Blonde Redhead

Blonde Redhead – 23

If there is anything upsetting to previous Blonde Redhead fans, it probably isn’t the loss of its quirky dynamic no-wave roots to its current expression of haunting melodies swirled around Kazu Makino’s echoey siren vocals. To pinpoint any possible dissatisfaction, it may simply resolve around this being Blonde Redhead’s most accessible album. Awash in waves of shoegazey craftsmanship (producer Alan Moulder crafted My Bloody Valentine’s classic Loveless), from the layered shimmering guitars and atmospheric synths to the ethereal dream-inducing sung lyrics, 23 is a dream-pop album of rising helium beauty. However it’s drummer Simone Pace who weighs all these air bits down with a crisp tight groove percussive gravity. It’s the harnessed restraint that keeps everything moving straightforward, from the snappy bop of “Silently” (which recalls the bounce of 2000’s Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons hit track “In Particular”) to the gentle closer “My Impure Hair.” Magically beautiful to the last note.