I had a major love affair with Xiu Xiu two or three years ago but haven't really been bothered with them for awhile. I guess you could argue that a few years worth of that stuff is enough for a lifetime, hard work as it can be. I still love them and am interested in what they're doing together or individually, even if I think they may be a little bit too prolific for their own good. Therefore, when I heard Jamie Stewart had teamed up with Niki Roza of Zola Jesus, who I like a lot, and Freddy Rupert of This Song is a Mess and so Am I, who I've always meant to get round to listening to, for a project called Former Ghosts, I was pretty excited about checking it out.
Musically the project is very similar to Xiu Xiu, all weird percussion and abrasive electronics. With each having something of a distinctive voice, it's not surprising that they share vocals, although personally I think Niki should be given more opportunities to let loose. There is definitely something special in this collaboration that hasn't been present in most of the other Stewart experiments, such as with Grouper or Larsen. Really, the kick is that this should not be considered a Xiu Xiu side-project, as it really does sound like a real band, rather than ad-hoc wank-abouts between indie darlings. Sorry, that may sound harsh but I really don't like those aforementioned projects.
They have an album coming out in October, or floating around the usual places on the interweb if you can't wait, and there a few tracks up their Myspace, although the album is a lot more varied than the impression you get from these.
Maybe I'll go and listen to Knife Play now...
