Fabulous Muscles

VINYL FORMAT. Lovely handmade packaging from Rob Fisk of Free Porcupine Society (and Deerhoof fame) for Xiu Xiu's latest album. At once dark, complex, impossibly honest, but somehow simple, "Fabulous Muscles" is direct and almost accessible in terms of its minimalist-pop appeal. Written on the heels of huge upheavals and personal changes, the record has less of a dance influence and more of a pop and academic/experimental feel. Sounds are used to rhythmically push some songs forward in a top-40 way, but using fewer straight beats. Noise restrictions also led to more use of single, quiet acoustic instruments. This record is the most pop Xiu Xiu record, and the most experimental. An important record.