Blonde Redhead - Misery is a Butterfly
(4AD)
After becoming increasingly arty through the late 90s, reveling more in the texture and artiness of proto-no-wave than the added melody of post-no-wave, the use of prominent keyboard melodies on Blonde Redhead's last album, 2000's Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, gave the band a new wave sound, especially on the songs sung by Kazu Makino. With that four year hiatus since "their pop album," the band has switched labels, going from Touch and Go to 4AD, and while the band retains their pop focus on Misery Is a Butterfly—never letting art interfere with sound—that sound is now more laid back, restrained, and midtempo. While there was always a sense of agitation and tension in Blonde Redhead albums, here everything is soft, calm, and pretty.
As both Amedeo Pace and Kazu sing lead, Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons was cleverly constructed to sound like an argument, alternating between songs where each person sings lead, letting lyrical themes weave throughout the album, revealing the sources of conflict as the album progressed. That style is replicated here, although these songs aren't meant to be contemptuous, but instead offer self-realization and a near sense of contentment as the couple reflects on their choice to be together.
In "Doll is Mine," Amedeo reflects back on his single life, singing "I must have seen too much skin, much more than I needed to," seemingly glad to leave that life behind. However, the stuttering strings, puncutated by Simone's fast-paced drumwork on the snare, give the song an uneasy feeling, as if Amedeo is trying to convince himself that he is happy about his place in life rather than being genuinely content. His declaration that "this love hasn't changed me" isn't an exclamation or outpouring, but a forced half-truth to make both him and his lover feel better.
The metaphor that runs throughout this album is "magic mountain." While the Disney ride may give a misleading conception of a short thrill ride, here "magic mountain" represents both the safety and isolation of a relationship. On the song "Magic Mountain," Kazu answers her own doubts about the boredom and interminableness of her relationship by finding she'll "never make it on the flatlands," as spooky feedback echoes in the background strengthening the sense of isolation and uneasiness over her choice to stay in the relationship. The next song finds the couple much more confident in their choice, as Amedeo and Kazu sing alternate stanzas in lovely, pastoral "Pink Love." Amedeo addresses the same metaphor, treating "magic mountain" as a place of great reverence as compared to Kazu's early hesitant acceptance, singing "it's not just a fairy tale." Kazu seems to embrace "magic mountain" much more, as well, singing of "so many polka dots" bringing home the magic of the mountain more than its isolation.
Despite its calmer nature, Misery Is a Butterfly feels much more like a Blonde Redhead album than did Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. The band seems to have taken a step back and tuned their style to pop music instead of just basing songs off poppy synth vamps. The calmer sound to the album makes the band sound much more mature, which is convenient given that a maturing attitude towards relationships is such a dominating theme on the record.
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