Xiu Xiu release deluxe edition of Xiu Mutha Fuckin' Xiu: Vol. 1 with new covers
XMFX V1. (Deluxe Edition) cover art
Praise for Xiu Xiu and Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1 Released January 16th on Polyvinyl:
“As with all good cover compilations, this collection reveals something about Xiu Xiu’s tastes, moods, and intentions. Combining mischievous surprises with the expected darkness shows that this lovelorn trio still like a little play to accompany their cutting sounds.” - Bandcamp (Album of the Day)
“Xiu Xiu have made a brave record… their new world is so big they couldn’t fit it all on the album proper.” - The Quietus - Covers Album of the Week
“The experimental rock and experimental everything outfit, Xiu Xiu, actually just dropped a brand new record of covers. The range is insane, from Robyn to GloRilla. I will be diving into this record very soon, but I hear they're going to be active with some other stuff in 2026, and I'm excited for that..” - The Needle Drop (Albums I'm Excited for in 2026)
"This first volume of collected 'Xiu Mutha Fuckin' Xiu' gems is fantastic, but it's well worth subscribing to the Bandcamp project, which is still going strong - a blissful burst of fun and fandom every month" - The Wire
“Newcomers to Xiu Xiu could do worse than starting with their hauntingly intense version of Robyn’s ‘Dancing on My Own,’ one of 12 covers that make Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1 a perfect introduction to the influential art-rockers’ dark allure. About half of the tracklist checks out—takes on direct antecedents like Throbbing Gristle, This Heat, and Coil—leaving a half-dozen curveballs, from a dubbed-out take on Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’ to an industrial revamp of GloRilla’s ‘Lick or Sum’ and a disarmingly gorgeous interpretation of Daniel Johnston’s ‘Some Things Last a Long Time.’” - Pitchfork (7 New Albums You Should Listen to Now)
“Xiu Xiu are people of taste. This is obvious based on their decades of brilliant, provocative musical output, but also based on their selection of covers.” – Stereogum
Today Xiu Xiu shares a Deluxe Edition of the delightfully wide-ranging collection of a series of covers that had previously only been available through subscription, titled Xiu Mutha Fuckin' Xiu: Vol. 1 nowwith 4 new bonus tracks - featuring new covers of songs by Roxy Music (“In Every Dream Home a Heartache”), Boy Harsher (“Pain”), Rowland S. Howard (“Breakdown and Then”), and Dolly Parton (“Jolene”).
Listen on YouTube:
‘In Every Dream Home a Heartache‘ (Roxy Music cover)
‘Pain‘(Boy Harsher cover)
‘Breakdown and Then‘ (Rowland S. Howard cover)
‘Jolene‘ (Dolly Parton cover)
The original edition ofXiu Mutha Fuckin' Xiu: Vol. 1 was named one of Pitchfork’s most anticipated releases of 2026, with pre-release singles including a raw, devastating cover of ‘Dancing on My Own’, the beloved track originally by Robyn, along with ‘Cherry Bomb’ originally by The Runaways with the b-side ‘Some Things Last a Long Time’ originally by Daniel Johnston, released in December, drawing acclaim from Stereogum who said: “Xiu Xiu are people of taste. This is obvious based on their decades of brilliant, provocative musical output, but also based on their selection of covers.”
According to Jamie Stewart: “We have a long history of doing covers and have done 3 albums of covers. The enduring and basic throughline with all of them is an attempt to say thank you to those songs. They are all in one way or another pieces of music that have moved us and exploring them in a deep way is a small honorific offering to the muse that created them. We never approach them thinking ‘How can we improve these’ but really “What can we learn from these?’”
YouTube Playlist here
The most exciting and terrifying parts of dreams (or nightmares) are the ones we recognise. Familiar fragments collide and reassemble into something strange. Things we thought we knew are turned upside down or ripped apart and sewn together backwards. That unnerving thrill - the shiver of recognition followed by disorientation - is at the core of Xiu Mutha Fuckin' Xiu: Vol. 1, the latest collection of covers from prolific music provocateurs Xiu Xiu. Jamie Stewart, Angela Seo and David Kendrick warp and distort classics spanning decades and genres - from 1950s rock n’ roll to new wave, Robyn to Throbbing Gristle.
Xiu Xiu are no strangers to interpretation. Since the group’s inception in 2002, they’ve regularly paid homage to artists they revere - from New Order’s ‘Ceremony’ (featured on Chapel Of Chimes EP) to David Bowie and Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’ (for 2008’s Women As Lovers).
They’ve done tribute albums - 2013’s Nina, honouring Nina Simone, and 2016’s Xiu Xiu Plays the Music of Twin Peaks - cementing their reputation for considered reimaginings. Across twelve tracks, Xiu Mutha Fuckin' Xiu: Vol. 1 compiles a heady selection of monthly covers the band began releasing in 2020 through their subscription series via Bandcamp, expanding their bewildering universe to commune with artists throughout time.
For Xiu Xiu, covers aren’t about improvement, but reverence. “We never approach them thinking ‘how can we improve these’ but really ‘what can we learn from these,’” Stewart says of the process. Xiu Xiu explores the music that’s moved them, as if each artist were a singular creative deity. The result is “a small honorific offering to the muse that created us.”
Some covers are a shadowed vision of the original, zooming in on the song’s pronounced aura. The Runaways’ ‘Cherry Bomb’ bratty defiance funnelled through industrial pulses and slithering percussion - a ticking time bomb of acidic distortion and rebellion. Their version of Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’ is reborn with howling ‘60s organs, flute spirals, and swirls of reverbed vocals. It feels older than the original, as if Question Mark & The Mysterians or 13th Floor Elevators have been drawn into the conversation. Other reworkings with Robyn’s ‘Dancing on My Own,’ or GloRilla’s ‘Lick Or Sum’ unearth new understandings of contemporary hits.
Certain songs provided unexpected obstacles. ‘In Dreams’ tested the limits of Stewart's vocal prowess; Coil’s ‘Triple Sun’ allowed them the opportunity to study a band that listeners are constantly linking them to; Stewart was moved to tears while recording Daniel Johnston’s ‘Some Things Last a Long Time’ - ‘If there ever were a sincere and wounded voice in the world it is his.’ On XMFX, Xiu Xiu reshapes echoes of pop history into séances, lucid dreams, and sonic rituals - breathing new life into music’s past through a years-long, sustainable practice.
Xiu Xiu - 2026 Live Dates
* ERASERHEAD performances
02/04 - Athens, Greece @ Danaos Cinema *
04/04 - Brussels, Belgium @ BRDCST Festival *
08/04 - Barcelona, Spain @ Miceli presents x Sala Upload *
11/04 - The Hague, Netherlands @ Rewire Festival *
* ERASERHEAD performances
Tracklist (*New Bonus Tracks In Deluxe Edition)
Psycho Killer [Talking Heads]
Warm Leatherette [The Normal / Grace Jones]
I Put a Spell on You [Screamin' Jay Hawkins]
Hamburger Lady [Throbbing Gristle]
In Dreams [Roy Orbison]
Sex Dwarf [Soft Cell]
Dancing on My Own [Robyn]
SPQR [This Heat]
Lick or Sum [GloRilla]
Some Things Last a Long Time [Daniel Johnston]
Triple Sun [Coil]
Cherry Bomb [The Runaways]
In Every Dream Home a Heartache [Roxy Music]*
Pain [Boy Harsher]*
Breakdown and Then [Rowland S. Howard]
Jolene [Dolly Parton]*
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