Blonde Redhead make Coldplay sound banal

Imagine a splendiferous album. As shiny as a hope upon discovering a new planet. Well, it may just be possible one is in a record store near you, entitled ‘Misery Is A Butterfly’. The band is called Blonde Redhead and this is pop music that caresses soul and spoils rotten your pleasure centres. It is so joyous, it is - indecent.

Floating in on the strings of ‘Elephant Woman’, this sonic delicacy opens like a fairytale book. It hovers above the mundane, diurnal, commercially minded music in favour of searching for outer limits of gorgeous, the inner flawlessness, the perfect chords and they almost achieve. ‘Doll Is Mine’ sounds a wee laboured, a touch too over-done, like David Sylvian attempting to do Peter Gabriel during the most-theatrical Genesis track.

Mellow orchestration, the mellifluous but also fragile and breathless vocal of Kazu Makino, it is all entirely something else. Vocals are shared by Amedeo Pace but his vocal is a tad less suited for these aural delicacies. Paucity is the word that comes to mind, another one is elegant. Ethereal, as well, providing visages of some quiet places where harmony reigns and nature is as friendly as a backlot meadow.

The flowery tempos unwaveringly emerge like from the realm where Ms Magic leaves its wand at night. The title track is a cinematic offering of the widest screen imaginable, gently rocking into hypnotic distance. Amedeo likes to keep up the pace [nope, it ain’t pun, the surname means - peace] and ‘Maddening Cloud’ is rather intense that is instantly counterbalanced by dreamy, cosmic and majestic ‘Magic Mountain’.

Blonde Redhead are one of the stalwarts of American underground music although they aren’t native: Amedeo and Simone Pace came from Milan as teenagers to live in Montreal; Makino left her native Kyoto in early 90s to study in New York, where the band eventually formed and are still located. But, no true art has ever been burdened by national limits.

The trios reputation is built on the word of mouth and this is their first album in four years. [The delay was caused in part by Kazu’s serious equine accident in 2002.] But, like the best wine - the prolonged maturing has probably made it that much richer, fruitier, extra-tasty. All these brilliant songs are kept together by sticksmanship of Simone who can be as forceful as HM drummie or as subtle as a jazzman.

The magnificent ‘Pink Love’ arrives at the penultimate place and travels the sounds fantastic over six minutes but ends strangely, in an abrupt manner, almost mid-vocal… And, as if all the preceding songs weren’t brilliant enough, they sign off with ‘Equus’, a chantey and catchy tune, pulsating with unbridled passion. This ‘Butterfly’ makes Coldplay sound banal.

Getaway from the futility of living is contained within these grooves… Listen to this and study mankind to be a better human being. Welcome to Sedna.

9/10