Xiu Xiu have released 'Eraserhead Xiu Xiu', an instrumental tribute album reinterpreting David Lynch's surreal 1977 film through condensed, largely wordless soundscapes. The band, known for constantly shifting styles across recent releases, previously tackled Lynch's work on 2016's 'Plays the Music of Twin Peaks', but this project takes a different approach by distilling the entire film's narrative and mood into under an hour of music rather than covering existing songs.

The album uses industrial drones, clinking bottles and mechanical noises to evoke the film's unsettling opening, before shifting into jauntier, circus-like passages that echo Eraserhead's darkly comic moments. Standout tracks include 'Sleep Synth', which layers whistles and organ to reference key scenes, and a closing cover of 'In Heaven' featuring Jamie Stewart's vocals, the album's only sung track. The review highlights vocal snippets from Stewart and Angela Seo, lifted directly from the film's dialogue, as particular highlights of this "thrilling recontextualisation".