23 (Blonde Redhead album)

23 was self-produced by Blonde Redhead. The members of the band stated that while working on 23, they aimed to be more "spontaneous" in their songwriting; "for simplicity and clarity"; and to avoid overanalyzing their compositions. Drummer Simone Pace said that he found it "nerve-wracking" to begin recording the album with only loose ideas for songs. Mitchell Froom collaborated with Blonde Redhead for several days in the middle of the album's recording period, assisting the band on two tracks, "Silently" and "Top Ranking". Lead vocalist Kazu Makino admitted that making 23 "wasn't an entirely enjoyable experience", adding: "Without a producer, a referee, we could really get on each other's cases. It got intense." Guitarist Amedeo Pace stated that the band was unsure of the album's direction until the mixing stage. Artist Alex Gross designed the album's cover art. ==Release==

23 was released by the label 4AD on April 10, 2007, in the United States. It debuted at number 63 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart, selling roughly 11,000 copies in its first week of release. In the United Kingdom, the album was released on April 16, 2007. "Silently" was released on May 28, 2007, as a digital EP featuring the additional tracks "(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I" and "Signs Along the Path", and as a 7-inch vinyl single featuring an alternate version of "(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I" on the B-side. Melodie McDaniel directed the first official music video for "23". Mike Mills directed music videos for five of the album's tracks: "23", "My Impure Hair", "Silently", "The Dress" and "Top Ranking". The "Top Ranking" video stars actress Miranda July. ==Critical reception==

23 was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 83, based on 30 reviews. In 2016, Pitchfork ranked 23 as the 30th best shoegaze album of all time. ==Track listing==

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Blonde Redhead • Kazu Makino • Amedeo Pace • Simone Pace Additional musicians • Chris Coady – robot voice on "Heroine" • Morgan King – French horn on "SW" • Skúli Sverrisson – bass Production • Blonde Redhead – production • Greg Calbi – mastering • Chris Coady – recording • Rich Costey – mixing • Mitchell Froom – assistance on "Silently" and "Top Ranking" • Eddie Jackson – engineering, editing • Alan Moulder – mixing • Andy Savours – engineering • Brian Thorn – engineering • Ted Young – engineering Design • Alexander Gelman – creative direction • Alex Gross – artwork • David Heasty – art direction ==Charts==