A Promise
by Xiu Xiu

Xiu Xiu bestography

A Promise is ranked as the best album by Xiu Xiu.

Xiu Xiu album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (3,162nd)
A Promise
Lower ranked (4,180th) »
Fabulous Muscles

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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A Promise rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 3,162nd | 2000s rank: 537th | 2003 rank: 66th
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026juanr1096Top 100 Music Albums of 200321/1004
2026 HaydenTop 60 Music Albums of 200325/603
2026 arthurbittencourtTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s29/10014
2026 ForegroundNoiseTop 50 Music Albums of the 2000s34/507
2026ThuramThugoodRanked - Xiu Xiu (US) - Ranked2/28 -
2026 AAL2014Top 51 Music Albums of 200320/513
2026daCriticTop 33 Music Albums of 200323/332
2026 johnnerTop 100 Greatest Music Albums75/10025
2026 AAL2014Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s58/1009
2026cicadelicTop 86 Music Albums of 200333/863
2026pinkfreud1981Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s58/1009
2026 DommeDamianTop 27 Music Albums of 200322/271
2025 seb7Top 16 Music Albums of 20035/164
2025 NagaiwolfwoodTop 100 Greatest Music Albums26/10070
2025 DommeDamianScaruffi Best Albums of 20034/69 -
2025 seb7Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s11/10018
2025 IgtonumamaTop 100 Music Albums of 200350/1003
2025 johnnerTop 17 Music Albums of 20039/173
2025HyggevinylTop 63 Music Albums of 200350/631
2025 Patman360Top 100 Music Albums of 200330/1004
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 84
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 482
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

A Promise collection

A Promise ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 109 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 109 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 
02/22/2026 07:05 thepardunk  Ratings distribution  2,57669/100
 
75/100
 
01/20/2026 06:06 ZacXavier  Ratings distribution  1362/100
 
70/100
 
12/13/2025 05:39 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,58570/100
 
50/100
 
06/20/2025 18:31 Invader666  Ratings distribution  2,62265/100
 
5/100
 
02/07/2025 05:36 Proto  Ratings distribution  4,15333/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.8/100, a mean average of 76.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 19.3.

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A Promise comments

Showing all 8 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
30/100
From 10/26/2023 19:32 | #299641
I don't like this album, but I do respect it as a subversive piece of uncomfortably personal art. Unfortunately, the only track I would even consider listening to again is Sad Pony Guerrilla Girl. The rest just kind of gives me a headache and makes me sad at the same time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 11/09/2022 05:00 | #291159
erotic, provocative, authentic and simply beautiful
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 03/05/2019 18:50 | #233108
Xiu Xiu was formed in 2000 in California by Cory McCullough, Yvonne Chen, Lauren Andrews and Jamie Stewart, Stewart becoming the sole master on board over the years; which does not prevent Xiu Xiu from sailing between unbridled noise rock and sophisticated electro. Xiu Xiu's sound is a mix of clear-sounding percussion, mega-synths, dance-to-hell rhythms, melodies and vocals by Jamie Stewart. The opener "Sad Pony Guerrilla Girl" is misleading in many ways, it attracts us with a nice guitar melody, before being joined by a floating synth work and Jamie's vocals. The greatest strength of the album is the ability to go from ugly to beautiful in seconds, in a litany of different ways. As I listen to this album more and more, this work continues to reveal things to me. It's an album that gives me the feeling of being completely naked, only alive and human. The most beautiful moments are: the sudden explosion of synths in "Apistat Commander", the fall in seconds of all instruments in "Sad-Redux-O-Grapher", the way "Blacks" makes you want to dance on a confused synth melody that lasts only 10 seconds. This 2nd album is for me the best album of Xiu Xiu although "Fabulous Muscles" is really excellent.

10/10

Best track: "Apistat Commander"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 08/06/2017 20:06 | #195633
A few of these songs don't contain enough interesting hooks, lyrics, or melodies for them to be memorable.

Favorite tracks: Sad Pony Guerilla Girl, Apistat Commander, 20,000 Deaths

B+
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/02/2017 10:07 | #193555
What did I just listen to.

Nice album cover tho
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 04/01/2014 16:58 | #108253
This album is the definition of a slow-burner which just gets better with each listen. It is brilliant.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/11/2013 21:18 | #91919
I want to listen to this but the album cover is so hideous and I'm scared of having it on my chart if I end up really loving it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 05/30/2012 21:42 | #43301
Why does this have to have such a fucked up album cover....Great album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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