If you thought Blonde Redhead were sultry before, be prepared to shift those metrics when “Here Sometimes” throbs gently and darkly from your speakers. The song opens the trio’s upcoming eighth LP, Penny Sparkle (4AD; September 14), which was produced by Van Rivers and The Subliminal Kid, the Swedish production duo whose distinguished work has been heard previously on records by Fever Ray, Massive Attack, Bats For Lashes and more. Though the brothers Pace and the enigmatic Kazu Makino previously toyed with electronic textures on Misery Is A Butterfly and 23, it’s clear the Scandinavian touch was all the band needed to bow completely to its beat-based tendencies. Like any sample of the Knife’s work, synthesizers and drum machines feature heavily on the song, but in a distinct way that definitively separates Blonde Redhead from the pack of similarly influenced indie acts. Indeed, Penny Sparkle is about as close a band can get to Depeche Mode’s Violator-era sexiness, a record that’s a clear reminder of why Blonde Redhead remains a significant, evocative force 15 years into its career.
“Here Sometimes” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/HereSometimes.mp3
