Oh No

‘Oh No’ is the strongest album since 2012’s ‘Always’. This definitely is beautiful music for hard times.

The presence of these co-conspirators empowers the songs, but some of the duets are more straightforwardly fun. [Apr 2021, p.64]

Embodying hard times as well as the way friends lift each other out of them, Oh No also exemplifies the drama, mystery, and deeply felt emotions that have made Xiu Xiu a vital musical force for decades.

Xiu Xiu have recorded a 12th album that is an interesting listen, but rarely an easy one. It’s unlikely to win them any new followers, but existing fans won’t be disappointed.

By not trying to shock us, Stewart actually surprises us, and OH NO makes it easier to be a Xiu Xiu fan than it’s been in years.

There are plenty of moments among these 15 songs that are devastating in a way that’s unique to Xiu Xiu, but also moments that leave me frustrated and baffled. Essentially it’s business as usual for this brilliant yet confounding band. They challenge you to turn away, yet reward the brave and patient listener with flashes of startling beauty.

While the LP reaches its darkwave apotheosis with a Neubauten-like cover of The Cure’s “One Hundred Years”, glimmers of lightness and tenderness make for a surprisingly rich listening experience, one that’s closer in spirit to Scott Walker’s Bish Bosch than Xiu Xiu’s past provocations. [May 2021, p.35]

It’s clear that OH NO will not be remembered as one of Xiu Xiu’s most stellar records. Yet, as usual with collaborations, it’s likely that each listener is likely to find their own tracks they ditch, just like different ones will stand out, given the varying degrees of artistic touches these additional musicians bring with their own aesthetics and histories.

Xiu Xiu’s esoteric lyrics and challenging, textured sounds are part of what make them so singular as a group, but can also be overdone. OH NO’s moving moments of catharsis and uplifting hope are muted by how exhaustingly over-the-top the rest of the album feels.

The music still mainly tilts around their Coil-Anohni Axis. ... As always with Xiu Xiu, though, it's a lot, two heads just as intense as one. [May 2021, p.85]