FUCK YEAH!!! The second full-length from San Jose suicide rockers, A Promise is truly an expression of the state of being sad and dangerous. With Jamie Stewart’s lyrics and voice leading the intensity and despair, most songs begin with quiet drum loops and are cathartically accented with noisy, twangy, harsh synth interludes. Amidst all the sarcasm and brutality, Xiu Xiu still manage to maintain a healthy pop aesthetic that only makes the climaxes even more effective. Perhaps too melodramatic for some, this is still really fucking great. Think also of The Cure, Arab Strap, Joy Division. 2, 4, 7, 1.

1. acoustic number with a great melodramatic chorus
2. begins w/ quiet beat + whispers, then cathartic noisy cure
3. sparse sounds, piano, calm voice; sudden last minute of noise
4. nostalgic & sweet with steady synth metallophones and beat
5. trebly, noisy synth and keys with mumbling voice
6. a quiet song. soft synth effects, cello, despairing vocals
7. catchy pop song with loud, twangy gamelan interlude. really great!
8. haunting, mid-tempo cathartic noise with drum machine
9. cover of tracy chapman! quiet acoustic + falsetto
10. warm strings with anguished, violent voice.