Blonde Redhead — the beloved rock trio of Kazu Makino and Italian twin brothers Amedeo and Simone Pace — unveil a new single, “Melody Experiment.”
The new track follows the announcement of ‘Sit Down for Dinner’, their first studio album in 8 years, due September 29th via section1.
“Melody Experiment” showcases bright and driving instrumentation, anchored by staccato guitar and a subtly infectious synth line. In stark contrast, the song’s lyrics detail a communication breakdown in enduring relationships: “Why would you be like you can always bail out if you choose to or if you wanted to/Why put yourself in the first place where you don’t know that you were meant to/Funny how decisions you make when you fall in love with someone/How would you feel If I kept you secret?/I didn’t know what I was afraid of/Well I felt somewhat abandoned/I felt abandoned myself, didn’t I?”
“This song is a conversational piece between two people,” says Makino. “One is questioning the intentions, integrity, and consequences of one’s emotions and actions. She is hypersensitive. The other keeps things simple, allowing himself to go with the flow. Musically, I was able to find something that is quite true and natural to myself, and now I want to continue on this path.”
In spring 2020, Makino encountered a passage from Joan Didion‘s 2005 memoir of grief, ‘The Year of Magical Thinking‘, which reflects on the author’s devastating experience of witnessing her husband’s sudden death at the dinner table. Makino was thinking of her own parents far away in Japan; the then-lost ritual of congregating for dinner with family; and the heavy, omnipresent feeling that life could change in the instant for any of us. There was one line in particular that would eventually lend itself to the album’s title: “Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.” With plainspoken language and incandescent melodies, Makino narrated these feelings on a pair of songs: “Sit Down for Dinner Pt I” and “Sit Down to Dinner Part II,” which helped title the band’s 10th full-length album. Simultaneously, the album title has a separate resonance for the Pace brothers for whom dinner together is nonnegotiable, and has in turn, become a sacred ritual for the band, as well.
‘Sit Down for Dinner‘ was written and recorded over a five-year period spanning New York City, upstate New York, Milan and Tuscany. The resulting album is immaculately structured, imbued with sensitivity, clarity, and resolve. Throughout the album, the understated yet visceral melodies create a foil to lyrics about the inescapable struggles of adulthood. It’s a meticulous and immersive testament to the unique internal logic Blonde Redhead have refined over their three-decade existence, one characterised by the sense of persistent togetherness.
Blonde Redhead’s UK tour kicks off this fall; a full list of dates can be found below and tickets are on sale now. In the spirit of ‘Sit Down for Dinner‘, Blonde Redhead will be hosting special dinners at select restaurants in Paris, London, New York and Los Angeles around the album’s release, offering a rare chance to spend actual time with the band. These are on offer via an exclusive bundle, including the’Sit Down for Dinner’ signed vinyl, a limited edition section1 magazine, and of course, a dinner with the band.
Blonde Redhead Tour Dates
20 JULY / UK / London / The Lexington
09 DEC 2023 / UK / Leeds / Brudenell Social Club
10 DEC 2023 / UK / Bristol / Thekla
12 DEC 2023 / UK / London / Village Underground
