Nina (Xiu Xiu album)

Nina
Studio album by Xiu Xiu
Released December 3, 2013 (2013-12-03)
Genre Avant-garde jazz
Length 49:10
Label Graveface
Xiu Xiu chronology
Always
(2012)		 Nina
(2013)		 Angel Guts: Red Classroom
(2014)

Nina is a Nina Simone tribute album recorded by Xiu Xiu. It was released on Graveface Records on December 3, 2013 to generally favorable reviews.

Recording

The idea for the album came while Jamie Stewart was on tour with Swans.[1] Nina was recorded in a day.[2] The album features Jamie Stewart's voice, Ches Smith on drums, Tim Berne and Tony Malaby on saxophones, Andrea Parkins on accordion, and Mary Halvorson on guitar.[2] The latter four had experience in avant jazz.[1] The album reimagines rather than recreates Nina Simone's songs.[1] It was released on Graveface Records on December 3, 2013.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Pitchfork4.7/10[5]
Slant Magazine[3]
Under the Radar6.5/10[6]

Nina received a "generally favorable" score of 65 (out of 100) from the ratings aggregator Metacritic.[4] Nate Chinen from The New York Times described the album as accentuating Simone's "spooky, unsettling side".[2] He adds that Stewart's vocals add to the "psychodrama" in "Four Women" and "the wildness" in "Wild Is the Wild". Chinen thought the art rock Nina Simone covers field was already crowded before Nina.[2] Heather Phares of AllMusic considered Stewart's stylistic choices "provocative" and the album Stewart's "most avant-garde ... in years".[1] She added that the album considered the "more progressive aspects" of Simone's music.[1] Kyle Fowle of Slant Magazine thought the album to be Xiu Xiu's "most ambitious ... in years".[3] He thought Stewart's vocal style was out of place on "Don't Explain" and "Just Say I Love Him".[3] Billy Hamilton of Under the Radar wrote that Simone would approve of the album.[6] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork noted a mystical connection between Xiu Xiu and Simone as artists who perform raw emotions, but described the album as a "wasted opportunity" and "weirdly conservative".[5] For this, he blamed Stewart's vocals for being "theatrical" and insincere.[5] Richardson praised the album's selection of songs covered.[5]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Don't Smoke in Bed"   4:48
2. "Don't Explain"   4:28
3. "Wild Is The Wind"   6:07
4. "Where Can I Go?"   4:06
5. "See Line Woman"   2:35
6. "Just Say I Love Him"   3:25
7. "Four Women"   4:13
8. "Pirate Jenny"   5:52
9. "You'd Be So Nice"   3:49
10. "The Other Woman"   2:54
11. "Flo Me La"   6:53

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Phares, Heather. "Nina - Xiu Xiu". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Chinen, Nate (December 6, 2013). "Vintage Shows, Devotionals and a Tribute". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Fowle, Kyle (December 2, 2013). "Xiu Xiu: Nina". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Nina Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Richardson, Mark (December 11, 2013). "Xiu Xiu: Nina". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Hamilton, Billy (December 3, 2013). "Xiu Xiu: Nina". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
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