23 is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Blonde Redhead. It released on April 10, 2007 by 4AD.
23 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 10, 2007 | |||
Recorded | 2006 | |||
Studio | Magic Shop, New York City
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Genre | ||||
Length | 43:23 | |||
Label | 4AD | |||
Producer | Blonde Redhead | |||
Blonde Redhead chronology | ||||
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Singles from 23 | ||||
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23 was self-produced by Blonde Redhead.[9] 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.[9] Drummer Simone Pace said that he found it "nerve-wracking" to begin recording the album with only loose ideas for songs.[9] 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".[9]
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."[9] Guitarist Amedeo Pace stated that the band was unsure of the album's direction until the mixing stage.[9]
Artist Alex Gross designed the album's cover art.[10]
23 was released by the label 4AD on April 10, 2007 in the United States.[11] It debuted at number 63 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart, selling roughly 11,000 copies in its first week of release.[12] In the United Kingdom, the album was released on April 16, 2007.[11]
The track "23" was released on April 2, 2007 as a one-track 7-inch vinyl single.[13] "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",[14] and as a 7-inch vinyl single featuring an alternate version of "(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I" on the B-side.[15]
Melodie McDaniel directed the first official music video for "23".[16] Mike Mills directed music videos for five of the album's tracks: "23", "My Impure Hair", "Silently", "The Dress" and "Top Ranking".[17] The "Top Ranking" video stars actress Miranda July.[18]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 83/100[19] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The A.V. Club | A−[20] |
Entertainment Weekly | A−[6] |
The Guardian | [21] |
Mojo | [22] |
Pitchfork | 7.0/10[23] |
Q | [24] |
Spin | [8] |
Uncut | 8/10[25] |
Urb | [26] |
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.[19] Heather Phares of AllMusic noted that on 23, Blonde Redhead "trades the cloistered chamber rock" of their previous album Misery Is a Butterfly (2004) "for tone-bending dream pop and subtle electronics".[2] 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."[2] The A.V. Club's Michaelangelo Matos said that the band's stylistic shift toward a "softer" sound "fits them exceptionally well."[20] 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."[6]
Pitchfork's D. Shawn Bosler was more reserved in his praise, finding the songs on 23 to be "well-written" but overproduced.[23] 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."[21] Joe Gross of Spin stated that the band lapses into "overheated ambience", and was particularly critical of Amedeo Pace's "wailing, overemotive" vocals.[8]
At the end of 2007, American webzine Somewherecold listed 23 as one of the year's best albums.[27] In 2016, Pitchfork ranked 23 as the 30th best shoegaze album of all time.[5]
All tracks are written by Blonde Redhead (Kazu Makino, Amedeo Pace and Simone Pace)
No. | Title | Length |
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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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I" | 8:03 |
Total length: | 51:26 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Signs Along the Path" | 3:45 |
12. | "(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I" | 8:03 |
Total length: | 55:11 |
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[10]
Blonde Redhead
Additional musicians
Production
Design
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] | 52 |
Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29] | 31 |
French Albums (SNEP)[30] | 77 |
Italian Albums (FIMI)[31] | 38 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[32] | 196 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] | 100 |
UK Albums (OCC)[34] | 152 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[35] | 13 |
US Billboard 200[36] | 63 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[37] | 4 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[38] | 20 |
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