my girlfriend bought me this album for christmas. Xiu xiu is one of my favorite bands and i was really hoping that i would like their newest release. this album didnt disappoint me in the slightest. all of the new melodies that the band has added over their electronic beats really flesh the album out. the last xiu xiu release "la foret" experimented with horns and strings, but mostly in a texture/ambient way, and this one really tightens up the playing into some nice melodies. the lyrics and vocals 90% of them by stewart and 10% by caralee mcelroy are in a world of their own. I often found myself wondering if jamie was a gifted writer or just genuinely disturbed. the song "hello from eau claire" features caralee on lead vocals doing her sing songy indie girl voice and using it to great effect channeling feelings of naive longing and hopeless romance towards a guy that she feels insecure about liking. the other stand out track is save me, which is a really great song but features some insanely creepy lyrics" press my thumb onto your tongue, hand a knife up to me.....no eyes no mouth no mind". i dont know whether to laugh or cringe. overall this album is very disturbing but its haunting in its beauty and a refreshing change of pace for an already great underground rock band.