History YMMV / XiuXiu

** "Faith, Torn Apart" is also extremely sobering, with the latter half of the song being a spoken word poem from the perspective of each of the girls in the "Petite" video.
* TheWoobie: Jamie's clearly been through a lot in their life -- recurring topics in their work include child abuse, sexual assault, and suicide (including that of their father). In 2013, they wrote on the band's website asking fans to send them reasons to keep living, and in 2019 cancelled an entire tour for undisclosed mental health issues.

* {{Narm}}: Given how emotive and over-the-top Jamie Stewart's vocal delivery tends to be, it's natural that he sometimes slips into this. Sometimes, as in songs like "I Broke Up", [[BlackComedy the effect is completely intentional]].

** "I Luv Abortion" is about a friend of Jamie's who cut herself while she was a pregnant teenager (even mailing him the knife she used), due to massive doubting of her parenting abilities. ''"I look at my thighs and I see death, [[SarcasmMode it's great, I love abortion...]]"''

* TheWoobie: Jamie's clearly been through a lot in his life -- recurring topics in his work include child abuse, sexual assault, and suicide (including that of his father). In 2013, he wrote on the band's website asking fans to send him reasons to keep living, and in 2019 cancelled an entire tour for undisclosed mental health issues.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: "Mary Turner Mary Turner" pulls ''no punches'' in showing just how brutal and inhumane racism in the United States can get.

* {{Narm}} / NarmCharm: Given how emotive and over-the-top Jamie Stewart's vocal delivery tends to be, it's natural that he sometimes slips into this. Sometimes, as in songs like "I Broke Up", [[BlackComedy the effect is completely intentional]].
** Often it loops back around- when combined with [[CarefulWithThatAxe vocals that sound like Stewart is being tortured to death while singing]], the ridiculousness makes it even ''more'' disturbing.

* BlackComedy: "When you get to be my age, the police don't assume that you still like to light things on fire. Bearing that in mind, I wouldn't trust me either!" ("Boy Soprano")

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: A frequent complaint from the band's detractors and sometimes even the band's fans. Whether or not you agree (and to what degree) probably depends on how well you think that they pull it all off.

* TheWoobie: Jamie's clearly been through a lot in his life -- recurring topics in his work include child abuse, sexual assault, and suicide (including that of his father). In 2013, he wrote on the band's website asking fans to send him reasons to keep living.

* FriendlyFandoms: With friends Music/ParentheticalGirls and Music/{{Swans}}. The latter also shared Thor Harris as a precussionist.

* FriendlyFandoms: With friends Music/ParentheticalGirls and Music/{{Swans}}.

* FriendlyFandoms: With friends Music/ParentheticalGirls and Music/{{Swans}}, the latter of whom they share two members (Thor Harris and Chris Pravdica) with.

** "Mary Turner Mary Turner", a song describing the horrific lynching of a pregnant black woman in Georgia. The song is a true story.

* FriendlyFandoms: With friends Music/ParentheticalGirls.

** "Blacks".
*** "I have had enough of this life."

* BlackComedy: "When you get to be my age, the police don't assume that you still like to light things on fire. Bearing that in mind, I wouldn't trust me either." ("Boy Soprano")

** "Black Drum Machine." "THERE MUST BE SOME THINGS FOR WHICH OUR GOD CANNOT BE ACCUSED THERE ''MUST'' BE ''SOME THINGS'' FOR WHICH OUR GOD CANNOT BE ACCUSED..."
** The end of "Cynthia's Unisex." [[MadnessMantra "I hate everyone but you... I hate everyone but you..."]]
** "I Luv Abortion" is about a friend of Jamie's who cut herself while she was a pregnant teenager (even mailing him the knife she used), due to massive doubting her parenting abilities.
*** "I look at my thighs and I see death, [[SarcasmMode it's great, I love abortion...]]"

** Special mention goes to "Botanica de Los Angeles," which seems to be about Stewart witnessing the suicide of a sexual assault victim and being unable to do anything.
** "Luber," apparently about a student of Jamie's with neglectful parents. The impassioned delivery just makes it even more devastating.
** "Suha." "I hate my body / I hate the desert / I'm gonna hang myself / when will I be going home?"
** "I Luv the Valley OH!", which is supposedly about an orphan in distress. Coupled with Xiu Xiu's most beautiful instrumentation, it's hard not to feel a little sad inside when listening to it.
* TheWoobie: Jamie's clearly been through a lot in his life. If a recent twitter post is to be believed, he was molested at the age of 8, which certainly explains the recurring themes of sexual abuse in his work...

** "I Luv the Valley OH!", which is supposedly about an orphan in distress. Coupled with Xiu Xiu's most beautiful instrumentation, it's hard not to feel a little sad inside when listening to it.

** "Suha." "I hate my body / I hate the desert / I'm gonna hang myself / when will I be going home?"

** Special mention goes to "Botanica de Los Angeles."

** "El Naco."
* TearJerker: A very large chunk of their back catalogue is made up of relentlessly depressing and/or unsettling songs about extremely personal and often bleak subject matter.

* HellIsThatNoise: Frequently on their earlier records, particularly the [[SensoryAbuse over-saturated noisegasm]] that is ''Knife Play''. Not that their later records are immune to this, however.