Pitchfork

Photo by Kathryn Yu

Boy sopranos and sad pony guerilla girls, rejoice: Women As Lovers, the latest LP from the weirdest of all warblers Jamie Stewart and his Xiu Xiu, can be yours January 29 from Kill Rock Stars.

The Lovers sessions were held between what has of late become the definitive Xiu Xiu lineup: Stewart of course, longtime collaborator Caralee McElroy, Ches Smith on drums, and Devin Hoff on bass. The disc-- which features previously mentioned contributions from Deerhoof's John Dieterich, Swans/Angels of Light's Michael Gira, and saxophonist Howard Wiley, plus mixing from Deerhoof's Greg Saunier-- purports itself to be "more approachable or communicative on a basic human level" than any Xiu Xiu banger that's proceeded it, which we're guessing means at least a 15% increase in the "empassioned yelp" quotient. Should be fun!

In other Xiu Xiu news, that Polaroid book of theirs just got bumped back to next month. Can't rush art, I suppose.

Women as Lovers:

01 I Do What I Want When I Want
02 In Lust You Can Hear the Axe Fall
03 F.T.W.
04 No Friend Oh!
05 Guantanamo Canto
06 Under Pressure [ft. Michael Gira]
07 Black Keyboard
08 Master of the Bump (Kurt Stumbaugh, I Can Feel the Soil Falling Over My Head)
09 You Are Pregnant, You Are Dead
10 The Leash
11 Child at Arms
12 Puff and Bunny
13 White Nerd
14 Gayle Lynn