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THE REVIEW
With Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons, Blonde Redhead had achieved considerable success both with the public and critics, so much so that they were chosen by the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the opening act for their live shows. Four years later, and three years after the EP Melodie Citronique, they release Misery Is A Butterfly, the highly anticipated new album from the Italian-Japanese trio.
The record follows in the footsteps of the previous work, marking the definitive transition of the band towards sophisticated pop and the singer-songwriter tradition: 11 tracks in which the noise of their beginnings seems definitively subdued, where the guitars merely serve as a backdrop to more complex arrangements, whereas in the past, they were the cornerstone of Blonde Redhead's music.
And this is precisely the flaw of the album, which definitely stands a notch below its predecessor: the arrangements sometimes appear too pompous and the result, in some cases, is cloying, almost as if Pace & co. took the proverbial step too far, losing the immediacy that made Melody Of... such an excellent work. To be clear, Misery Is A Butterfly is not a bad album at all, quite the opposite. It's compact and well-written, with tracks like "Messenger," "Falling Man," and "Magic Mountain" undoubtedly being of good quality, but it's in the concluding track, "Equus," that the band seems to showcase their best, shedding excessive embellishments and reclaiming a simplicity that thus gives hope for the future.
For the rest, we have to settle for a good album, which will disappoint the long-time fans of the group, who had already started grimacing after In An Expression Of Inexpressible, and also, in part, all those who were expecting a new Melody Of... Therefore, the judgment is postponed to the next album, hoping that the Blonde Redhead butterfly can definitively take flight. Rating: 3.5
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Summary by Bot
Misery Is A Butterfly continues Blonde Redhead's shift towards sophisticated pop with complex arrangements. While well-written and compact, it lacks some immediacy and emotional impact of earlier works. Key tracks like "Messenger" and "Equus" stand out, but the album may disappoint fans expecting a continuation of the previous album's vibe. Overall, a good but cautious step forward.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Blonde Redhead
Blonde Redhead are a New York-based trio described in the reviews as consisting of Japanese singer/guitarist Kazu Makino and twin brothers Amedeo and Simone Pace. Reviews depict their early years as Sonic Youth-influenced noise-rock, followed by a shift toward more melodic, ethereal indie-pop/dream-pop with increased use of keyboards and refined arrangements.21 Reviews
Other reviews
By donzaucher
Every song is a (positive) surprise, including the two slower ones and the final one, the most psychedelic.
This CD is VERY beautiful: it is more mature than the previous one, longer, more complete... more complex but no less accessible.
By Alessandro Gentili
Just listen to the first, melancholic notes of Elephant Woman: decadent atmospheres with a classic and Central European flavor.
A different, ethereal, soft and delicate album... complexity behind simplicity.
By Mariaelena
Misery is a butterfly of rarefied beauty and chaste love.
An electro-pop melody with dilated and caressing atmospheres, disarming beauty, transpiring pain, from a crystal-clear source.
