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Sit Down for Dinner

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Sit Down for Dinner
A strawberry on a pink background
Studio album by
Blonde Redhead
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2023 (2023-09-29)
Length48:22
LanguageEnglish
LabelSection1
ProducerBlonde Redhead
Blonde Redhead chronology
Masculin Féminin
(2016) 		Sit Down for Dinner
(2023)

“I’ve been quite aggressively chasing some kind of independence. I could see [my bandmates] were a little intimidated, so I took advantage of that. My approach is a weird combination of naiveness and experience.”

—Kazu Makino on writing and recording Sit Down for Dinner[1]

Sit Down for Dinner is the tenth studio album by American alternative rock band Blonde Redhead.[2] It was released on September 29, 2023 by Section1 and has received positive reviews from critics.

Recording and release

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This is the first full-length studio album from the band since 2014's Barragán and writing for this music began in 2018.[3] As the songs came together over the course of several years, themes of aging, death, and mourning began to emerge and frontwoman Kazu Makino has specifically cited Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking as an influence on the album.[3]

Reception

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Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Heather Phares writing that "the trio brings its quintessentially elegant, mysterious music down to earth" on this album.[4] Editors at online retailer Bandcamp chose this for Album of the Day and critic Elle Carroll calling it "a proudly simple and deeply felt record".[5] This was album of the week at BrooklynVegan's Indie Basement, with Bill Pearis writing that it is one of the band's best and that it continues the "sweeping wistful vibe" of their music[6] and it was included in the best albums of September as well.[7] In Exclaim!, Dylan Barnabe scored this release an 8 out of 10, calling it "a homecoming nine years in the making" that displays the playfulness of the band.[8] In Guitar World, Andrew Daly noted the interplay between guitarists Kazu Makino and Amadeo Pace, particularly the former's unique style and how it creates the core of this album's sonics.[9] At The Line of Best Fit, critic Simon Heavisides rated this work an 8 out of 10 for being "a reminder of the random fragility of existence" that is "full of subtlety and deft unshowy skill" and "devastatingly gorgeous".[10]

Critics at All Songs Considered chose this as one of the five best albums of the week.[11] Pitchfork Media's Stuart Berman rated Sit Down for Dinner a 7.5 out of 10, writing that "though it goes a long way to reinstating Blonde Redhead’s singular mystique and impressionistic aura, Sit Down for Dinner is distinguished by an easygoing melodicism that, even in its darkest lyrical depths, makes it the warmest and most welcoming record in the band’s catalog".[12] Jon M. Gilbertstein of Shepherd Express favorably compared this album to Yo La Tengo, noting a mixture of musical influences and characterizes the album as "like a compilation of missives from a band that didn't make more music until it felt sure it had more music to make" rather than "a cliched return to form or an attempt to justify a long absence".[13] In Under the Radar, Mark Redfern chose the two halves of the title track to spotlight as some of the best songs of the week[14] and Matt the Raven later scored the album a 7.5 out of 10, stating that it "doesn’t quite capture the magic and sonically bright tunefulness from the previously mentioned albums, but it has enough of the genuine Blonde Redhead brilliance, especially those parts with Makino’s lush voice, to make it a worthwhile listening investment".[15]

In Glide Magazine, Ryan Dillon chose "Kiss Her Kiss Her" as one of the best songs of the week, calling it "an early favorite with the heaven-sent vocals slicing through a dense arrangement that swells into a synth-pop-style anthem".[16]

Editors of Vogue included this in an unranked list of the 22 best albums of the year, published on October 23, 2023, with critic Nicole Phelps noting that it is on "high rotation on my Spotify account".[17] Editors at Pitchfork Media included this in their list of the 37 best rock albums of 2023.[18] John Meagher of Irish Independent chose "Snowman" as the tenth best foreign song of 2023.[19] Editors at AllMusic included this on their list of favorite alternative and indie albums of 2023.[20] This was included in the 40 best independent albums of 2023 in BrooklynVegan's Indie Basement.[21] At Under the Radar, this was rated the 18th best album of 2023[22] and critic Mark Redfern chose it as one of his favorites of the year.[23]

Track listing

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  1. "Snowman" – 5:15
  2. "Kiss Her Kiss Her" – 4:22
  3. "Not for Me" – 4:14
  4. "Melody Experiment" – 5:10
  5. "Rest of Her Life" – 3:15
  6. "Sit Down for Dinner (Part 1)" – 3:11
  7. "Sit Down for Dinner (Part 2)" – 3:28
  8. "I Thought You Should Know" – 5:24
  9. "Before" – 4:28
  10. "If" – 4:22
  11. "Via Savona" – 5:13

Personnel

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Blonde Redhead

  • Kazu Makino – rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals, artwork, production
  • Amedeo Pace – lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, vocals, production
  • Simone Pace – drums, keyboards, production

Additional personnel

Charts

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Chart performance for Sit Down for Dinner
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 91
French Albums (SNEP)[25] 127
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[26] 50

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Corcoran, Nina (October 2, 2023). "Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino on the Music That Made Her". Features. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Murray, Robin (May 23, 2023). "Blonde Redhead Announce New Album 'Sit Down For Dinner'". News. Clash Music. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Wollen, Miranda (October 2, 2023). "For Blonde Redhead, Intentionality is Everything". Music > Features > Blonde Redhead. Paste. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Phares, Heather (n.d.). "Blonde Redhead – Sit Down for Dinner". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  5. ^ Carroll, Elle (September 27, 2023). "Blonde Redhead, "Sit Down For Dinner"". Album of the Day. Bandcamp. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  6. ^ Pearis, Bill (September 29, 2023). "Album reviews: Wilco, Blonde Redhead, Don Letts, Melenas, more". Indie Basement. BrooklynVegan. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  7. ^ Pearis, Bill (October 2, 2023). "Indie Basement: Best Songs & Albums of September 2023". Indie Basement. BrooklynVegan. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  8. ^ Barnabe, Dylan (September 28, 2023). "Blonde Redhead Are Inquisitive and Inviting on 'Sit Down for Dinner'". Music. Exclaim!. ISSN 1207-6600. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Daly, Andrew (October 25, 2023). ""The guitars have a vagueness and messiness – there's a certain cloudiness that creates our perfect environment. That's our sound": Blonde Redhead might not be the best of friends, but their otherworldly guitar textures are a match made in heaven". Features. Guitar World. ISSN 1045-6295. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  10. ^ Heavisides, Simon (September 28, 2023). "Blonde Redhead: Sit Down For Dinner Review – returning with a complete dazzling entity". Album Reviews. The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  11. ^ Touros, Cyrena; Morrison, John; Harris, LaTesha; Hilton, Robin (September 29, 2023). "New Music Friday: The best releases out Sept. 29". All Songs Considered. NPR Music. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  12. ^ Berman, Stuart (September 29, 2023). "Blonde Redhead: Sit Down For Dinner Album Review". Albums. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  13. ^ Gilbertstein, Jon M. (September 22, 2023). "Sit Down for Dinner by Blonde Redhead". Music / Album Reviews. Shepherd Express. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  14. ^ Redfern, Mark (September 29, 2023). "10 Best Songs of the Week: Eaves Wilder, Blonde Redhead, Cherry Glazerr, Lala Lala, and More". Music. Under the Radar. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  15. ^ Matt the Raven (October 3, 2023). "Blonde Redhead: Sit Down for Dinner (section1)". Music. Under the Radar. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  16. ^ Dillon, Ryan (September 29, 2023). "Blonde Redhead, Animal Collective, Wilco, Steven Wilson, Slow Pulp & More". Caustic Commentary. Glide Magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  17. ^ Phelps, Nicole (October 23, 2023). "The Best Albums of 2023 (So Far)". Music. Vogue. ISSN 0042-8000. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  18. ^ "The 37 Best Rock Albums of 2023". Lists & Guides. Pitchfork Media. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  19. ^ Meagher, John (December 8, 2023). "Ranked: The best international albums of 2023". Entertainment / Music. Irish Independent. ISSN 0021-1222. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  20. ^ "Favorite Alternative & Indie Albums". AllMusic. RhythmOne. n.d. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  21. ^ Pearis, Bill (December 21, 2023). "Indie Basement: Top 40 Albums of 2023". Indie Basement. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  22. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2023 Part 1". Lists. Under the Radar. December 23, 2023. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  23. ^ "Mark Redfern's Favorite Albums, Songs, and TV Shows of 2023". Blog. Under the Radar. January 8, 2024. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – Sit Down for Dinner" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  25. ^ "Top Albums (Week 40, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  26. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
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