# The Air Force > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Air_Force > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Air_Force.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Air_Force > Source revision: 1355299884 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For other uses, see [Air force (disambiguation)](/source/Air_force_(disambiguation)). This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "The Air Force" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) 2006 studio album by Xiu Xiu The Air Force Studio album by Xiu Xiu Released September 12, 2006 (2006-09-12) Genre Art rock experimental post-punk Length 34:37 Label 5 Rue Christine Producer Caralee McElroy, Greg Saunier, Jamie Stewart Xiu Xiu chronology La Forêt (2005) The Air Force (2006) Tu mi piaci (2006) Professional ratings Aggregate scores Source Rating Metacritic 76/100[1] Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [2] Cokemachineglow 81%[3] Drowned in Sound 8/10[4] Los Angeles Times [1] Now [5] Pitchfork 8.0/10[6] PopMatters 8/10[7] Slant Magazine [8] Tiny Mix Tapes [9] Under the Radar 8/10[10] ***The Air Force*** is the fifth studio album by [Xiu Xiu](/source/Xiu_Xiu). It was released on September 12, 2006, and was produced by [Greg Saunier](/source/Greg_Saunier) of [Deerhoof](/source/Deerhoof), who also performs on the album with band members [Caralee McElroy](/source/Caralee_McElroy) and [Jamie Stewart](/source/Jamie_Stewart_(American_musician)). ## Production The album was produced by Greg Saunier of Deerhoof, and released on [5 Rue Christine](/source/5_Rue_Christine) in September 2006. Stewart said that the year was "one of the first not dominated by personal tragedies" and that the album is about "making other people feel bad" instead of feeling bad oneself.[11] Its major themes are "guilt and sex as opposed to sorrow and sex".[11] Stewart considered it their best and most consciously pop album yet. They said that the band was obsessed with [Weezer](/source/Weezer)'s *[Blue Album](/source/Weezer_(1994_album))* and [The Smiths](/source/The_Smiths)'s *[The Queen Is Dead](/source/The_Queen_Is_Dead)* while on tour, though the album does not reflect those albums particularly.[11] The album cover includes "Christ crowned with thorns" by Renaissance painter [Fra Angelico](/source/Fra_Angelico). ## Track listing All lyrics are written by [Jamie Stewart](/source/Jamie_Stewart_(American_musician)), except "Bishop, CA" and "Wig Master", which have additional lyrics by [Angela Seo](/source/Angela_Seo). No. Title Length 1. "Buzz Saw" 3:01 2. "Boy Soprano" 3:23 3. "Hello from Eau Claire" 2:54 4. "Vulture Piano" 3:23 5. "PJ in the Streets..." 2:57 6. "Bishop, CA" 4:06 7. "Saint Pedro Glue Stick" 1:17 8. "The Pineapple vs. the Watermelon" 3:28 9. "Save Me Save Me" 2:39 10. "The Fox & the Rabbit" 3:12 11. "Wig Master" 4:17 Total length: 34:37 iTunes Store bonus tracks No. Title Length 1. "Bonus Track" 1:28 2. "Feeding the Raging Heart" 2:18 3. "Bonus Track" 1:13 Total length: 39:36 **Notes** - "Feeding the Raging Heart" is the opening song to the 2007 Robby Reis film of the same name.[12] - "Hello from Eau Claire" and "Saint Pedro Glue Stick" do not have vocals by lead member Jamie Stewart; instead, Caralee McElroy does all of the vocals on the former, while the latter is instrumental. ## Personnel ### Xiu Xiu - [Jamie Stewart](/source/Jamie_Stewart_(American_musician)) - Production, vocals (1–6, 8–11), percussion (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9), drum programming (2–4, 6, 9, 10), synthesizer (2–4, 6, 8, 10), guitar (2, 4, 5, 8, 10), bass (4, 5, 8, 9), sampler (3, 5, 7), harmonica (4, 6), piano (1), accordion (2), recorder (2), autoharp (5), mandolin (9) - [Caralee McElroy](/source/Caralee_McElroy) - Production, vocals (1, 3, 6, 10), flute (2, 4), synthesizer (4), glockenspiel (9), cymbal (10) ### Additional personnel - [Greg Saunier](/source/Greg_Saunier) - Production, vocals (1, 3, 5, 6, 10), sampler (2–4, 9, 11), synthesizer (1, 4, 6, 9), guitar (2, 4, 5, 10), percussion (1, 2, 5), piano (1, 8), drum programming (2, 4), bass (3), electronic drums (3), banjo (6), bass drum (6), snare drum (9), glockenspiel (9) - [Devra Hoff](/source/Devra_Hoff) - Double bass (2, 10, 11), bass (10) - David Horvitz - Koto (7) - Nedelle Torisi - Violin (9) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-MC_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-MC_1-1) ["The Air Force by Xiu Xiu"](http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-air-force/xiu-xiu). *[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic)*. Retrieved October 3, 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [The Air Force](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r854360) at [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic_(identifier)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Eley, Craig (September 14, 2006). ["Xiu Xiu - The Air Force"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090817165650/http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_review/751/xiuxiu-theairforce-2006). *[Cokemachineglow](/source/Cokemachineglow)*. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved November 22, 2025.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_bot:_original_URL_status_unknown)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Cawley, Rachel (May 22, 2007). ["Xiu Xiu: The Air Force"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070522204153/http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/8301). *[Drowned in Sound](/source/Drowned_in_Sound)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/8301) on May 22, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Liss, Sarah (October 19, 2006). ["Xiu Xiu"](https://nowtoronto.com/music/xiu-xiu-2/). *[Now](/source/Now_(newspaper))*. Retrieved November 22, 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Xiu Xiu: The Air Force: Pitchfork Record Review"](https://web.archive.org/web/20061031091257/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/38549/Xiu_Xiu_The_Air_Force). Archived from [the original](http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/38549/Xiu_Xiu_The_Air_Force) on October 31, 2006. Retrieved September 14, 2006. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Xiu Xiu: The Air Force"](https://www.popmatters.com/xiu-xiu-the-air-force-2495685481.html). Retrieved October 3, 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Keefe, Jonathan (October 9, 2006). ["Review: Xiu Xiu, The Air Force"](https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/xiu-xiu-the-air-force/). *[Slant Magazine](/source/Slant_Magazine)*. Retrieved November 22, 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Haney, Paul. ["Xiu Xiu - The Air Force"](https://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/xiu-xiu-air-force). *[Tiny Mix Tapes](/source/Tiny_Mix_Tapes)*. Retrieved November 22, 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** There aren’t any huge surprises or new developments on The Air Force;. Which, coming from a band that sounds like nothing else on the indie landscape, means that it’s another devastating collection of deluded, terrifying grandeur. [#15] 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Pitchfork_2006_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Pitchfork_2006_11-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Pitchfork_2006_11-2) Stosuy, Brandon (April 9, 2006). ["Xiu Xiu"](http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6305-xiu-xiu/). *[Pitchfork Media](/source/Pitchfork_Media)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140723092041/http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6305-xiu-xiu/) from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["FEEDING THE RAGING HEART"](https://natalifilm.com/portfolio/feeding-the-raging-heart/). *Natali Film*. July 14, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2022. v t e Xiu Xiu Jamie Stewart Angela Seo David Kendrick Lauren Andrews Jherek Bischoff Yvonne Chen Cory McCulloch Caralee McElroy Sam Mickens Ches Smith Studio albums Knife Play (2002) A Promise (2003) Fabulous Muscles (2004) La Forêt (2005) The Air Force (2006) Women as Lovers (2008) Dear God, I Hate Myself (2010) Always (2012) Angel Guts: Red Classroom (2014) Forget (2017) Girl with Basket of Fruit (2019) Oh No (2021) Ignore Grief (2023) 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips (2024) Compilation albums Fag Patrol (2003) Xiu Mutha Fuckin' Xiu: Vol. 1 (2026) Live albums Life and Live (2005) Tribute albums Nina (2013) Plays the Music of Twin Peaks (2016) Eraserhead Xiu Xiu (2026) EPs Chapel of the Chimes (2002) Tu mi piaci (2006) Collaborations Ciautistico! Remixed & Covered ¿Spicchiology? Merzxiu Related articles Accordion Solo! Discography The Dead Science Former Ghosts Authority control databases MusicBrainz release group This 2000s indie rock album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:2000s-indie-rock-album-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3A2000s-indie-rock-album-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:2000s-indie-rock-album-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Air Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Air_Force) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Air_Force?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.