Blonde Redhead - Misery Is A Butterfly

Blonde Redhead have emerged from a cocoon and developed a new moody sound- it's a sound worth hearing! It is thoroughly melodic, chorus laden deliberate guitar lines and keyboards border on the ethereal, conveying what can only be described as well planned ominous emotion. Reverb is a rarity; the album never descends into noise or any musical chaos but is characterized by a meticulous, tuned, or even dreamy sound. It took me a few listens to become accustomed to the high pitched style of the vocalists, but once settled in it works nicely across the whole album, giving the tracks a consistency throughout. The closing two tracks break the mold a bit; the fluttering keyboards in the opening of Pink Love, and Equus which looks to be the next single coming close to rockin'. Equus is the only song on the album that comes to mind when I hear others compare them to Sonic Youth.
Definitively Blonde Redhead is superior band is their ability to evolve. If you trace their last 4-5 albums you'll see a distinct history of musical growth. Their albums are not predictable, they don't sound samey, and they aren't immediately accessible. Good music grows on you and that's what this album does and that's what this band is doing.