23

Blonde Redhead: a band with internationally family line-up

Among all questions concerning factors that can influence the music of a certain band such thing as line-up stands separately. And by all appearances this very moment plays a key role in the case of New York indie band Blonde Redhead. The thing is that it consists of Italian twin brothers Amadeo and Simon Pace who were brought up in Canada and Japanese girl Kazu Makino who came to United States to study. They all met in New York in 1993 and decided to make a band and since that time this line-up was not simply constant but it became even more stable after Simon and Kazu got married. A great advantage here is that the band works like a smoothly running mechanism, it develops and gathers fan base methodically and permanently. The trio's early records were generally associated with Sonic Youth but in the course of time Blonde Redhead got rid of this label offering their listeners more and more original products. Even an accident that happened to Kazu in 2000 when she was trampled by a horse couldn't interrupt the band's stable growth; they simply took a long recovery vacation. A tendency traced by musicians in 2000 was in writing something like meditative pop rock, it received its continuation on their recent album released in 2004 and finally it became well shaped and finished on Blonde Redhead’s new album 23.            

Melancholic electro pop

23 is definitely Blonde Redhead's brightest work to date, probably the ideas that the band was trying to say during their career are expressed here in the best way. The album features hips of beautiful melodies and tuneful layers, the songs are sufficiently divers but at the same time they comprise a certain entity and each of them may serve as an example of 23's common mood. The album starts with a bright self-titled composition. Despite its fast tempo the songs sounds soft and enigmatic. Kazu's voice never passes into a scream, most of the time she half-whispers her words but the melody is still perceptible. The arrangement creates a peculiar chamber feel as if the song was recorded with a full orchestra, though in reality they use the standard set of instruments. The album's centerpiece is Spring And By Summer Fall. This is a rather up-tempo composition and if it were not for its mystic atmosphere and minor chord progression it could be characterized as electro pop. Honestly speaking it is hard to say that any of the songs really stands out among all the rest. A leading position could be equally shared between such tracks as Top Ranking, Dr. Strangeluv or Publisher. Something attractive presents everywhere. The atmosphere of the songs balances somewhere between pop-rock softness and melancholy shifting in this or that direction a little at times.         

The musicians produced 23 on their own

The title 23 was chosen since Kazu asserted that this is her lucky number. And it seems like it is really so. After 12 years of existence Blonde Redhead decided to undertake a challenging task – they rejected from hiring a detached person and made the production work themselves. As a result, the main achievement of the album is deep emotionality. The technical side of performance and professional skill of musicians don't play big role here, a listener just don't focus his attention on small details. Each note viscously shifts into another and even vocals play a role of an instrument when they weave the melodies into the general canvas. Just like it was on many previous Blonde Redhead's albums there are no separate hits here, or at least it is hard to figure them out. 23 is a mood album, a single piece. It is quite possible that these songs may lose some part of their fragile charm if played separately. But the album's integrity has its disadvantages too: a deep, voluminous sound gradually erases boarders between the songs; it offers too little to catch on. But Blonde Redhead's ideas enthrall you so much that this doesn't really bothers you. 23 will suite to those who love deep diving into music and want to disconnect from the outside world. This is a bright and interesting work indeed.