Plays the Music of Twin Peaks

Plays the Music of Twin Peaks is a tribute album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu. Composed of cover versions of the music from the Twin Peaks soundtrack, it was released exclusively as a Record Store Day release on April 16, 2016, by Polyvinyl in the United States and Bella Union in Europe. It was produced by former Xiu Xiu member Jherek Bischoff and mixed by Deerhoof member Greg Saunier.[1][2]

Plays the Music of Twin Peaks
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 16, 2016 (2016-04-16)
Genre
Length68:37
Label
Producer
Xiu Xiu chronology
Merzxiu
(2015)
Plays the Music of Twin Peaks
(2016)
Forget
(2017)

The covers were originally commissioned by Queensland Gallery of Modern Art for a 2015 exhibition, “David Lynch: Between Two Worlds”. Following the live performances at the exhibition, the band decided to record the covers in the studio. In accompaniment to the album, Xiu Xiu embarked on a Europe tour in April 2016.[3][4] In the same month, the band released a shared music video for the tracks "Into the Night" and "Nightsea Wind", directed by Diego Barrera.[5]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [7]
Pitchfork7.7/10[8]
Under the Radar8/10[9]

Benjamin Scheim of Pitchfork was positive in his review of the album, stating: "In evoking Lynch and Badalamenti, Xiu Xiu have made one of their most beautiful and listenable albums, one that highlights everything the band does well while shaving down the rough edges that often turn away foes and friends alike."[8]

Track listing

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All songs written and composed by Angelo Badalamenti.

No.TitleOriginally featured onLength
1."Laura Palmer's Theme"Soundtrack from Twin Peaks5:04
2."Into the Night"Floating into the Night5:13
3."Audrey's Dance"Soundtrack from Twin Peaks4:27
4."Packard's Vibration"Twin Peaks Music: Season Two Music and More3:48
5."Nightsea Wind"The Twin Peaks Archive7:07
6."Blue Frank / Pink Room"Twin Peaks Music: Season Two Music and More / Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me5:52
7."Sycamore Tree"Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me6:48
8."Harold's Theme"Twin Peaks Music: Season Two Music and More3:56
9."Dance of the Dream Man"Soundtrack from Twin Peaks5:10
10."Falling"Floating into the Night6:57
11."Love Theme Farewell"Soundtrack from Twin Peaks6:25
12."Josie's Past"monologue from The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer;[8] lyrics from "Mairzy Doats"[10]7:50
Total length:68:37

Personnel

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Xiu Xiu

  • Jamie Stewart — vocals, guitar, synthesizers, noises, drum machine, production
  • Angela Seo — piano, synthesizers, cymbals, production
  • Shayna Dunkelman — vibraphone, percussion, drums, synthesizers, production, spoken word (on "Josie's Past")

Technical personnel

Release history

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Region Date Label
United States[1] April 16, 2016 Polyvinyl
Europe[1] Bella Union

References

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  1. ^ a b c Pearce, Sheldon (March 9, 2016). "Xiu Xiu Announce "Twin Peaks" Covers Album, Share "Falling"". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  2. ^ Pearis, Bill (March 9, 2016). "Xiu Xiu reinterpreting the 'Twin Peaks' soundtrack for Record Store Day LP (listen to his cover of the theme song)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  3. ^ Leverant, Zoe (March 9, 2016). "Xiu Xiu To Reimagine The 'Twin Peaks' Soundtrack At The Kitchen This Spring". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Adams, Gregory (March 9, 2016). "Xiu Xiu Reinterpret 'Twin Peaks' Score for Record Store Day Release". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  5. ^ "Xiu Xiu Share "Into The Night" Video From "Twin Peaks" Covers Album: Watch". Pitchfork. April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  6. ^ "Plays The Music Of Twin Peaks by Xiu Xiu". Metacritic. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  7. ^ Phares, Heather (April 14, 2016). "Plays the Music of Twin Peaks - Xiu Xiu". AllMusic. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Scheim, Benjamin (April 14, 2016). "Xiu Xiu - Plays the Music of Twin Peaks". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  9. ^ Karim, Alee (April 13, 2016). "Xiu Xiu: Xiu Xiu Plays the Music of Twin Peaks (Polyvinyl) Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  10. ^ Bouyamourn, Adam (May 22, 2016). "Album review: Twin Peaks gets a twist as Xiu Xiu puts a fresh spin on Angelo Badalamenti's classic score". The National. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
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