| Forget | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 24, 2017 | |||
| Studio | Nurse | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:57 | |||
| Label | Polyvinyl | |||
| Producer | John Congleton, Greg Saunier, Angela Seo | |||
| Xiu Xiu chronology | ||||
| ||||
Forget (stylized in all caps) is the tenth studio album by experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on February 24, 2017. [3] Produced by John Congleton, Greg Saunier, and Angela Seo, it features contributions from Charlemagne Palestine, Kristof Hahn, Vaginal Davis, and Enyce Smith. [3]
The album cover bears Arabic calligraphy that translates to "we forget". Xiu Xiu leader Jamie Stewart has stated that the album cover has no meaning besides that "it looks beautiful" and is not meant as a political statement: "in hoping to depoliticize it, I suppose that it becomes political." [4] "Petite" and "Faith, Torn Apart" are about women used in sex trafficking on Backpage.
The title was further explained by Stewart: “To forget uncontrollably embraces the duality of human frailty. It is a rebirth in blanked out renewal but it also drowns and mutilates our attempt to hold on to what is dear.” [5]
In a press release, the album was marketed as the band's "most direct engagement with pop music". [6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.1/10 [7] |
| Metacritic | 78/100 [8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The A.V. Club | B [9] |
| Drowned In Sound | 8/10 [10] |
| The Irish Times | [11] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 [12] |
| Pitchfork | 6.4/10 [13] |
| PopMatters |   [14] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | [15] |
| Under The Radar | [16] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [8]
Andrew Paschal of PopMatters gave the album 8 stars out of 10, calling it "one of Xiu Xiu's poppiest and most accessible works to date". [14]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Call" | 3:17 |
| 2. | "Queen of the Losers" | 4:23 |
| 3. | "Wondering" | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Get Up" | 5:00 |
| 5. | "Hay Choco Bananas" | 3:48 |
| 6. | "Jenny GoGo" | 3:57 |
| 7. | "At Last, At Last" | 3:12 |
| 8. | "Forget" | 4:11 |
| 9. | "Petite" | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Faith, Torn Apart" | 7:56 |
| Total length: | 43:57 | |
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Vinyl Albums ( Billboard ) [17] | 24 |
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 Chinese film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, which has influenced the sound of their music, according to Stewart.
Fabulous Muscles is the third studio 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.
Knife Play is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Xiu Xiu, released on February 19, 2002.
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.
The Air Force is the fifth studio album by Xiu Xiu. It was released on September 12, 2006 and was produced by Greg Saunier of Deerhoof, who also performs on the album with band members Caralee McElroy and Jamie Stewart.
Holdypaws is the second album by the indie rock band Deerhoof. It was released in 1999 on Kill Rock Stars, and reissued on vinyl by the same label on November 22, 2019, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Deerhoof. Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, a band that has worked with Deerhoof's Greg Saunier, has praised this album, saying "I had never heard anything like it before. It completely blew my mind and changed the way I thought about what music could be." Henry Rollins has praised this album, in addition to the band's EP Green Cosmos, saying "it gets the blood going. What a band."
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 band leader 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.
This is a selective list of American experimental band Xiu Xiu's discography.
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 lead vocalist 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.
The Glowing Man is the fourteenth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans, released on June 17, 2016 on Young God and Mute. It is considered the third and final part of a three-album "trilogy", the other two parts being The Seer and To Be Kind.
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.
Leaving Meaning is the fifteenth studio album by American experimental band Swans. It was released October 25, 2019 on Young God and Mute. A double album, Leaving Meaning's songs have been mixed separately for vinyl and CD releases, with the CD version of the album containing the original mixes of the songs, as well as an additional track, "Some New Things". As with all Swans' releases of the 2010s, Leaving Meaning was financed by a fundraiser album – in this case, What Is This? in March 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.
Kristof Hahn is a German guitarist, composer and translator.
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.
Ignore Grief is the thirteenth studio album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on March 3, 2023, by Polyvinyl. It was written by band leader Jamie Stewart and new member David Kendrick. It was produced by fellow member Angela Seo, and recorded by Stewart at their home studio in Los Angeles, alongside a wide array of guest musicians including Charlie Looker, Ben Chisholm, Ezra Buchla, Patrick Shiroishi and Ian Wellman. The album artwork was designed by Janelle Abad, and depicts a white bat over a black background.
