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23 (Blonde Redhead album)

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"Dr. Strangeluv" redirects here. Not to be confused with Dr. Strangelove.
23
Studio album by
Blonde Redhead
ReleasedApril 10, 2007 (2007-04-10)
Recorded2006
Studio
  • The Magic Shop (New York City, New York)
  • Stay Gold (New York City)
Genre
Length43:23
Label4AD
ProducerBlonde Redhead
Blonde Redhead chronology
The Secret Society of Butterflies
(2005) 		23
(2007) 		Penny Sparkle
(2010)
Singles from 23
  1. "23"
    Released: April 2, 2007
  2. "Silently"
    Released: May 28, 2007

23 is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Blonde Redhead. It released on April 10, 2007 by 4AD.

Background

23 was self-produced by Blonde Redhead.[8] 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.[8] Drummer Simone Pace said that he found it "nerve-wracking" to begin recording the album with only loose ideas for songs.[8] 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".[8]

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."[8] Guitarist Amedeo Pace stated that the band was unsure of the album's direction until the mixing stage.[8]

Artist Alex Gross designed the album's cover art.[9]

Release

23 was released by the label 4AD on April 10, 2007 in the United States.[10] It debuted at number 63 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart, selling roughly 11,000 copies in its first week of release.[11] In the United Kingdom, the album was released on April 16, 2007.[10]

The track "23" was released on April 2, 2007 as a one-track 7-inch vinyl single.[12] "Silently" was released on May 28, 2007 as a digital EP featuring the additional tracks "(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I" and "Signs Along the Path",[13] and as a 7-inch vinyl single featuring an alternate version of "(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I" on the B-side.[14]

Melodie McDaniel directed the first official music video for "23".[15] Mike Mills directed music videos for five of the album's tracks: "23", "My Impure Hair", "Silently", "The Dress" and "Top Ranking".[16] The "Top Ranking" video stars actress Miranda July.[17]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The A.V. ClubA−[19]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
The Guardian[20]
Mojo[21]
Pitchfork7.0/10[22]
Q[23]
Spin[7]
Uncut8/10[24]
Urb[25]

23 was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 83, based on 30 reviews.[18] Heather Phares of AllMusic noted that on 23, Blonde Redhead "trades the cloistered chamber rock" of its previous album Misery Is a Butterfly (2004) "for tone-bending dream pop and subtle electronics".[1] She found that "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."[1] The A.V. Club's Michaelangelo Matos said that the band's stylistic shift toward a "softer" sound "fits them exceptionally well."[19] Entertainment Weekly critic Simon Vozick-Levinson praised 23 as "an enthralling listen, proving once and for all that they deserve the wide success of fellow travelers like Radiohead and Sonic Youth."[5]

Pitchfork's D. Shawn Bosler was more reserved in his praise, finding the songs on 23 to be "well-written" but overproduced.[22] Dave Simpson of The Guardian felt that the album is marred by "muddy, unfocused production", despite having "more than most seventh albums' share of otherworldly pop delights."[20] Joe Gross of Spin stated that the band lapses into "overheated ambience", and was particularly critical of Amedeo Pace's "wailing, overemotive" vocals.[7]

At the end of 2007, American webzine Somewherecold listed 23 as one of the year's best albums.[26] In 2016, Pitchfork ranked 23 as the 30th best shoegaze album of all time.[4]

Track listing

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

No.TitleLength
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
Total length:43:23
iTunes Store edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I"8:03
Total length:51:26
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Signs Along the Path"3:45
12."(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I"8:03
Total length:55:11

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[9]

Blonde Redhead

  • Kazu Makino
  • Amedeo Pace
  • Simone Pace

Additional musicians

Production

Design

Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27] 52
Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 31
French Albums (SNEP)[29] 77
Italian Albums (FIMI)[30] 38
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[31] 196
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 100
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 152
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[34] 13
US Billboard 200[35] 63
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[36] 4
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[37] 20

References

  1. ^ a b c d Phares, Heather. "23 – Blonde Redhead". AllMusic. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  2. ^ Katzif, Mike (September 5, 2010). "First Listen: Blonde Redhead, 'Penny Sparkle'". NPR Music. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  3. ^ Howe, Brian (April 11, 2007). "Blonde Redhead – 23". Paste. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. October 24, 2016. p. 3. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Vozick-Levinson, Simon (April 9, 2007). "23". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  6. ^ Purdum, Grant "Gumshoe". "Blonde Redhead – 23". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Gross, Joe (April 2007). "Blonde Redhead: 23". Spin. Vol. 23, no. 4. p. 86. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Chick, Stevie. "Blonde Redhead Biography". blonderedhead23.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  9. ^ a b 23 (liner notes). Blonde Redhead. 4AD. 2007. CAD 2717CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ a b "Blonde Redhead: About 23". blonderedhead23.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  11. ^ Hasty, Katie (April 18, 2007). "'NOW' Remains No. 1 As Bright Eyes Debuts High". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  12. ^ "Blonde Redhead: '23'". 4AD. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  13. ^ "Silently – EP by Blonde Redhead". United States: Apple Music. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  14. ^ "Blonde Redhead: 'Silently'". 4AD. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  15. ^ Gottlieb, Steven (May 1, 2007). "New Release: Blonde Redhead '23'". VideoStatic. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  16. ^ Perez, Rodrigo (May 21, 2007). "Miranda July Stars In The New Mike Mills-Lensed Blonde Redhead Video; 4 More Clips Revealed". The Playlist. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  17. ^ "Blonde Redhead and Miranda July". Paper. July 17, 2007. Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  18. ^ a b "23 by Blonde Redhead Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Matos, Michaelangelo (April 24, 2007). "Blonde Redhead: 23". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  20. ^ a b Simpson, Dave (April 13, 2007). "Blonde Redhead, 23". The Guardian. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  21. ^ "Blonde Redhead: 23". Mojo. No. 162. May 2007. p. 110.
  22. ^ a b Bosler, D. Shawn (April 11, 2007). "Blonde Redhead: 23". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  23. ^ "Blonde Redhead: 23". Q. No. 250. May 2007. p. 123.
  24. ^ Pinnock, Tom (October 2016). "How to Buy... Blonde Redhead". Uncut. No. 233. p. 49.
  25. ^ Wasfie, Giselle Zado (April 2007). "Blonde Redhead: 23". Urb. No. 145. p. 100.
  26. ^ Lamoreaux, Jason T. (December 30, 2007). "SWC Awards 2007". Somewherecold. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  27. ^ "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – 23" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  28. ^ "Alternatieve Albums" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. May 5, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  29. ^ "Lescharts.com – Blonde Redhead – 23". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  30. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Blonde Redhead – 23". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  31. ^ "23 | ブロンド・レッドヘッド". Oricon. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Blonde Redhead – 23". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  33. ^ "Chart Log UK: Darren B – David Byrne". Zobbel.de. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  34. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  35. ^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  36. ^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  37. ^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
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