23, the 2007 album of Blonde Redhead, was released by 4AD in the middle of April.
The trio from New York has come a long way since their first album’s production by Sonic Youth’s drummer Steve Shelley in 1995, and this one is probably their most long-waited release – Japanese lead singer Kazu Makino and the Italian twins Simone and Amedeo Pace are one of the big bands now. 
This is the first album that the band has produced themselves, and, as they told nme.com, they are satisfied with both the experience and the result, as it gave them more control over their ideas. The sound of the album reflects this fact, as the music concentrates more on fullness and richness of texture and less on progression and form, at least in comparison to their other albums.
The whole production generally maintains a good level of quality, keeping almost the same atmosphere throughout all the songs. Personally, I would prefer something a bit more diverse –my favorite album of the group being their 2000 one, Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons.–, though I appreciate the profoundness and maturity of sound that 23 has to offer.
Useless bit of trivia: The band considered changing the name of the album, due to a thriller “The Number 23” starring Jim Carrey. They finally decided to keep it, because the number — explains Makino — has a special significance for the group.
When it comes to picking out specific tracks, each and every one of them has received good reviews on one place or the other. On 23’s page you can listen to Dr. Strangeluv, and it is probably one of the most representative tracks, too. SW is also pretty dense and gives a good picture of what the album is about, and I also liked The Dress (This was actually the first track I noticed).
Oh, here you can watch a video of the song 23.
Links:
Blonde Redhead’s 23 album site (tour dates, lyrics, info)
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