Xiu Xiu – Dear God, I Hate Myself (2010) [Kill Rock Stars] // Grade: B+

Jamie Stewart may be standing on his tippy-toes to reach post-modern Morrissey status, but here’s the problem: no matter how polarizing our precious Moz has always been, Stewart is even more so. There’s no gray area with Xiu Xiu; you either hysterically love or totally fucking hate them and if you belong to the latter camp, you’re probably no stranger to being called a snob who just doesn’t get it.

Well, alright. Fine. I probably am a snob and no, I’ve never understood the appeal. I don’t think Jamie Stewart is particularly poignant or funny. I don’t find his voice evocative. And I resent how easily his melodrama seems to elicit references to Robert Smith and Ian Curtis because the comparison, when you get down to it, is completely baseless. The Cure and Joy Division weren’t the sound of someone wallowing in their misery; they were the raucous, bloody noise of the desperate fight against it. Curtis may have lost his battle in the most tragic possible way, but he fucking fought, man—and that’s what made those songs so chilling. Stewart, to me, always seemed too damned content to whine and roll over.

And yet, it’s funny: I don’t hate Dear God, I Hate Myself. Not that Xiu Xiu’s seventh album marks some new, overwhelmingly sincere territory, but it does make proper use of Stewart’s affectations. See, such a cartoonish sad-sack makes the most sense backed by music that feels like a grand, gilded production and, thanks in part to new keyboardist Angela Seo (Caralee McElroy left to join Cold Cave), most of Dear God drifts around a smoother, bigger version of the weirdo experi-pop Xiu Xiu’s known for. Bouncy jams like “Chocolate Makes You Happy” and “This Too Shall Pass Away” are so catchy and well-produced, they might be the best things Xiu Xiu’s done, and the textural, crashing “Hyunhe’s Theme” is legitimately evocative—albeit in a showy, affected way. And honestly, some of those affectations I can get behind; Stewart’s sure to catch some shit for producing several songs, title track included, on a Nintendo DS, but have you ever played with the music programs on that thing? They’re so fun, some of them so thorough, you’d be silly not to at least try it.

The trick to Dear God, especially for those of us who’ve spent a lot of time hating Xiu Xiu, is to just accept the melodrama, ‘cause let me tell you: it’s not going away. Stewart’s got way too much hubris to ever scale back his provocation, so you’ve got to sort of listen around it—and this time, there’s plenty to listen for. Rad, glitchy production. The way synths explode, scream and recede. Hell, “Cumberland Gap” even has this gorgeous little banjo thing happening, proof positive that Xiu Xiu’s unafraid to exploit the stuff that makes a good song great. Finally, an album that falls in line with the character Stewart’s been honing—even if that character is still a little obnoxious.

- Rue Sauvage