Xiu Xiu are what many would call a success story. After all, they’ve evolved from an experimental freakshow of a duo who appealed only to the outer edge of musical snobs and depressed hipsters, to a full-on, four member, MySpace friendly, blog-writing, book-producing, ceaselessly collaborating, networking whirlwind with legions of fans and the respect of critics. Not only that, but unlike some rise-to-glory stories, Xiu Xiu’s transformation has been nice to see, mostly because founding members Jamie Stewart and Caralee McElroy always seem to be having a lot of fun, connecting well with their fans and managing to maintain their sense of humor and their honesty....

Emo's is the place to be tonight as California experimental post-punkers Xiu Xiu bring their darkly gorgeous new album The Air Force to life. If you caught Xiu Xiu at Emo's Annex during South By Southwest this year, you know that Jamie Stewart's noise-and-melody symphonies are even better live than they are on wax. Stewart and live partner Caralee McElroy make the absolute most out of their collection of drums, guitars, shakers, keys and......

Hang on to your wristbands, people, there's a lot going on this week in the world of legitimately released music! The Rapture Pieces of the People We Love (UMVD) The Rapture have finally caught up with their own hype following 2003's Echoes, working with producers Danger Mouse (Gorillaz/Gnarls Barkley), Paul Epworth (Bloc Party) and Ewan Pearson (UK DJ/Remixer) and delivering a disco, funk, punk and pop-influenced album worthy of all your parties, speedy drives......

Xiu Xiu's lead singer Jamie Stewart knows a thing or two about pain, heartache, and misery; one certainly assumes so from listening to his plaintive wailings on the band's latest record, La Forêt. The Oakland/Seattle-based experimental noise trio remain characteristically uncharacterizable, save for Stewart's verge-of-shattering crystalline voice. It's an album that takes several plays before any of the dozen esoteric, despondent tracks are even remotely comprehensible, but on our first pass we did a......

We know the past couple of weeks have been slow, but there have been a number of quality releases that we feel you need to know about. The Arcade Fire – The Arcade Fire (EP) A must have for any fan, It was previously only available at their live shows, but now has been reissued by Merge. Adrian Belew – Side Two Belew incorporates electronic sounds into his art rock landscape to provide an......