Aging can change a person, and drive them mad; it can destroy or create beauty, and it can do both. Xiu Xiu has never been a conventional act, and they haven't pretended to be. Some of their records throughout the band's discography have been more accessible than others, while some have been completely unlistenable to an audience that isn't deeply interested in experimental music. From catchy tunes like "I Luv the Valley OH!" to an album made entirely from vibrators attached to a public monument, Xiu Xiu isn't an artist content with doing the same thing twice.
Girl with Basket of Fruit is full of pulsating synthesizers and manic ramblings from frontman Jamie Stewart. I don't feel that the group had set out to create a cohesive song anywhere on this album, but instead they sought to express madness in the best way that they knew they could. After all, it wouldn't truly be a manic breakdown if it really made complete sense all the way through. It's different from the also manic Angel Guts: Red Classroom because it's significantly more chaotic. This new album shows the band in an incredibly vulnerable state, and a standoffish one as well. Were this record a human being, it'd be a strange, filthy, perpetually nude and violent one. One that you wouldn't befriend, but maybe one that you'd watch in awe from afar.
The two singles and the opening title track are the ones that I'd mark as the most expressive songs on the album. "Scisssssssors" is something of an outburst that dabbles in multiple genres at once. "Pumpkin Attack on Mommy and Daddy" was the second single, which relies on a singular repetitive kick pattern that carries the song on its back from beginning to end. The opener, "Girl with Basket of Fruit," utilizes some of the same techniques as "Pumpkin...," but in a more curious fashion. There are moments on it in which you almost feel like Jamie might be okay, but he quickly puts those theories to rest with the more time you spend on the record. "Amargi ve Moo" is one of the most interesting songs on the record, because the instrumental is so dark and subtle, it serves to leave the vocals as the focal point. It erects what is my favorite vocal performance on here, and the lyrics are poetically frightful.
The lyrics here speak for themselves, and invoke critical thought and reflection even in their frequent moments of absurdity. The first verse on the record features the iconic "The baby duck in you has died / Push it out and F-word a duck / It's a bad time to be a duck." The second song is appropriately titled "It Comes Out as a Joke," which I believe reflects on the almost-humorous lyrics that the album provides. At this point in Xiu Xiu's career, I know Stewart isn't writing lyrics for the sake of writing them; I'm not drafting this write-up as an interpretation piece, but I do heavily recommend that you read into the lyrics further. The album provides some lyrically straightforward songs, which isn't expected once you're a few tracks in due to the record's cryptic beginnings. Tracks such as "Mary Turner Mary Turner" are as thought-provoking as they are gut-wrenching. It's perhaps the most emotional song on here, and with the subject matter being based on the 1918 lynchings of an African-American couple, it can cause even the most calloused listener to reflect on America's history and culture.
Immaculate production adds to all of the songs on here, and causes them to shine in ways that they wouldn't quite be able to on their own. The music is sporadic, but it's never muddy. The low end is easily separable from the high end, without much low-mid energy present. In other words, you can hear every disgusting, deranged thing that's going on. There are moments mixed in that do allow you to breathe, especially the closing track. At the end of the album you're able to reflect on what you've heard while a melody is played on the keys. That song isn't particularly pleasant either, but it's subtle enough to let you ruminate.
2019 is beginning to solidify itself as a year for even more experimentation for many of my favorite artists, and I'm beyond excited about that. Of course, Xiu Xiu formed as an experimental act, but after 2017's Forget, this new album is completely left-field. It's full of so many unexpected moments, that when something remotely conventional occurs, it'll take you by surprise. The record isn't entirely void of melodies that'll get stuck in your head; I'd say that there are plenty of moments that allow this. Xiu Xiu has always allowed their music to be unforgettable in virtually every way, and Girl with Basket of Fruit continues that pattern in its own style. It's an intriguing release from a band whose selling point is the idea of being intriguing, so it would theoretically be easy for Xiu Xiu to disappoint their fans, but they always manage to be miles ahead of everyone else; and thus, are always predictably unpredictable.
Girl with Basket of Fruit is a lot of things. It's chaotic, but never uncontrollable; it's hostile, but never argumentative; it's disorderly, but never purposeless. This is a fine, welcome addition to a huge discography of a band that continues to age like wine despite their frequency of music output. Like the majority of their albums, it's addictive, and it's sure to be in heavy rotation until they release something of equal magnitude. This record may have been forged in an insane asylum, but you'll certainly be a prisoner to its will.
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