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Album Details

• Artist: Blonde Redhead
• Album: 23
• Label: 4AD
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2007-04-19

Blonde Redhead has been a very slow build for me. I tried out Fake Can Be Just As Good many years ago and it had nothing for me. Someone told me to check into Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons and I found a few songs to be charming but I still wasn't a "fan". But then 2004's Misery Is A Butterfly caught me by surprise. Blonde Redhead had sold me and I had become a fan. 23 is their latest offering of wonderful atmospheric pop and where Misery was a production masterpiece, 23 has been held back (production-wise) but with good results.

This album finds the group at what I consider their finest. The songs are amazing, almost shoegazy at times but there is too much focus on the vocals of Kazu Makino's voice. The way they layer her voice adds to the dreaminess of the album. "The Dress" is a good example of this. It is an immediate song. It's not just her vocals that impress either. The voice on "SW" and "Spring and by Summer Fall" shows that there is talent beyond Makino. The whole album seems to have a haunting quality with the swirly production.

I found the whole album to be immediate, in terms of enjoying. I didn't have to spend a lot of time to come up to this conclusion, but I do see myself revisiting 23 many times over the next year. I know I've been saying this a lot but seriously, don't miss out. I think even younger fans of bands like Silversun Pickups would appreciate Blonde Redhead now.

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