Customer Reviews

In an Expression of the Inexpressible

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is by far the strongest album put out by this unique, eclectic NYC band. The music is very experimental and the album changes moods, rapidly. Distilled is a bit melancholy, yet beautiful and Missile++ is my favorite song on the cd, because the lyrics are beautiful and the drummer is amazing on this song! Ignore all of the comments you read that compare them to Sonic Youth. I love Sonic Youth and they really don't sound similar to each other, at all! But I do recommend fans of Sonic Youth to check out Blonde Redhead because they'll love them as well. If you adore indie rock, this is a gem.

This is just an incredible album, like all of the rest of their stuff. It took me awhile to start enjoying them. The dissonant guitars made me think they were biting Sonic Youth. But after a few listens I realized that they are very different. While Sonic Youth at their best relied on distortion and improvisation, Blonde Redhead writes non-traditional and dissonant melodies and uses lots of unique time signatures. But there's not a whole lot of improv there. I'd say they had more in common with Don Caballero than Sonic Youth.

If that sounds like your bag, get this record. It's wonderful, exhilarating, and totally unique. My favorite is the great drum line and cracking vocals that is track 4.

And if you have a chance, see them live. They are one of the best performing bands you'll ever see.

Might be described as a transitional album. Worth owning for the song "Distilled" alone. It feels rougher to me than other BR albums -- much less poppy than Damaged Lemons and more awkward in the vein of their first two. Still -- excellent if you enjoy their sounds.

i can't believe no one has reviewed this yet. quite simply put, this album is amazing. the way blonde redhead blend melodic pop craftsmanship with noise is as clever as anyone. live the band is nothing short of amazing. like the title of the album, these songs are able to express that which is beyond words, even the music is in love. new on this album is the way the put synthesizers to good use, complimenting the songs, and filling up the space left by their departed bass player (there is no bass on the album that i can hear), it brings their well-orchestrated sound to a new level. one of the best bands of the '90s, they continue to grow.

For me, Blonde Redhead at their best conjures images of deranged looking Japanese scientists in pristine white lab coats hovering over my hospital bed, grinning like Cheshire kittens whilst allowing the hypodermic needles in their hands to drip some kind of poison onto the floor.

Let's put the Sonic Youth comparisons to rest by just saying that for one, Kazu Makino whomps Kim Gordon's ass as far as listenability goes, and for some that might be saying something. Kazu's ability to pitch her voice up into that weird hesitate-to-call-it-a-falsetto-but-for-lack-of-a-better-word thing she does is a big part of the magnetism of Blonde Redhead's unique sound.

The best moments on this record come when Blonde Redhead are at their most twistedly melodic. The overdriven miasma of guitar that is "Distilled" will lope through your head for days like a wounded deer; "Suimasen" is surgeon's background music for a back alley abortion; "Futurism vs. Passeism Pt. 2" is a floaty, repetitive sound collage of guitar spackled with spoken word snippets doctored up to sound like they were pulled from the AM radio waves.

The worst moments on this record comprise the entire 6:00 or so of the title track, "In An Expression of the Inexpressible," and the rest of the album is fairly hit-or-miss.

They're not the most consistent of bands -- as others have said, they lend themselves more to mixtapes than anything else. As ridiculous as it seems to suggest, a 'Best Of,' done well, would encapsulate them better than any of their albums proper. As it is, though, they are one of few bands out there worth exploring despite their inconsistency.

Their latest, "Misery is a Butterfly" has very little guitar but is still quite listenable and considerably poppier than this record. If "In An Expression..." didn't fly your kite, try "Butterfly."

Blonde Redhead sound great whatever they do. There are pure some indy classics here and there are abstract 7 minute investigations featuring bizarre tempos and repetetive guitar sounds. This album is (funnily enough) great to listen to, to have playing and just to realise something new everytime. Essentially though it is experimental indie with great varying vocals.

this was the first blonde redhead release i bought and i very quickly appreciated it for its experimental edge. the detuned guitars and painful vocals reminded me a little bit of sonic youth, but as many have said, br do not sound like sy wannabes. the guitar tone is interesting, as are the drum beats, not to mention the vocals, which are spat out of japanese and italian mouths, and believe me, the accents add to the flavour of the songs. i feel this is their most experimental record. it is still very accessible though. fake... is the most guitar based sy influenced, especially vocals wise. violenta is not quite as noisy and the latest record is i believe, their best to date. the songs are more expertly crafted, the melodies more in-your-face and the general cohesion of the band is much stronger. sadly, i don't own the debut yet... this band keeps going from strength to strength. i'm hooked on their stuff.

jeepers creepers this is quite an album, sparesely dissonant at times and at others lush and melodic. okay, maybe not as noisy or edgy or experimental as you might think from all the sonic youth references that seem to follow these guys around, this album is still about tearing pop music apart, pouring lighter fluid on the remains, burning it, stomping on the embers and then trying to put the whole thing back together. the singer's voice (her name escapes me at the moment) is fantastic, pulling feelings and moods out of some dirty corner and them spewing them out like air. the songs seem half-formed and ethereal but thats the way they should be, and they never straight-out rock, there's always a little ingenious twist to go along with it. this album is about three brilliant musicians sitting down together and doing their darndest to destroy convention and come up with something new within (and without) the binding context of pop music. an EVOL for a new age! hooray!!

I dont think the Sonic Youth comparisons are really accurate, this band has a sound of their own. I would recomend it to anyone that likes My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab or (yeah) Sonic Youth

This album is so secretly beautiful. Starts out strong with "Luv Machine"and doesn't necessarily weaken in the end with "Justin Joyous," but I guess it's synonymous to coming down off a high (in the sense of being reflective of your own life or events and realizing what is important to you)-- the albums songs start out as a gradual change from something loud and powerful to something more quiet but equally as magnificent. To me the album is free to the listeners own interpretation, hence the album title "In an Expression of the Inexpressible."

Please don't pass this album up! Especially if you appreciate poetry, art, versatility, uniqueness, philosophy, and music that incorporates a vast occult of emotions.