CD Reviews

Blonde Redhead

23 | 4AD

By KATHRYN PERRY | May 1, 2007

3.0 Stars

There’s a supernatural spell of sorts woven through the songs on the new Blonde Redhead album. The New York–based trio’s seventh album is a weirdly entrancing collection of polished electronics and acoustic-guitar riffs layered like fruit in a parfait glass. Kazu Makino’s breathless, high-pitched voice ups the hypnotics by rendering the lyrics largely incomprehensible. This can be a shame — in “The Dress,” “I love you less/Now that I know you” leaves you wanting more. There’s a marked upturn in mood after the dark dreams Blonde Redhead leaned toward on earlier albums (including the aptly titled Misery Is a Butterfly); some tracks are even danceable. But there’s always a slight whiff of gloom in the air. “Silently” glides on a gentle groove wrapped around a sad story; the doleful “My Impure Hair” asks, “Maybe I live again/But would I lose again my virginity?” This album is not recommended for driving; you could drive right off into oblivion, caught up in Blonde Redhead’s mystical melancholy.

Blonde Redhead + Fields | Paradise Rock Club, 967 Comm Ave, Boston | May 9 | 617.931.2000