Following last month's “Common Loon,” Xiu Xiu share “Arp Omni” and “Veneficium” from their upcoming full-length 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips - out September 29.

The band explains, “Arp Omni” is “A little sweetie ballad about falling for a person who takes risks in life,” while “Veneficium” is about “Being lost; literally lost, emotionally lost, lost in a smashed psychological dimension beyond your control, being overwhelmed by the weight of one’s insignificance in the face of time, space and death, and pointlessly railing against what does not notice let alone care about you.”

Both tracks come paired with their respective visuals, the former a beautiful visualizer by Lin You  and the latter a visually stunning allegorical video directed by Luke Orlando, bookended by cameos from Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo as “Toast Masters.”

Watch/listen to the dual release below and pre-order your copy of 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips on limited edition Malachite Mix vinyl. Xiu Xiu hit the road across North America + EU/UK kicking off this fall - get your tickets now. 

"A Veneficium is an instance of being poisoned or the preparation of magic potions or the substances that make up a poison. The point of any involvement with said substances or pursuits is at best meddling with risky and significant transformation and at worst taunting the nefarious, even up to the point of death. Either way, what lies in wait on the path to these in between and far away places from our present world is dangerous and unsettling and unknown. But perhaps also and why not, it could be being turned into a psychedelic BDSM train or the inspiration to benevolent and anonymous used toast and toaster delivery." - Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu)

"On the conceptual level, I wanted to make something about the absurdity and complexity of how we connect with each other in the modern world. It started off as a critique of doomscrolling, but Xiu Xiu pushed and enabled me to make it more esoteric and interesting at every turn. Where we ended up is a much more positive spin on finding community by openly sharing your interests with the world. In the end it became a very ideal art project - I found myself working with some of my best friends to hand-paint toast, fabricate a bespoke costume, and create a unique logic inspired by the occult for the world in this video. Videos like this don’t happen often because artists/directors are rarely given the freedom to create without inhibition, and for that I thank Xiu Xiu and everyone at Polyvinyl for letting me go off." - Luke Orlando (director)