April 04, 2022

Blonde Redhead - 23 (2007)

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23 is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Blonde Redhead. It released on April 10, 2007 by 4AD. 
23 was self-produced by Blonde Redhead. The members of the band stated that while working on 23, they aimed to be more "spontaneous" in their songwriting; "for simplicity and clarity"; and to avoid overanalyzing their compositions. Drummer Simone Pace said that he found it "nerve-wracking" to begin recording the album with only loose ideas for songs. Mitchell Froom collaborated with Blonde Redhead for several days in the middle of the album's recording period, assisting the band on two tracks, "Silently" and "Top Ranking".
Lead vocalist Kazu Makino admitted that making 23 "wasn't an entirely enjoyable experience", adding: "Without a producer, a referee, we could really get on each other's cases. It got intense." Guitarist Amedeo Pace stated that the band was unsure of the album's direction until the mixing stage.
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. 
Artist Alex Gross designed the album's cover art.


Track listing

1.  23 - 5:18 
2.  Dr. Strangeluv - 4:47 
3.  The Dress - 4:00 
4.  SW - 4:35 
5.  Spring and by Summer Fall - 4:15 
6.  Silently - 3:57 
7.  Publisher - 4:01 
8.  Heroine - 4:11 
9.  Top Ranking - 3:27 
10.  My Impure Hair - 4:52 

iTunes Store edition bonus track
11.  (We Are a Real Team) Harry and I - 8:03 

Japanese edition bonus tracks
12.  Signs Along the Path - 3:45 

All tracks are written by Blonde Redhead (Kazu Makino, Amedeo Pace and Simone Pace).


Blonde Redhead

  • Kazu Makino
  • Amedeo Pace
  • Simone Pace

Additional musicians

Production

Design


Notes
Released:  April 10, 2007 
Recorded:  2006 Studio The Magic Shop (New York City, New York) Stay Gold (New York City)
Genre:   Shoegaze, Art Rock, Indie Rock, Apace Rock
Length:  55:11

Label - 4AD 

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