La Forêt (album)

La Forêt is the fourth studio album by Xiu Xiu, released on July 12, 2005 on 5 Rue Christine. The album features John Dieterich of Deerhoof and Devin Hoff as contributors.[1][2]

La Forêt
Studio album by
Xiu Xiu
ReleasedJuly 12, 2005 (2005-07-12)
GenreArt rock, experimental, post-punk
Length44:11
Label5 Rue Christine
ProducerCory McCulloch
Xiu Xiu chronology
Life and Live
(2005)		 La Forêt
(2005)		 The Air Force
(2006)

Overview

La Forêt's sound has been described as more subtle and less pop sounding than Xiu Xiu's previous album Fabulous Muscles.[3][4] The album was seen as a return to the band’s earlier sound.[3][5]

The instrumentation includes clarinet, string arrangements, and vibraphone. Stewart said the tone of the album reflected his personal life where he began to internalize the difficult events that occurred around when Fabulous Muscles was recorded.[6] He described the album as "about reflection and resignation and coming to a sort of resolution".[6]

Jamie Stewart described six main subjects of Xiu Xiu songs: family, politics, sex, love and lovelessness, and suicide. The song "Bog People" is about family and loss, and was written late at night while Stewart was in a bout of sadness and loneliness during a thunderstorm.[7] The track "Saturn" is based on Francisco Goya's Saturn Devouring His Son and "wanting to rape" then-President George W. Bush "to death".[6] Stewart had seen the former at the Prado during the 2004 U.S. presidential elections.[6]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [3]
Entertainment Weekly(A-) [8]
Pitchfork Media(7.9/10) [4]
PopMatters(7/10) [5]
Stylus(A-) [9]

La Forêt received critical acclaim. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 82 out of 100, indicating "Universal acclaim."[10] La Forêt is also Xiu Xiu's highest rated album on the site.[11]

Stylus Magazine's William S. Fields gave the album a grade of "A-," writing "La Forêt has the sort of courage-minus-contrivance that is exceedingly (and ironically) rare in music of its dramatic and thematic ilk. For this reason, though I have enjoyed and admired many records this year, this is one of the few I genuinely care about."[9] Jordan Dowling of Drowned in Sound also gave the album a positive review, writing "Easy listening this amn't, but if you want a rollercoaster ride into deep recessions and to be thrilled by the sounds that surround you, then this could be the perfect album for you."[12] Allmusic's Heather Phares wrote "La Foret may be more delicate and less immediate than some of Xiu Xiu's other work (especially Fabulous Muscles), but at its best, it may have even more impact because of that."[3]

Joe Darling of Delusions of Adequacy, on the other hand, gave the album a negative review, writing "Unfortunately, the mere manufacture of unique sounds isn’t enough to rescue them on La Forêt. If Xiu Xiu would only come to a greater understanding of its own volatility, the band would be enabled to create truly memorable compositions. Hopefully these folks will reach this realization before they become completely entangled by devices of their own resistance."[13]

Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork described the album as "less jagged, more elegant" than previous albums, and subtler than Fabulous Muscles.[6]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Clover"5:13
2."Muppet Face"3:25
3."Mousey Toy"3:29
4."Pox"4:10
5."Baby Captain"3:43
6."Saturn"3:21
7."Rose of Sharon" (Grey Ghost Version)"5:05
8."Ale"5:41
9."Bog People"3:21
10."Dangerous You Shouldn't Be Here"3:53
11."Yellow Raspberry"3:06

Personnel

The following people contributed to La Forêt:[1][2]

Xiu Xiu
  • Jamie Stewart - Vocals, Guitar (1,2,4,5,10), Programming (2,4,6,9,11), Synthesizer (2,3,6,10), Percussion (3,5,6), Piano (3,4), Bass (5), Harmonium (7), Autoharp (9)
  • Cory McCulloch - Production, Synthesizer (3,6), Mandolin (3), Piano (3), Bass (4), Harmonium (6), Percussion (10)
  • Caralee McElroy - Synthesizer (5,7,9), Harmonium (2,7), Percussion (8,9), Piano (9)
  • Ches Smith - Vibraphone (1), Drums (11)

Additional personnel
  • Devin Hoff - Double Bass (1,7,11)
  • John Dieterich - Casio Guitar (1), Programming (11), Vibraphone (11)
  • Miya Zane Osaki - Artwork, Design, Bass (1,11)
  • Alan Wiley - Tuba Mouth Piece (2), Tuba (5)
  • Marika Hughes - Cello (7)
  • Sam Mickens - String Arrangements (7)
  • Ben Goldberg - Clarinet (8), Bass Clarinet (8)
  • Nick Hennies - Percussion (11)

References
  1. La Forêt - Credits. Allmusic. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  2. Xiu Xiu – La Forêt (CD). Discogs. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  3. Phares, Heather. La Foret Review. Allmusic. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  4. Howe, Brian. Album Reviews: La Foret Archived 2007-12-19 at the Wayback Machine. Pitchfork Media. 14 July 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  5. Begrand, Adrien. Xiu Xiu: La Foret. Popmatters. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  6. Stosuy, Brandon (April 9, 2006). "Xiu Xiu". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  7. Pitchfork Interviews: Xiu Xiu. Pitchfork Media. 9 April 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  8. Gunatilaka, Timothy. La Foret Review. Entertainment Weekly. 18 July 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  9. Fields, William. Xiu Xiu - La Forêt - Review. Stylus. 22 July 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  10. Critic Reviews for La Foret. Metacritic Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  11. Xiu Xiu Profile. Metacritic. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  12. Xiu Xiu - La Foret. Drowned in Sound. 4 August 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  13. Darling, Joe. "DOA - Xiu Xiu - La Forêt". Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved 2011-07-09.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Delusions of Adequacy. 1 August 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
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