“Equus”
from the album Misery is a Butterfly
2004
iTunes
Download a free MP3 of “Equus” from the band’s website
 Blonde Redhead |
Blonde Redhead’s artsy punk beginnings earned them many “Sonic Youth Junior” tags. And though their noisy guitars and screechy vocals often warranted the comparisons, nothing is more frustrating to a good band than the accusation of aping another.
On Misery is a Butterfly, the New York trio dispenses with the Ranaldo-isms and ventures into a sound far more lush and moody. They create a dense, cinematic landscape that is at once beautiful and unsettling like a Darren Aronofsky film. “Elephant Woman” could have easily been a Portishead outtake, save for the live drums. “Melody” is a gorgeously mysterious downtempo track and “Magic Mountain” is one the of the most beautiful ballads the band has ever written.
But the final track, “Equus,“ switches the tone, adding some funky elements to the otherwise graceful collection. Redhead proves with Misery that they’ve graduated past art-punk status into eclectic songsmithing, capable of constructing albums that are both dissonant and dreamy.