Since I first heard Knife Play in 2001 I've been one of Xiu Xiu's most adamant supporters. I was and am still convinced that Jamie Stewart is one of a small group of people doing new and interesting things with conventional pop/rock structures and idioms. It was so refreshing to hear a band (or what now seems to be one person with a rotating cast of others) that was able to subvert our expectations of what a pop song should be while still making a powerful emotional and social statement. Gongs were struck, synthesizers were made to sound in ways that were familiar but totally fresh, and blunt lyrics coupled with over the top singing made us cringe in just the right way. In short, the Xiu Xiu records were beautifully produced. Then with the release of Fag Patrol it became painfully clear that Stewart is not only a brilliant arranger of bombastic and confrontational music but also equally capable in the barest and most naked of settings, re-recording many of his older songs with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and his voice. With the release of A Promise and Fag Patrol Jamie Stewart secured a place as a vital and important talent. So what happens now?
Fabulous Muscles is easily the most clear and realized manifestation of Stewart's imagination so far but is, oddly enough, also the most inconsistent. The problem isn't with the songs themselves -- it's in the track sequencing. An album full of good songs can be totally subverted by a poor ordering and that's exactly what happens here. The opening tracks "Crank Heart" and "I Luv the Valley OH!" are two of the strongest songs I'll hear in 2004 and then, suddenly, "Bunny Gamer" comes on and it sounds as if the album starts over. The energy and tension built up in the first two tracks disappears only to be followed with the most formless (not a criticism) song on the record, "Little Panda McElroy". Things drastically slow down and it causes me to feel somewhat restless because I'm still thinking about the first two songs and wanting more. Then comes "Support the Troops OH! (Black Angels OH!)", an anti-war rant on par with some of the more radical 16 year olds I've come across. I could write at length about how stupid and immature the lyrics to this song are but I'll spare us all the grief and leave it at this: If you're going to advocate peace then perhaps you shouldn't be using rhetoric like, "Why should I care if you get killed?" I suppose I shouldn't be surprised since the string quartet he needlessly references in the title is a shallow anti-war protest itself. It's offensive to both sides of the war protest and helps neither.
After the smoke clears the album continues with a new, even more stripped down version of the er... fabulous song "Fabulous Muscles" followed by "Brian The Vampire", a rousing but ultimately forgettable tune. I'm still thinking of the first two songs. Things finally return to form on "Nieces Pieces". The weak and feeble trombone playing suits the song perfectly and proves to be a much more fitting accompaniment to such devastating lyrics than the lush double bass playing found on Fag Patrol. "Clowne Towne" exhibits Xiu Xiu's further leanings toward pop music and is the most conventional but also most affecting thing they've done to date. The album closes with "Mike", an account of his father's death that is touching but ultimately, due to the understated and bland composition of the song, fizzles out rather than leaving a lasting impression like the arresting closer of A Promise, "Ian Curtis Wishlist".
It sounds like I don't like this album very much, but even with it's many shortcomings, Fabulous Muscles is still wrapped up in the same overstated emotions and innovative arrangements that make earlier albums stand out as true originals. Many of the songs are among the best Stewart has ever written but a sagging middle and a few major missteps is enough for me to remember the album as a speed bump rather than a mountain.
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