October Brings a Harvest of Excellent New Indie Music

Jules Bourbeau ‘25

Managing Editor

The month of October is not yet over but has already brought us a bountiful harvest in terms of new music. The first release that should be on your radar is Xiu Xiu’s new “13” Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips.” This mouthful of an album brings everything that Xiu Xiu is known for: surreal lyrics, ghostly falsetto from Jamie Stewart and a host of utterly unique soundscapes. At the same time, however, it is a completely unique project. My favorite tracks are “Maestro One Chord” with its punchy, Aphex Twin-like beat and “Veneficium,” a sinister banger that almost feels Shakespearean with the amount of drama contained within. The album ends with “Piña, Coconut & Cherry,” a song that begins in a slow, slinking fashion before abruptly exploding into desperate pleas that “You must love me, love me, love me.” I find it to be more accessible than many other Xiu Xiu projects, so if you’ve been reluctant to check them out, this LP could be an excellent place to start.

Next on the list is a surprise release from folk solo artist Marigold Fyhrie, known as The Reverent Marigold. They have returned to their roots after the more psychedelic “SICK, TRANS, GLORIOUS MOONDREAM!” to produce the soft and traditional “Joshua/Jericho.” Fhyrie describes the album as “a queer retelling of the book of Joshua,” but it is more than just a one to one recreation. Fhyrie’s voice is rather unconventional, but I find its rawness to be enchanting and emotional. My favorite song of the project is “Clover’s Song,” both for its stirring spoken introduction and the fervent delivery of the repeated line “You are alone, let the grass grow over your bones.” A close second is the closer, “Jericho,” with its deceivingly jaunty banjo underneath some strikingly tender lyrics. Apparently the record took several years of work, and I think it is very apparent that a great deal of effort and passion went into it; I highly recommend this album.

The final selection is actually a single, not an album. It comes off the back of two other excellent releases by Mount Eerie, and it is unclear if they might be released as standalones or as preparation for something bigger. Regardless, “I Saw Another Bird” has a faster and almost upbeat tone compared to what Mount Eerie has become known for. The song functions as a sequel to one from his heartbreaking album “A Crow Looked at Me” titled “Raven.” In “Raven,” Phil Elverum, the man behind Mount Eerie, recounts an encounter with a raven that he takes to be a representation of his deceased wife. Elverum wrote an excellent essay about this new single that I highly suggest you read in full which explains how the track is about coming face to face with the divine every day, and how this can be a blessing but can also remind us of our smallness. Elverum packs an amazing amount of meaning into two minutes and I hope that this single is part of the beginning of the next era of Mount Eerie.