Xiu Xiu have announced a new album, Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1, arriving January 16, 2026 via Polyvinyl. The release pulls together a wide range of covers the band has recorded over the years, many of which were previously only available through their subscription series. Rather than feeling like a side project, the album reads as a clear window into the music that has shaped them.
The tracklist moves freely across eras and genres, touching on artists as varied as The Runaways, Daniel Johnston, Robyn, Roy Orbison, Throbbing Gristle, Coil, GloRilla and This Heat. What ties it all together is Xiu Xiu’s approach. These covers are not about clever reinvention or novelty. They are studies of songs that meant something to the band long before they recorded them.
To mark the announcement, Xiu Xiu shared two new covers. Their version of The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb” leans into tension and distortion, turning the song’s rebellious energy into something darker and more volatile. In contrast, their take on Daniel Johnston’s “Some Things Last a Long Time” is stripped down and emotionally exposed. Jamie Stewart’s delivery feels fragile and unguarded, honoring the song’s sincerity rather than reshaping it.
Stewart has said the band treats covers as a way of saying thank you, and that spirit runs through the album. Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1 feels less like a compilation and more like a conversation across time, connecting Xiu Xiu to the artists who moved them and continuing their long history of careful, deeply felt reinterpretation.
Tracklist
Side A
01 Psycho Killer [Talking Heads]
02 Warm Leatherette [The Normal/ Grace Jones]
03 I Put a Spell on You [Screamin’ Jay Hawkins]
Hamburger Lady [Throbbing Gristle]
In Dreams [Roy Orbison]
Sex dwarf [Soft Cell]
Side B
Dancing on My Own [Robyn]
SPQR [This Heat]
Lick or Sum [GloRilla]
Some Things Last a Long Time [Daniel Johnston]
Triple Sun [Coil]
Cherry Bomb [The Runaways]
Leave a Comment