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Its no mystery that the bands most focused, intelligible, and pop-oriented record is also its best.
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Profound, innovative, and absolutely vital.
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The WireIt's exhilarating and rare to hear such bruised raw performances as these. [#242, p.71]
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They now trade in a world of startlingly bleak, matte-black liquid-crystal experimental pop perfection pitched somewhere between John Cage's frightening austerity and the bittersweet squall of Swell Maps. Art-pop doesn't get any more accessible than this.
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Even if you haven't liked the group in the past, you might very well find yourself won over by Fabulous Muscles.
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Alternative PressXiu Xiu nail their nebulous mix of new wave and post-punk gloom, but also lace their tunes with uncompromising experimentation and emotion. [Apr 2004, p.88]
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The type of minimalism employed by Xiu Xiu creates masterpieces of avant-garde restraint that truly haunt the mind.
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Listening to Xiu Xiu, we become nosy neighbors with our ears pressed against the wall separating us from lives infinitely more fascinating and tragic than our own.
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Fabulous Muscles contains some of the band's best songs since Knife Play.
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UrbUltimately, Xiu Xiu builds something sacred from tiny moments of pain. [Jun 2004, p.90]
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Angry, desperate, and bleak, but this time coupled with a sense of hope and compassion, Fabulous Muscles is a major step forward for Jamie Stewart and Xiu Xiu.
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Much like the musical equivalent of Todd Solondz or Harmony Korine, Xiu Xiu set out to disturb their audience in pursuit of higher artistic goals.
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Sonically, it's well-tempered between its beat-driven and its acoustic pieces; lyrically, a unique, personal pain drips out from Stewart's whispered vocals, providing the driving force of Muscles' challenging, diverse ensemble.
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Musically, Fabulous Muscles is Xiu Xiu's finest hour.
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The A.V. ClubIt's harrowing and difficult, but occasionally insightful enough to be powerfully gravitational. [24 Mar 2004]
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MojoA disorienting work somewhere between Scott Walker, Joy Division and Matmos. [May 2004, p.105]
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My problem with Stewart, his band, and the new Fabulous Muscles is that all too often his desire to provoke seems like an affectation.
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The musical parsimony, cultural insularity, moral certitude, and histrionic affectations of these lo-fi artier-than-thous promise indie ideologues whole lifetimes of egoistic irrelevance.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 25 out of 27
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Mixed: 0 out of 27
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Negative: 2 out of 27
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Aug 16, 2012
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AramisGFeb 23, 2005
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tweedledeeMar 18, 2004Jamie gets better every time. I luv the cd OH!