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Blonde Redhead’s ability to utilize noisy freakouts and perplexing dissonance to offset their infectious dream-pop melodies has always been their most notable quality. It’s not that the juxtaposition was ever particularly groundbreaking — Sonic Youth beat them to it by a decade — but their execution had typically been flawless, and they became one of the most consistently good indie rock bands around. That said, with the release of 23, they’ve changed gears a bit, focusing more on floaty atmospherics and an almost quaint kind of prettiness than on the auditory assaults we’ve come to expect. The results are mixed, though the high points are undeniable. ‘Top Ranking’ would have all the makings of an indie-rock dance hit if all the indie rock kids weren’t still just dancing to stupid 80s bullshit, and the lush, plodding nature of ‘My Impure Hair’ makes for the perfect album closer. The rest, though, too often trails off into the worst kind of background music: the kind that offers no rewards when you finally get around to paying close attention.
