Larsen and Xiu Xiu are back together. After 2 years from "Ciautistico!", which started the collaboration that seems to be destined to continue, Jamie Stewart and the italian band that released a lot of records between drone-music, ambient and avant-rock, release together this "Spicchilogy?" via Important Records. And even if some say that, like every other side project of the Xiu Xiu frontman, it's always the same thing, that we had enough of noises, ring bells and spasms, of that dirty pop, that Xiu Xiu keeps repeating itself after the last good record which was "Fabulous Muscles"...we think that the creature is alive and well and that finds new life in the collaboration with the most fertile italian band.
All these pleasant 39 minutes are filled with wide and airy melodies. The long ang gloomy digressions that are a trademark of Larsen are not here, besides the next to last track, "...Nothing About Dwarves?", is more an elegant and intellectual pop that the record is about.
The only way to escape this record is to drown in it, in its continous and systematic waves of sounds, with all their diverse elements that build them higher and higher. So why resist to be swept away by the electro-tribal-gipsy rapids of "King Of Koalas" and its dizzy ending with keyboards and breathings or by the gloomy industrial atmosphere of "The Green Count Tapes" which could belong to the Throbbing Gristle realm?
And then back to the rural atmosphere with "Last in the society",multicolored watercolour between Parenthetical Girls e Notwist, and with that perfect elettro-pop manifesto called "Little Mouse Of the Favelas".
And if some of the fluid pop of Mouse On Mars emerges in "Daydrinking", the 10 minutes finale, "The Tale Of Brother Cakes and Sugar Dust", cuts through, with his goth references and wave reverbs, ending the record in the most memorable way, always in between noise and dream-pop.
It's more than possible the you'll be mesmerized by the XXL creature. And the only advice that we can give to those who have doubts about the need of this collaboration is: just listen

http://www.ondarock.it/recensioni/2007_xxl.htm