La Forêt

To hear Xiu Xiu is to be shaken, disturbed, and shown something original. Jamie Stewart sings haunted and tortured, though always with a sense of humor somewhere below the poisoned blood. "La Foret" is his most harrowing and beautiful to date, waltzing between acoustic parts so intimate you can hear his shoe scooting on the studio floor as he inches closer to the mic, and pounding dark-wave thunderstorms where electronics go Mogwai loud and Jamie screams over the hissing, spitting deluge. It's the type of record that leaves you seasick. Give your heart to the darkness; the rewards are immense.