Prolific music provocateurs Xiu Xiu have announced the release of a delightfully wide-ranging collection of covers, previously available only through subscription, titled ‘Xiu Mutha F***in’ Xiu: Vol 1′, due out January 16, 2026, on Polyvinyl. The announcement is accompanied by Xiu Xiu’s cover of “Cherry Bomb” originally by The Runaways, with the B-side being “Some Things Last a Long Time” originally by Daniel Johnston. This collection compiles a heady selection of monthly covers the band began releasing in 2020 via Bandcamp, expanding their bewildering universe by communing with artists spanning decades and genres, from ’50s rock and new wave to Robyn and Throbbing Gristle. Since their 2002 inception, Xiu Xiu has consistently paid homage to artists they revere, previously releasing tribute albums like ‘Nina’ and ‘Xiu Xiu Plays the Music of Twin Peaks’, cementing their reputation for truly considered reimaginings.
The band views these cover songs not as opportunities for improvement but as “a small honorific offering to the muse that created them,” asking instead, “What can we learn from these?” Across twelve tracks, the album captures the unnerving thrill of familiar fragments colliding and reassembling into something strange, reshaping echoes of pop history into sonic rituals and lucid dreams. Their version of The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb” is a ticking time bomb of acidic distortion and rebellion, while Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” is reborn with howling ’60s organs and flute spirals, feeling older than the original track. Frontman Jamie Stewart shares that he cried while recording Daniel Johnston’s “Some Things Last a Long Time,” recognizing the sincerity and wound within that voice.
Xiu Xiu uses this process to explore the music that has moved them, breathing new life into the past through their sustainable practice. Unexpected obstacles and poignant moments defined the recordings; Coil’s “Triple Sun” allowed them to deeply study a band to whom listeners often link them, and contemporary hits like Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” and GloRilla’s “Lick Or Sum” gain unearth new, darker understandings. This latest collection, spanning twelve tracks, further defines Xiu Xiu’s unique approach to interpretation, providing an intimate, strange, and exhilarating look at the songs that have shaped them while inviting listeners to experience these classics anew.