SIT DOWN FOR DINNER BLONDE REDHEAD

Sit Down for Dinner by Blonde Redhead encapsulates the fragility and beauty of existence through a lush tapestry of sound. Inspired partly by Joan Didion’s 2005 account of bereavement, this album also references the comforting ritual of breaking bread with loved ones. Blonde Redhead's evolution over three decades is evident here, from their early dissonant indie days in NYC to the immaculate shoegaze majesty of their middle years, culminating in this seamless and fresh creation.

Following the somewhat disappointing Barragán in 2014, Sit Down for Dinner feels like a triumphant return. Conceived during the early lockdowns, this album synthesizes the various strands of their long history into a coherent and elegant entity, reminiscent of their high point, 23. Where Barragán felt unfinished, Sit Down for Dinner exudes luxurious melody and elegiac beauty, inviting listeners to lose themselves in its depths.

“Kiss Her Kiss Her” with its enveloping chamber-gaze, celebrates far-fetched dreams, contrasting the simplistic ‘American’ ideal. “Melody Experiment” showcases warm, inviting rhythms and smooth tempo shifts, embedding its melodic arrows deep. Kazu’s vocal floats above the action, delivering a haunting lyric full of confusion and ambiguity.

The two-part title track epitomizes the album's calm amidst chaos, with Kazu's vocal conveying the stunned bewilderment of life's arbitrary horrors. Dreamily anxious yet immaculately groovy, it marks the apex of an intensely satisfying record.

Full of subtlety and deft unshowy skill, Sit Down for Dinner holds the power to surprise and devastate with its beauty, ensuring that what comes next from Blonde Redhead will be eagerly anticipated.