| Knife Play | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 19, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 2001–2002 | |||
| Studio | Unknown studio (San Jose, California) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:14 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Jamie Stewart | |||
| Xiu Xiu chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.3/10) [2] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | (4/5) [3] |
Knife Play is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Xiu Xiu, released on February 19, 2002.
A sticker on the cover of the album reads "When my mom died I listened to Henry Cowell, Joy Division, Detroit techno, the Smiths, Takemitsu, Sabbath, Gamelan, Black Angels and Cecil Taylor". [2] [4] The title is a reference to knife play. Noted themes include familial dysfunction, violence and despair; "Hives Hives" is a cover of the IBOPA song "Hives" that references AIDS and HIV, and "Dr. Troll" is about a young transgender girl who teaches a class of preschoolers. "Suha" is about the titular 25-year-old woman, and features lyrics describing how Suha wants to commit suicide by cop. "Luber" is about a child named Luber who Jamie Stewart encountered buying Smashing Pumpkins records while working at a record store in San Jose. "Poe Poe" is about a sugar daddy, "I Broke Up (SJ)" is about the violent breakup of a relationship, "Don Diasco" is named after Don Dias, former member of Ten in the Swear Jar. "Homonculus" is about someone who was romantically interested with Xiu Xiu member at the time Yvonne Chen. [5]
Christopher Dare, writing for Pitchfork, though noting that "many who've bought the album for [the listed] influences aren't prepared for his tantrums", stated that the album "makes you reevaluate your opinion on what emotions music has the right to explore." [2]
Knife Play was initially issued on CD by 5 Rue Christine and LP by Absolutely Kosher Records. The CD packaging features a two-page comic, illustrating an unnamed girl awake at 4:01 AM mourning a hospitalized loved one who was involved in an accident. The comic takes place over three hours, and the final panel is the unnamed girl holding her face in her hands on her bed. [6]
The first LP release, by Absolutely Kosher, was a 12" black vinyl record in a paper inner sleeve wrapped in a 35" by 23" newsprint sleeve. This issue did not come with a standard LP cover. [7] Knife Play was issued on CD and LP by Tomlab in Germany in 2003. Knife Play was also remastered and repressed by Absolutely Kosher in 2003, this time in the same design as the newsprint sleeve, but the sleeve itself was printed on standard heavyweight paper. The back cover features a calendar with a fictional month, 28 days and 8 days to the week, resulting in four days at the end not assigned to one of the three previous weeks. The first day of the week is unnamed, while the next seven follow the convention: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. [8]
In 2014, Stoned to Death reissued Knife Play on cassette tape in a limited edition of 100 copies. [9] In 2017, Graveface Records reissued Knife Play on vinyl with a bonus 7". The bonus 7" featured a live version of "I Broke Up (SJ)" and an acoustic version of "Don Diasco". This issue also features printed lyrics and a note from Jamie Stewart regarding the production, recording and publishing of Knife Play. [10]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don Diasco" | 2:54 |
| 2. | "I Broke Up (SJ)" | 2:20 |
| 3. | "Luber" | 4:02 |
| 4. | "Hives Hives" | 3:42 |
| 5. | "Dr. Troll" | 3:54 |
| 6. | "Over Over" | 4:05 |
| 7. | "Anne Dong" | 4:51 |
| 8. | "Suha" | 4:57 |
| 9. | "Poe Poe" | 3:40 |
| 10. | "Homonculus" | 3:20 |
| 11. | "Tonite and Today (What Chu' Talkin' 'Bout)" | 5:22 |
Xiu Xiu
Additional musicians
Production
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.
A Promise is the second studio album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on February 18, 2003 by 5 Rue Christine.
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.
Orchestral Favorites is an album by Frank Zappa, released in May 1979 on his own DiscReet Records label. The album is entirely instrumental and features music performed by the 37-piece Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra. It reached No .168 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States.
Bird Bones in the Bughouse is the second EP from The Dead Science, released in 2004 on Absolutely Kosher Records. It includes a cover of Terence Trent D'Arby's "Sign Your Name" featuring Jamie Stewart on back-up vocals.
Caralee McElroy is a Brooklyn-based American multi-instrumentalist who has played in the bands Xiu Xiu, XXL, and Cold Cave.
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.
Remixed & Covered is a 2007 double album by Xiu Xiu. One disc contains cover versions of the band's songs, whilst the other contains remixes of their originals.
Gleaming Spires was an American new wave pop group in the 1980s.
"Birthday" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic band the Sugarcubes. It was released as a single in 1987, and included in their 1988 debut album Life's Too Good. It was their first international single and the first single released from the album. The Icelandic version, "Ammæli", was released on the Iceland-only single "Einn Mol'á Mann" the previous year, and it was included as the B-side on the international single and on the frontwoman Björk's box set Family Tree (2002).
Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits is the second album by Belgian avant-rock band Aksak Maboul. It was recorded at Sunrise Studio in Kirchberg, Switzerland in February and August 1979, and released on LP in January 1980 on founding member Marc Hollander's Belgian independent record label, Crammed Discs. At the time the band had changed the spelling of their name to "Aqsak Maboul", and this is reflected on the album's record sleeve. When the album was re-issued on CD in 1995 the spelling of their name reverted to "Aksak Maboul".
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.
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.
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.
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.
Forget is the tenth studio album by experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on February 24, 2017. Produced by John Congleton, Greg Saunier, and Angela Seo, it features contributions from Charlemagne Palestine, Kristof Hahn, Vaginal Davis, and Enyce Smith.
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.
