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Avg: 4.5 (106 ratings)
- Date Released: April 10, 2007
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: 4AD
Downtown haute couture psychedelia.
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We Say...
After more than a decade spent bouncing between labels like Smells Like and Touch and Go, Blonde Redhead finally landed on 4AD back in 2004; for a band so in love with late-’80s rock — its tremoloverload, silver rocket exhaust trails and garlands of reverb — it’s arguably where they should have been all along.
And the title cut of the new 23 is a note-perfect, if pitch-bent, swirl of circa-’88 shoegaze, right down to vocalist Kazu Makino’s multi-tracked vocals and the baggy drumming, unsurprising since it’s produced by Alan Moulder, the man who helped to finally smuggle My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless into this world. But the song’s opening chords, more cinematic Vangelis synth-pop than noise-rock, are a sign that the band’s lost of none of the clipped multi-lingual glamour of its last few albums.
On 23, Blonde Redhead’s restrained new wave noise snakes like neon tubing, these glowing currents of guitar texture set to pared-down and always inventive drumming (the stereo-panning cymbals on “SW,” the glassy handclaps on “Silently”), with some surprises thrown in even for longtime fans (the regal Brian Wilson-esque horn fanfare that suddenly breaks from the watery guitar and pensive piano of “SW”). Even when they grind out a little feedback, like at the opening of “Spring and Summer by Fall,” it’s neatly penciled-in; in fact, the whole album is pristine — downtown haute couture psychedelia and Blonde Redhead’s most stylish work yet. -
They Say...
With each album since Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, Blonde Redhead has made huge strides forward with their sound. Misery Is a Butterfly pitted fragile melodies against dark, swirling arrangements, and its tragic glamour turned the album into a cult favorite. On 23, the band trades the cloistered chamber rock of Butterfly for tone-bending dream pop and subtle electronics; while the wide open spaces sound a little bare at first, this streamlined approach ends up making this Blonde Redhead's loveliest and most accessible work yet. The group begins each album with a bold statement of purpose, and 23 is no different. The epic title track's delicate electronic rhythms, swooping, shimmering guitars, and majestically bittersweet melody pitch it somewhere between My Bloody Valentine and Asobi Seksu, showing how a more restrained Blonde Redhead can still sound lush and haunting. "Spring and Summer by Fall"'s streaming, comet-tail guitars and "Silently"'s thorny melody hark back to Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, while "Heroine"'s vocoders sound surprisingly fresh, giving the song a fairy tale-meets-sci-fi vibe. This more whimsical, if not exactly lighthearted, feel flows through much of 23, especially on "Dr. Strangeluv," which boasts playful percussion and sparkling synths, and "Top Ranking," which layers Kazu Makino's vocals into futuristic girl group harmonies. However, Blonde Redhead hasn't ditched the brooding beauty of Misery Is a Butterfly entirely. "The Dress" is just as darkly stunning as any song on that album, with looping gasps and insistent guitars circling lyrics like "the fear starts creeping up when you have so much to lose," while "SW"'s melody and psychedelic brass interlude have a Butterfly-esque intensity. And as always, Blonde Redhead has a flair for haunting melodies, particularly on "Publisher," the chorus of which sounds peculiarly like Aerosmith's "Dream On." 23 is stunning -- in fact, its only flaw might be that its track listing is a little top-heavy, resulting in an album with an amazing first half and a flip side that is only very good. Nitpicking aside, 23 is mysterious and modern, with an artfully strange beauty that is more memorable than perfection.
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You Say...
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| 01. |  |
23 |
5:18 |  |
| 02. | |
Dr Strangeluv |
4:47 | |
| 03. | |
The Dress |
4:00 | |
| 04. | |
SW |
4:35 | |
| 05. | |
Spring And By Summer Fall |
4:15 | |
| 06. | |
Silently |
3:57 | |
| 07. | |
Publisher |
4:01 | |
| 08. | |
Heroine |
4:11 | |
| 09. | |
Top Ranking |
3:27 | |
| 10. | |
My Impure Hair |
4:52 | |
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Credits
- Greg Calbi - Mastering // Mitchell Froom - Help // Alan Moulder - Mixing // Skúli Sverrisson - Bass // Blonde Redhead - Producer // Rich Costey - Mixing // Morgan King - French Horn // Chris Coady - Engineer // Ted Young - Assistant Engineer // Alex Gross - Artwork // Andy Savours - Mixing Assistant // Brian Thorn - Assistant Engineer // Eddie Jackson - Editing // Eddie Jackson - Mixing Assistant // Alexander Gelman - Creative Director // David Heasty - Art Direction // Ed Horrox - A&R // Chris Sharp - A&R
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