Knife Play is the debut studio album by Xiu Xiu, released on February 19, 2002. A sticker on the cover of the album reads "When my mom died I listened to Henry Cowell, Joy Division, Detroit techno, the Smiths, Takemitsu, Sabbath, Gamelan, 'Black Angels' and Cecil Taylor". The title is a reference to knife play. Noted themes include familial dysfunction, violence and despair; "Hives Hives" is a cover of the IBOPA song "Hives" that references AIDS and HIV, and "Dr. Troll" is about a young transgender girl who teaches a class of preschoolers. "Suha" is about the titular 25-year old woman, and features lyrics describing how Suha wants to commit suicide by cop. "Luber" is about a child named Luber who Jamie Stewart encountered buying Smashing Pumpkins records while working at a record store in San Jose. "Poe Poe" is about a sugar daddy, "I Broke Up (SJ)" is about the violent breakup of a relationship, "Don Diasco" is named after Don Dias, former member of Ten in the Swear Jar. "Homonculus" is about someone who was romantically interested with Xiu Xiu member at the time Yvonne Chen. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.