Pitchfork

Way back in the idyllic days of May, whilst taking a break from frolicking through some meadow full of flowers in bloom, we brought you the dirt on Xiu Xiu: The Polaroid Project: The Book. Now the flowers are dead, the meadow has become a Starbucks, and the month of September-- when said tome was said to arrive-- has come and gone. So what the hell, Pitchfork?

Easy, my friend! Xiu Xiu: The Polaroid Project: The Book is still coming out. It's still being published by Mark Batty. It still collects a bunch of David Horvitz's Polaroids, from the sensational to the mundane, documenting Xiu Xiu on the road. It still contains commentary from such folks as Deerhoof's Greg Saunier, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone's Owen Ashworth, Barr, and members of Xiu Xiu. And it still comes bundled with a bonus CD compilation of mostly new tracks, as well as field recordings by Horvitz.

All that's changed, really, is the release month (now November 2007) and the cover (depicted above). Oh, and the bonus CD-- called A Soundtrack for a Polaroid of Two Trees in Indiana-- now has a tracklist, boasting previously mentioned winners like Casiotone, Yellow Swans, Parenthetical Girls, Grouper, Barr, This Song Is a Mess but So Am I, the Dead Science's Jherek Bischoff (who also mastered the disc), High Places' Mary Pearson (sister of a former Pitchfork staffer, truth told), and Xiu Xiu themselves. Catch that below.

Xiu Xiu's next LP and Air Force follow-up is still due early next year, with more details expected to come to light very, very soon. For now, if you dare, check out the rather ridiculous and fairly offensive "tracklist" Jamie Stewart posted on the Xiu Xiu site/blog. So NSFW.

Their CMJ showing now the stuff of memory, Xiu Xiu have no dates presently scheduled. Although if these Polaroids provide any indication of the fun these guys have on the road, we reckon they'll return there soon enough.

A Soundtrack for a Polaroid of Two Trees in Indiana:

01 Xiu Xiu: "Doris Improv III"
02 David Horvitz: "Blue Dicks [AZ]"
03 This Song Is a Mess but So Am I: "Driving Canada 3am Moose on the Loose"
04 David Horvitz: "Lilac [MI]"
05 Parenthetical Girls: "David and the Wolf"
06 David Horvitz: "Beech Drops [FL]"
07 Barr: "B Side Is Silent"
08 David Horvitz: "Fairy Duster [AZ]"
09 David Horvitz: "Bog Rose [NC]"
10 Grouper: "Second Wind / Zombie Skin"
11 David Horvitz: "Goldenrod [NC]"
12 David Horvitz: "Salam Hale Shoma / Ferrocaril"
13 Ches Smith (of Xiu Xiu): "Folk Song"
14 David Horvitz: "Shepherd's Purse [KY]"
15 David Horvitz: "Spiderwort [FL]"
16 Mary Pearson (of High Places): "Green Tea at Denny's"
17 David Horvitz: "Beard Tongue [WA]"
18 Jherek Bischoff (of the Dead Science): "IMOC"
19 David Horvitz: "The Mentors Go to School"
20 Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: "Instrumental"
21 Yellow Swans: "Bring It All Back Home"
22 David Horvitz: "Cat's Ear [OR]"