Xiu Xiu’s ‘Eraserhead’ at 2220 Arts + Archives

Xiu Xiu performing Eraserhead at 2220 Arts + Archives in Los Angeles, October 2, 2026. Photo by Kristina Feliciano.

Last night at 2220 Arts + Archives, Xiu Xiu performed their interpretation of the music and sounds of David Lynch’s Eraserhead, delivering a sonic exploration conceived with both conventional instruments and items seemingly pulled from the aisles of Lowe’s, the shelves of a vintage toy store, and the corners of a darkened back alley. 

Texture and cacophony laced with portent and punctuated occasionally by the duo’s own voices. Jamie Stewart’s sarcastic, “Okay, Paul! Okay, Paul! Okay, Paul!” Angela Seo’s full-throated scream. 

The visuals, though. I had hoped not for a linear narrative but a visceral one. Bizarre, perhaps even chilling, but not abject. Instead, Xiu Xiu’s febrile score was accompanied by imagery that was surprising (to me) in its directness and even in its origins. 

Photo by Kristina Feliciano.

Deana Lawson’s “Black Life” inverted and a Kara Walker silhouette colliding with images of what appeared to be bloodied accident victims, sequences from kink films, and closeups of ancient gods carved in stone, the latter a conceit that feels cheeky when it appears in the ever-taut series The White Lotus but here was a letdown given that Xiu Xiu are artists who eagerly plumb the heart of darkness.

Still, it was a trip worth taking to a destination unknown. And when it was done, the at-capacity audience cheered long after the pair solemnly took their bow and disappeared behind the curtains. 

There was one attendee whose reaction I can’t speak for, though: an ET plushy cradled by a young woman, its oddly long neck, bulbous head, and innocent eyes oh so Lynchian.