FORGET

Released in 2017, FORGET is Xiu Xiu's tenth studio album and marks a significant collaboration with producer John Congleton. While the band has always flirted with pop structures, this record lean into them with unprecedented directness, resulting in what many critics called their most 'approachable' work. Despite this label, the album remains deeply experimental, featuring contributions from avant-garde legend Charlemagne Palestine and Swans guitarist Kristof Hahn. The recording context is defined by a move toward high-fidelity studio production, moving away from the insular lo-fi aesthetics of their past. Lyrically, Stewart tackles heavy themes including sex trafficking and the duality of human memory, framed by the Arabic calligraphy on the cover which translates to 'we forget'. It stands as a mid-career peak that synthesized their noise-rock roots with a newfound mastery of electronic art-pop.