Blonde Redhead - 23
23 is my first venture into the world of Blonde Redhead and I must say that I am impressed. The album isn’t breathtaking, but it certainly has an allure to it that keeps me coming back for more. Blonde Redhead have been around for 14 years now, releasing 7 albums. Over this time, they have received considerable comparisons to Sonic Youth. I can’t really weigh in on this argument seeing as a have a shockingly poor knowledge on Sonic Youth, but to me their sound feels very distinctive. This is largely thanks to the vocal work of Kazu Makino. Her voice is rather eerie and the band uses this as the basis for creating their melodies, which more often than not come out quite obscure. I think between this band, Deerhoof and Yoko Ono, there’s enough evidence to conclude that all Japanese people are inherently strange. While that conclusion may be a bit far-fetched, there’s no doubt that musically, they’ve been responsible for some very weird creations and we are all better off for it. This review has been a little mediocre, but I guess I'm just struggling to describe this band in words. I think the best solution is for you to have a listen and see what you think. I’m kind of tentative in recommending it as I’m still not really sure how I feel about it, but that said, there’s plenty here to like.
Spring And By Summer Falls – As far as their regular sounds goes, this is a bit of an exception, but it remains as one of my favourites. Maybe after all of Makino’s thought-provoking pieces, it’s nice to have something a little more straight-forward.
Heroine – This song highlights the band’s obscurity quite well. The vocals are almost piercing and yet I still find them rather soothing.
5 comments:
One of those days....urgh
i'm really enjoying 23 as well. i only got into them with their last album Misery is a Buttefly which i strongly urge you to check out dude.
Lookin fwd to your Basics review.
I haven't got the basics album yet!! I was suppossed to receive it ages ago, but it looks like it got lost in the mail....so annoying. But I'm getting there! I'll try to have it done by saturday at latest...if i can get my hands on it.
Yep i agree, Misery is a Butterfly is another great album by Blonde Redhead. If at all 23 is light, then Misery is a Butterfly is shade but really well worth the listen. Great blog keep it up.
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