Fittingly, the newest release by Blonde Redhead is difficult to pigeonhole. 23, the seventh release from this New York-based band, leads a sort of sonic double life: It's often haunting and quiet, yet at other times, songs sound like bumping dance tracks. The ambient and dance-rock sounds at first seem as incompatible as blonde and redhead (if you'll pardon the wordplay), but this album manages to be both.

As the second-most played album of the week on WSUM, 23 has been garnering attention and praise on the local scene and in the college music community in general. Blonde Redhead's self-titled first album was released in 1995, and since then, the trio of Kazu Makino and Italian twins Simone and Amedeo Pace has been developing an ever-increasing fan base that is only likely to keep increasing with the release of 23.

This album is full of twists and turns, and as soon as you think you've figured them out, Blonde Redhead throws something new at you in the next track. The album is rich in humming guitar riffs, hissing drums and Makino's breathy voice, which coos lyrics that are intentionally difficult to understand. This approach suits the album well, though: Listening to these songs has the benefit of listening to songs by, say, Icelandic band Sigur Rós, as the lyrics are not used to convey a message through words, but rather as beautifully formed sounds in their own right. The vocals become basically a whole other instrument.

Each song is its own entity, unique from all the other songs but perfectly fit into the story of the album as a whole. The album's opener and title track begins the album with five solid minutes of squeaky-clean production that binds distorted guitar, steady drums and Makino's angelic voice into one cohesive unit.

The video for the song is full of hazy shots where light is streaming into the lens, making the form of the band members difficult to see. It ends with a colorful kaleidoscope of shots. This video perfectly fits with the vibe of the song and conveys what a listener may feel while enjoying the music. Although "23" is clearly meant to be one of the "hits" of the album, as it is the title song and already has a video, there are much stronger songs on the album. This song is a little too pop-influenced and polished to hold the listener's attention for the full five minutes.

The disc's second track, "Dr. Strangeluv," begins with the sound of wind chimes before continuing with guitar riffs and Makino's icy voice, which at times is reminiscent of Sinead O'Connor in the way it effortlessly cuts through the rough sounds of guitar and drums, since it is so much higher and softer than the sounds of the other instruments.

"The Dress" makes it clear that Makino's voice can be very creepy when her whisper is combined with the tiptoe heartbeat of the drums and the shrill, dissonant guitar. Once listeners understand lyrics like "Fear starts creeping up/ When you have so much to do," they continue to reinforce the image created by the sounds, which almost make listeners want to hold their breath since they are so foreboding.

"Silently," the album's seventh track, takes on a decidedly different feel. The guitar in this song is much more upbeat, and clapping around the first minute of the song gives it a much more upbeat feel than the last. Makino's voice continues to feel icy, so the song never achieves a completely pop feel while she is singing, but there is a long period in the middle where the drums take center stage, and the song becomes rich and happy.

The following song, "Publisher," starts off sounding quite a bit like Radiohead, an influence already suggested in the thick, distorted guitar riffs — only now the vocals are done by Makino's male counterparts, providing the album with a nice variety about halfway through.

"(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I," the album's bonus track, has an electronic, experimental feel not seen in the earlier tracks and perhaps gives listeners an idea of what may be next for Blonde Redhead.

April seems to be the perfect time for this album to be released, as it has a light, delicate feel fitting for spring afternoons. The soft, detached sound of Makino's voice gives a sort of cold reality to the songs, making them emotionally accessible. This album overcomes its seemingly inherent contradictions to become a great addition to the work of Blonde Redhead.

Grade: 5 out of 5