg Saunier.
Girl with Basket of Fruit is the eleventh studio album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on February 8, 2019. It follows the band's 2017 album Forget and was co-produced by member Angela Seo and Deerhoof's Greg Saunier. The album is supported by the lead single "Scisssssssors", which was released with an accompanying music video. A second single, entitled "Pumpkin Attack on Mommy and Daddy", was also released with a music video on January 15, 2019.
Oh No is the twelfth studio album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu. It was released on March 26, 2021, via Polyvinyl. It is described as a "duets album". Its lead single, "A Bottle of Rum" featuring Liz Harris was released on January 27, 2021.
Hyunhye Seo, professionally known as Angela Seo, is an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist best known for her role in American experimental band Xiu Xiu. Seo joined Xiu Xiu in 2009, and has contributed to every studio project by the band since The Air Force. The first album contributed to by Seo as a member of Xiu Xiu was 2010's Dear God, I Hate Myself. Seo has also played in the bands Deal$ and XXL, amongst playing on songs by Holy Hum and Blind Cave Salamander.
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