Since the mid-90’s, Blonde Redhead has been perfecting modern art-rock with prolific electronics, fresh rhythms, and avant-garde melodies. On their seventh album, 23, the band develops their sound even further into a über-cool lounge vibe that’s as engaging as it is bewitching. With icy adrenaline, they create a more deliberate art through high-class mixing and haunting vocals that spawn an impossibly stylish aura. The energy and confidence with which they splash backlit pop into their eccentric cocktail confirms their extraordinary professionalism.
23 shows off Blonde Redhead’s throughly artistic sound through a more focused lens. There’s a compelling, melodic hook in each song. From the resounding piano and stampeding drums that start the opening title track to the lulling, echoed acoustica of “My Impure Hair”, 23 is a glowing, sensual illustration of modernism. It’s the upper-class yuppie’s ideal soundtrack to an expensive night on the town.
Kazu Makino’s feathery vocals casually stroll through the neon glow of abstract guitars and subterranean beats. On “Dr. Strangeluv”, she’s strained and wispy, while on “The Dress”, she’s ghostly. On the snappy IDM of “Silently”, her voice swirls and washes elegances over a club-worthy hit. Similarly, when Amadeo Pace sings, he bears a futuristic strain, especially in the semi-apocalyptic “SW”. The distorted post-rock chases in “Spring And By Summer Fall” and “Publisher” fit the metallic coolness in his vocals.
