On their latest album, XIXA leave the sunbaked desert behind, taking listeners on a journey through the underworld.

Diving into the richness of folklore, Brian Lopez and Gabriel Sullivan, who share XIXA’s songwriting, lead vocals and lead guitars, expand on their mystic, psychedelic rock, reaching more into their Latin influences to create a musical and lyrical narrative for XOLO, an album exploring both a mythic journey and what messages it might have for today.

XOLO (in both band name and album title, the x is pronounced like ch) refers to the breed of Mexican hairless dog, Xoloitzcuintli. In Mayan and Aztec cultures, these dogs were held sacred and believed to have been guides through the underworld, Mictlán. The record loosely tells the story of a young girl, Arcoiris, who is guided through all nine levels of Mictlán by her sacred protector, El Xolo. The songs represent the various encounters El Xolo and Arcoiris experience while finding their way through a land of mystery and shadow.

In a way, the idea of a Xolo-themed record pre-dates the band itself. In 2011, Lopez and Sullivan were on their first trip through Europe, touring their respective solo projects, when they came across the street theatre company Royal de Luxe in Nantes, France. The group’s giant marionettes that year centered on the story of Xolo and the little girl he guided on her sacred journey.

With vivid memories of that display, and the inspiration of those travels, Lopez and Sullivan began taking demos and musical ideas they’d built up during the pandemic and writing toward those themes and the opposing forces of life and death.

“When we get together we push toward these themes, good & evil, isolation & escape, fear & love, despair & hope,” Lopez says. “There’s a lot of intention in this album—it’s almost like a musical.”

The album opens with “Xoloitzcuintli,” like a particularly rhythmic and aggressive overture, introducing the main characters: Arcoiris (Spanish for rainbow), who represents all that’s good and pure in this world, and Xolo, her guide and protector.

Lyrically, the songs chronicle the pair as they cross the divine river, traverse beneath skies of shadows, through the mysterious land, where mountains collide with each other, and jaguars are said to eat the hearts of the dead.

Musically, the moods and styles shifts along with the journey. Still guided by dark psychedelia and cumbia, XIXA brings more dynamic arrangements, expanding their musical language and carving the album into more distinct chapters.

“This is the most intensive work I’ve ever put into a record. And it’s the most all-encompassing record we’ve ever made, from the chicha and cumbia vibes to desert rock to some very songwriter-forward arrangements,” Sullivan says. “The music very intentionally brings you into this world, through the levels of the underworld, and the spirit is set free in the end.”

The character Arcoiris is sonically represented by Mona Chambers, a consistent collaborator in projects recorded at XIXA’s Dust & Stone studio, where the project started a decade ago, as Chicha Dust. XOLO completes the band’s journey at Dust & Stone, the final album recorded there.

Other guests include Modern English’s Rob Grey and Mick Conroy, providing vocals and synth on “It Doesn’t Matter,” a moment of despair or hopelessness shared by the two travelers.

On the last day of tracking, XIXA brought in children of friends of the band to join them in singing choruses on the album closer “Heart of The World,” creating a welcome party for Arcoiris and Xolo. As the outro – calm and beautiful – concludes, they’ve reached the end of their journey, and found peace.

On their latest album, XIXA leave the sunbaked desert behind, taking listeners on a journey through the underworld. Diving into the richness of folklore, Brian Lopez and Gabriel Sullivan, who share XIXA’s songwriting, lead vocals and lead guitars, expand on their mystic, psychedelic rock, reaching more into their Latin influences to create a musical and lyrical narrative for XOLO, an album exploring both a mythic journey and what messages it might have for today. XOLO (in both band name and album title, the x is pronounced like ch) refers to the breed of Mexican hairless dog, Xoloitzcuintli, sacred in Mayan and Aztec cultures as guides through the underworld, Mictlán. The record loosely tells the story of a young girl, Arcoiris, on her journey through all nine levels of Mictlán, guided by her sacred protector, El Xolo. Musically, the moods and styles shifts along with the journey. Still guided by dark psychedelia and cumbia, XIXA brings more dynamic arrangements, expanding their musical language and carving the album into more distinct chapters. XOLO is the band’s third full-length record, following Genesis (2021) and Bloodline (2016), and EPs The Code (2019) and Shift and Shadow (2015).