Named after 1998’s Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (directed by Twin Peaks’ Joan Chen), San Jose, California trio Xiu Xiu have an astonishing fifteen full-length records to their name, of which Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1 (Polyvinyl Records) is the latest. Continue reading
Graves, Release Your Dead (Svart Records) is the latest album from Finland’s vampire-admiring (maybe “obsessed” is the word) The Coffinshakers. According to the band’s online blurb, they’ve been making horror comedy since 1995. Now if that feels like rather a long time to be riding this fairly simple gimmick, well it’s just a fleeting moment for a night walker, eh?
Deepak Raghu is an extremely diverse, creative entity. His previous forays into Rock and Metal have embraced many outlying elements such as Americana, Folk, and Soul: on Nothing Works Vol 2: Hymns for Useless Gods (Unheard Music), his latest outing with solo project The Earth Below, he melds those traditional sounds with melodic weight, in turn baffling and eventually ensnaring the senses. Continue reading