Misery Is a Butterfly is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Blonde Redhead. The album was released on March 15, 2004, by 4AD.[8] A lot of the album's lyrics and imagery reflects on Makino's 2003 horseback accident,[9] which required facial reconstructive surgery and months of rehabilitation, including re-learning how to sing. The tracks “Elephant Woman” and “Equus” make direct lyrical and rhythmic references to this event.
Continuing the sonic evolution that began with their previous album Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, the album integrates lush string arrangements (viola, violin, cello) and clavichords, giving it a cinematic, chamber-pop feel. The string arrangements were written and performed by Eyvind Kang[10] and Jane Scarpantoni.[citation needed]
Critical reception
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Misery is a Butterfly was well received by critics. Metacritic gave Misery is a Butterfly a score of 78/100, indicating generally favourable reviews. Pitchfork gave it a 4/5, saying: "Blonde Redhead have perfected their own unusual strain of perceived insincerity. They said it themselves, and it still rings true, [that] fake can be just as good." Rolling Stone gave the album a 3/5, saying "Blonde Redhead have been slogging away as part of the Sonic Youth-led downtown New York rock axis since the mid-Nineties. After five fair-to-middling albums, the band has suddenly emerged, Flaming Lips-style, with one of the better indie-rock records of the year: Misery Is a Butterfly." CMJ ranked Misery Is a Butterfly as the 18th best album of 2004.[21]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Blonde Redhead (Kazu Makino, Amedeo Pace and Simone Pace).
No.
Title
Lead vocals
Length
1.
"Elephant Woman"
Makino
4:49
2.
"Messenger"
A. Pace
3:21
3.
"Melody"
Makino
4:36
4.
"Doll Is Mine"
A. Pace
3:06
5.
"Misery Is a Butterfly"
Makino
5:07
6.
"Falling Man"
A. Pace
3:26
7.
"Anticipation"
Makino
4:04
8.
"Maddening Cloud"
A. Pace
3:20
9.
"Magic Mountain"
Makino
3:02
10.
"Pink Love"
A. Pace
Makino
6:13
11.
"Equus"
Makino
3:50
Total length:
44:54
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[22]
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