By Jesse Cataldo
The figure of the shock rocker has a long, glorious history in the lexicon of modern music. Iggy Pop defecated onstage, GG Allin attacked the audience and threatened immediate suicide, Marilyn Manson cut himself with shards of broken glass. Slight, articulate, and mild mannered, Jamie Stewart seems to have little in common with these volatile Molotov cocktails of shamelessness and rebellion. Ultimately, this is due to the fact that the former frontman and now sole member of Xiu Xiu is less concerned with aesthetic than with actual lyrical and musical content.
Stewart is the musical equivalent of Chuck Palahniuk, shaping his songs into stories that are both bizarre and disturbing. Writing first person narratives from the perspectives of prostitutes, homosexuals and battered wives is a staple of Stewart’s portfolio. The standout example here is the title track, an acoustic ode to an abusive homosexual lover that is both unpleasant and disgustingly profane. It is off-putting, yet it’s just catchy and accessible enough to keep you listening.
One of the band’s biggest strengths is the range of Stewart’s voice. It is a wildly multifarious instrument, able to convey a variety of emotions while changing volume, pitch and tempo on a dime. In fact, Stewart’s jarring, unexpected scream on “I Love the Valley” may be the album’s single finest moment. The whispered delivery on “Mike,” a swan song for Stewart’s recently deceased father, only makes the weighty sadness of the track that much more effective
The most shocking song on the album is “Support Our Troops (Black Angels OH!),” which stands out as being possibly the first song to slander rather than praise our troops in Iraq. The song is a horrifying piece, delivered in monotone spoken word, which starts out floating in harsh, discordant noise, progresses to a series of chopped up trumpet solos and climaxes with an absolutely frightening string buildup.
The ultimate strength of the album and Xiu Xiu in general is its ability to be both shocking and relevant. This is a fine balance and while Stewart did it better on A Promise and Knife Play, that doesn’t make Fabulous Muscles a bad album.