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Here are some reviews that were floating in the web. Some old
some new. If credit was found, it was given.
Quix*o*tic return with second helping of dark
tunes
12 July 2002-Rockbites.org
Washington, DC goth/psychedelic folk trio Quix*o*tic
this week released for the US their second full-length, Mortal Mirror, which seamlessly
combines 9 of their own dark tunes with an eclectic selection of covers by Billy Stewart
(in The Rainbows with Marvin Gaye), Lee Diamond (one-time band leader for Little Richard)
& George Davis (who played with the Neville brothers in The Hawkettes), and Black
Sabbath.
Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Christina Billotte, known to locals as
the queen of post-harDCore, started Quix*o*tic in 1999 after the demise of her band Slant
6—leaving behind the clash of punk, garage, and riot grrrl for the introspection of
spooky psychedelia and the tasty freedom of being a genre whore. For her new band,
Billotte—who’d also played in the pre-Helium Autoclave with Mary Timony, and
with the DC incarnation of Bratmobile—enlisted her sister Mira, a stunning vocalist
in her own right and, like Christina, a guitarist and drummer; and Brendan Majewski (ex
Murder) on bass.
Majewski left after the band’s debut Night For Day. His
replacement for the new album is prog-rock bassist Mick Barr (aka Octis, in Orthrelm and
formerly in Crom-Tech).
On Mortal Mirror, Quix*o*tic are severely minimal, especially on the
short instrumentals Masterpeaceful and the title track, sounding distinctly like a chilled
out jazz trio playing goth chamber music; on the partially-a cappella On My Own; and on
the voice, snare, and walking-lead-guitar The Breeze—a dreamy and dark lament
juxtaposing suicide with hope.
But their minimalism, possibly off-putting to ears accustomed to denser
production, allows the Billotte sisters’ songs and sublime vocals to shine. Even on
the album’s powerful closer, their take on Black Sabbath’s Lord Of This World
with plenty of fuzz guitar and big drums, Quix*o*tic evoke a tender intimacy.
Four bites out of five.
Rockbites ratings 5: life changing, 4: stunning,
3: captivating, 2: amusing, 1: annoying.
Mortal Mirror
(Kill Rock Stars)
*** From
The Portland Mercury
This is the second record from Quix*o*tic, which includes Orthrelm's Mick Barr, Mira Billotte, and her sister, D.C.'s Original R.G. Christina Billotte, who used to sing and play guitar in the bands Autoclave and Slant 6. Those bands ruled due to Christina's guitar style (all angles and iron) and vocal style (husky and cryptic, like marbles rolling over her vocal cords). The ideas behind Quix*o*tic are interesting--spare, tough guitar melodies similar to obscure '50s cowboy and surf, plus some Yma Sumac--and, with a dose of the traditional Billotte punk, it seems as mysteriously creepy as sepia photos. (Quix*o*tic have been reading the magazine Cool and Strange Music.) Not the newest sound, but one that's employed very rarely. Maybe it's the scary cover photo, but in context, Mira and Christina's vocals are haunting, and tuff in a burlesque sorta way. JULIANNE SHEPHERD
Splendid Ezine 8/05/02
First impressions often deceive, and a glance at the cover of Quix*o*tic's latest led me to believe I was dealing with some fairly dark folks. I imagined the members of Quix*o*tic with their black cloaks drawn, lurking across an inky black midnight into an empty recording studio to concoct this off-balance stew of garage, punk and soul. A touch of Frog's Breath, a pinch of oak bark, the venom of a snake and a few hairs plucked from the unexpecting production team (including Fugazi's Guy Picciotto): Mortal Mirror's opening moments reinforce this sense of doom and gloom. But at heart, this Washington, DC three-piece has about as much to do with goth-punk innovation as the Cramps had to do with the Lennon-McCartney school of songwriting. Quix*o*tic strike me as a threesome content to plunder the discographies of their influences, only to re-present them in a fashion that often pits the tendencies of one genre against another -- with brilliant, original results.
There's a Zappa-meets-"Boris The Spider" vibe on album opener "Ice Cream Sundae" ("Ice cream sundae I've seen you / Looking good the other day / Something cold and hot at the same time / Time to go and meet you") that works really well, combining a deliberate drum beat with Christina Billotte's deadpan, almost somnambulant vocal delivery. The group moves on to cherish its heritage in the simple, propulsive rhythms of The Velvet Underground and the haunting Joplin-esque vocals exemplified by tracks such as "Anonymous Face" -- Mira Billotte bleeds into the microphone with a soulfulness that transcends the sister-duo's occasionally less than pitch-perfect delivery. Their duet on a cover of Billy Stewart's "Sitting In The Park" is an out-and-out pop confection, and one of the vocalists' strongest performances. In typical Quix*o*tic fashion, however, follow-up selection "Forget To Sing" is a study in contrasts, opening with a guitar lead that sounds like the bastard son of Joe Strummer and Dick Dale, quickly developing into an up-tempo garage ballad showcasing Christina's ability as an engaging front-person. Album closer "Lord Of This World" -- yes, the Black Sabbath epic from Master of Reality -- is Mira's final chance to shine, and Mick Barr's distorted bass line recalls Geezer Butler's original with a swampy-ness accentuated by the lo-fi, DIY nature of the recording.
Add a touch of vinyl hiss and the occasional skip, and Mortal Mirror becomes the sort of prize that most of us look forward to discovering at yard sales and church bazaars. Much like the critically neglected output of Canada's Elevator (ex-Eric's Trip), Quix*o*tic's sound is seemingly trapped in an era that had its day in the spotlight decades ago. That Barr and the Billotte sisters have seen fit to resurrect it for this engaging Kill Rock Stars debut should do something to dissuade generalized accounts of their "goth-punk sound", shifting the focus to their command of disparate underground musical styles and a cooler-than-you delivery that fits perfectly with the VU-fied inflections found throughout the disc. No witches here. -- Mike Baker
Post reviewer Mark Jenkins says of Quix*o*tic's album "Night for Day": Singer-guitarist Christina Billotte used to front Slant 6, an all-female trio whose first album was one of Dischord's most promising '90s debuts. Her new group, Quix*o*tic, augments her old one's Wire-y style with some near-goth minor-key material, a male vocalist (bassist Brendan Majewski) and a pair of soulful songs that emphasize the harmonies of Billotte and her sister Mira, the band's drummer. The effect is schiz*o*phrenic. The most jarring juxtaposition on the trio's "Night for Day" comes when the squalling "Witch Hazel" yields to a minimalist rendition of the Miracles' 1962 hit, "What's So Good About Goodbye." Both tracks are engaging on their own terms, yet they suggest that a synthesis would be more interesting. If Quix*o*tic can give its brooding songs (sample titles: "We Are Alone," "Dead Trees") the snap of classic Smokey Robinson, its second album should be a lot more distinctive than this one.Featuring former Slant 6 guitarist/vocalist Christina Billotte,
Quix*o*tic strips down said band's minimalist garage blueprint a step further into
haunting, loose, Cramps-ian terrain, with starkly simple melodies and Billotte's wispy
vocals at the forefront Highly suggested for fans of Slant 6, the Cramps, and
Satan's Pilgrims.--Nathan T. Birk
Quix*o*tic have stripped the garage riff to its gloomiest
essentials, abandoning the ebullience of sheer sonic force for a quieter introspection.
While the best songs are the ones that seem to follow the most in the tradition of Slant
6, there are unexpected gems to find. Mira and Christina's acappella cover of the Smokey
Robinson and the Miracles song "What's So Good About Goodbye" is perfectly
jarring and jarringly perfect. - Pete Rojas 01/31/00
Ixor Stix, POB 21811, Washington, DC 20009
With just guitar, bass, and drums, the Quix*O*Tic style on "Night for Day" is varied. On "Make the Ghoul Girls Cry," the wandering guitar lines remind me of Sleater-Kinney, but with lighter vocals and a more '60s feel. "We Are Alone" sounds like it could be on Jefferson Airplane's "Surrealistic Pillow," "Perfume for Plastic Flowers" is a mostly punk song. What remains constant throughout most of these tracks are the very light vocals of Christina and Mira Billotte and the heavy, wandering guitar lines. Fortunately, producers Guy Piciotto (Fugazi) and Craig Bowen keep the mix hard and edgy and don't spoil it by burying the guitars or bass. "Night for Day" doesn't have any major standouts, but it's a solid album and should get some airplay on alternative rock, punk, and guitar rock stations.--Hobby Broadcasting Reviews
If you mix in the right circles --or, possibly, wrong circles, perception pending-- the werk of Christina Billotte (Chris-teen-a Bil-lot-té) is held in sublime regard. Billotte started off life at the start of the last decade in a DC rockband called Autoclave, who hold hands as being they who gave both her and the utterly-graceful Mary Timony (Helium, o'course) to the world. Then, for this girl, came Slant 6, another Dischord outing that nailed some rather splendid mood-driven anglo-punk-reverent nighttime rock-trio-ism,ne'erseen in finer form than on the second record of their illustrious two-lp career,Inzombia.So, anyway, such days have long passed. But, after the passing of such days, in the year called 1999, Billotte surfaced from the black lagoon as the leader of a new rock pack, called Quix*o*tic. An early single gave way to a full-length, issued just as the year wound up to zeros. Night For Day, such an album (such an album recorded by cats called Craig Bowen and Guy [that's "Gee" kids] Picciotto), stays fairly consistent with its fairly impressive lineage. Even if it do unfold a little more slowly (as you kinda expect), Quix*o*tic stretch their limbs with more skeletally-bareboned non-rocking rock-n-roll. More simple rock-trio-ism that sits in some kind of strange un-genre of unfettered note-playing-guitar/loud-drum/shifting-bass type sound. And, the while, most of the while, Billotte lets peel with that deep and buttery voice, singing those spat-out words-and-works that sketch all kinds of classic-latenight-tale thoughts in charcoal. When, on the charming first-up tune, that girl does sing "and you say you're sad, but maybe your love's just bad, make all the ghoul girls cry"; it illustrates the same thoughts of horror-film/horror-in-love that were all over the record Inzombia. And, by the time the record rolls-credits on a take on traditional/religious ode I Am The Light Of The World --Billotte's torch-clutching voice kept warm over a burning beatnik pushbeat-- this latest full-length chapter of Billotte-ism is just as convincing as that last one.
Gravity Girl
*****Quix*o*tic
Christina from Slant Six and her sister and a lipstick smudged boy.
They were alot like the Shaags actually, except darker, they had a skull on stage.
Before I thought they would be like Nation of Ulysses or every other DC band but they
weren't.
They did standup acapella stuff with wood blocks, so heartfelt and lovely. They took the
trophy.
Miss French Vanilla
Quix*o*tic s/t 7" EP (IX 002)
Taut, sharp songs played with definite style. The melodies are strong, and they
last--demonstrating the difference between toe-tapping and heel-tapping; the one have so
much more invested in it. I am not used to being haunted like this.
here's some info on Quix*o*tic; they are a really good
band. hope you're
psyched... CHRISTINA BILLOTTE (SLANT 6 and AUTOCLAVE) returns with another
brilliant gem of wonderfully played and structurally unique pop. Joined by
her sister MIRA (ex-BLUE RYDERS) and BRENDAN MAJEWSKI (MURDER), Christina
pits her lyrical vocal melodies against quirky, mathematical structures.
Elements of Crass-style punk, doo-wop, and blues all get thrown into the
soup. A fine debut album, produced by GUY PICCIOTTO of FUGAZI.
Submitted by mkrshn on 16-Nov-1999;
QUIX-O-TIC Night for Day CD Ixor Stix IS3
Former Slant 6/Autoclave frontwoman Christina Billotte is joined by her sister Mira on
drums and Brenden on bass. They beautifully blend quirky monster themes, Crass and
60’s R&B within the amazing pop hooks you’d expect. ‘Day For
Night’ , their first full length gives us a more indepth glimpse into the strange and
wonderful world of one of DC’s most creative and unique bands.
Surefire Distribution, inc.