Fans at Blonde Redhead’s February 17th gig at London’s Scala benefited from its being postponed from the night before, when it was cancelled due to a power outage at The Garage. Blonde Redhead took the stage early at the posh, intimate club as supposed opening band TV on the Radio were still wrapping up a planned gig at the Camden Barfly.

Japanese singer Kazu Makino and Italian twin brothers Amedeo and Simone Pace, guitarist and drummer respectively, formed Blonde Redhead in 1993 in New York. Their harsh, repetitive yet lyrical sound recalls the ’70s-‘80s punk movement known as no-wave, which produced the likes of Brian Eno, Sonic Youth, and Helmet. Blonde Redhead, like other no-wave bands, borrows from a wide range of musical influences, as evidenced by Simone’s jazzy drumming, Amedeo’s post-rock drones, and Kazu’s baroque-sounding keys. Although the trio is more than enough to simultaneously caress and blow out your eardrums, they also introduce electronic samples every now and then.

Everything about Blonde Redhead’s sound seems to span the spectrum of soothing to frenzied. Kazu’s voice sang a sweet lullaby with In Particular off the 2000 release Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons before turning around to end the set with a sexily shrieked rendition of the title track from 1998’s In an Expression of the Inexpressible. Amadeo’s guitar can be sparse and repetitive or aggressive and fuzzy, and Simone manages to bring it all together whilst performing his own improvisations. These elements create Blonde Redhead’s sometimes-soft, sometimes-jagged sound that moves and exhilarates listeners.

Blonde Redhead made their brief European tour to promote their latest album Misery is a Butterfly, a first release on the Pixies’ label 4AD and a change from their previous associations with Touch & Go. The generally chilled-out new songs may disappoint fans drawn to the band by their curious punk sound, but their experimentation is still engaging. As one concert-goer exclaimed whilst Kazu and co. performed the new sonic ballad Anticipation: “I feel like having an orgasm.” Indeed. N.Harren

• Filed in music and live-music under blonde redhead,kazu makino,amedeo pace,simone pace
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• Permanent link to this entry: Blonde Redhead - Scala (17/02/2004)