| 23 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 10, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2006 | |||
| Studio | Magic Shop, New York City
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:23 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | Blonde Redhead | |||
| Blonde Redhead chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from 23 | ||||
| ||||
23 is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Blonde Redhead. It released on April 10, 2007 by 4AD.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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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