Video: Xiu Xiu, ‘A Bottle of Rum’ (feat. Liz Harris)

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Xiu Xiu (Photo by Julia Brokaw)

Profilic duo Xiu Xiu — Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo — have announced the March arrival of their 12th album, “Oh No,” featuring 15 duets with the likes of Sharon Van Etten, Chelsea Wolfe, Agnus Andrew (Liars), George Lewis Jr. (Twin Shadow), Alice Bag, Deb Demure (Drab Majesty) and Owen Pallett, among others.

They introduced the album today with the surreal video for the woozy/hazy “Bottle of Rum,” a duet with Liz Harris (Grouper). The two artists released a collaborative album in 2007, “Creepshow.” Seo directs the video, piecing together doomy imagery to great effect. “This video, as often is with Xiu videos, is an amalgamation of things that I want and am into lately,” Seo says. “When I was a kid, I always wanted a video camera and was fascinated with tapes, but couldn’t afford one. I’m an adult now, and can buy what I want, so I bought a used mini DV camera. I like how the tapes look, the specific way they capture color, and also the tactile feeling of inserting and ejecting a tape.

“Also, I’ve always had a love for noir films and their penchant for shadows, fate, doom and drama,” she adds. “Our friend and superb drummer David Kendrick (Sparks, Devo, Xiu Xiu) wrote a three-part noir story and this is Part 1. In keeping with the times, most of this was intentionally DIY, shot alone or with just a couple of friends and a tripod.”

As for the song, Stewart says it was written on a cheap bajo quinto. “I had been trying to write a song on this bajo quinto to no avail and then drunkenly (‘A Bottle of Rum’) listened to Liz’s song, ‘Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping.’” he says. “A spark shone and feebly I tried to write something that, at least at first, sounded like it. I had asked Liz Harris, who is an old friend, if she would sing on this new record of duets. Initially, I thought of her for another song, but she specifically, although not knowing she had been the inspiration behind it in the first place, asked to be on this one. If the stars ever have aligned … well then.”

“Oh No” is out March 26 via Polyvinyl.

||| Watch: The video for “A Bottle of Rum”