Long-running experimental indie band Xiu Xiu have never shied away from unleashing their capabilities across other people’s material. Three past albums of cover versions have both baffled and beautified some of the most iconic songs of the past 50 years, including Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer,” Roxy Music’s “In Every Dream Home A Heartache” and “Wild Is The Wind,” the Nina Simone classic that became, in turn, one of David Bowie’s most voluptuous ballads.

Now comes Collective, a gathering not only of past covers, but also a triptych of remixes, as the  team get to grips with a couple of lost Robert Calvert tracks, “Marathon Man” and “Over The Moon,” and rising star Thunder Bae’s “mercybeggingboys,” plus a collaboration with The 69 Eyes’ frontman Jyrki 69.

To which we can add Iggy Pop/Siouxsie and the Banshees’s “The Passenger,” Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again” and even a slice of Christmas cheer in the form of “Frosty The Snowman,” recorded with guest artist and actress Susanne Sachsse.

But you will have to move quickly if you want a copy!

While the tracks are readily available on digital platforms, two ultra-limited vinyl editions… in black and clear wax… run to just 85 pressings apiece, available on a strictly first-come first-served basis only from Cleopatra Records’ cleorecs.com webstore.

There, too, the true collector can hunt down a multitude of other rarities and limited editions – limited white label 45s, fabulous etchings, test pressings, autographed singles and albums; exclusive posters, T-shirts and tote bags.

Cleopatra chief Brian Perera explains, “I’m trying to recapture the feelings I had when I was first seriously getting into collecting, and wishing there was more to it than buying the exact same records as my friends.  I wanted things that they didn’t have, and would probably never find.  And judging from the emails that have been coming in, that’s exactly what we’re doing.

“Record collecting should not be about simply picking up the latest release by whoever it is, in every format they can throw at you. It’s about tracking down records that mean something, that give you something you don’t already own, in a format that you can be proud of owning.”

Releasing on January 15 2027, Collective brings together some of the most in-demand tracks in Xiu Xiu’s recent catalog – and does so in a form that itself is destined to become even more in-demand.

Perera is correct. Record collecting has not been this much fun in ages!

VINYL: https://cleorecs.com/search?q=xiu+xiu+collective
DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/xiuxiu_collective

Track listing

SIDE A
1. Never Let Me Down Again
2. The Passenger
3. Frosty the Snowman feat. Susanne Sachsse
4. Deviant Carousal feat. Jyrki 69

SIDE B
1. Thunder Bae – mercybeggingboys (Xiu Xiu & Boris Wilsdorf Remix)
2. Robert Calvert – Marathon Man (Xiu Xiu Remix)
3. Robert Calvert – Over The Moon (Xiu Xiu Remix)