Barragán (album)

Barragán
Studio album by
Blonde Redhead
ReleasedSeptember 2, 2014 (2014-09-02)
Studio
Genre
Length41:45
LabelKobalt
ProducerDrew Brown
Blonde Redhead chronology
Penny Sparkle
(2010) 		Barragán
(2014) 		Freedom of Expression on Barragán
(2016)
Singles from Barragán
  1. "No More Honey"
    Released: June 10, 2014[2]
  2. "Dripping"
    Released: July 8, 2014[3]

Barragán is the ninth studio album by American alternative rock band Blonde Redhead. It was released on September 2, 2014 by Kobalt Label Services.[4] The album was produced, engineered and mixed by Drew Brown, and was recorded at Key Club Recording in Benton Harbor, Michigan and the Magic Shop in New York City.[4]

Prior to its official release, Barragán was made available to stream online on August 24, 2014.[5]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.5/10[6]
Metacritic64/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Alternative Press[9]
The A.V. ClubC+[10]
Exclaim!8/10[11]
NME8/10[12]
Pitchfork4.3/10[13]
PopMatters4/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Uncut7/10[17]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Barragán received a score of 64 out of 100 based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]

Barragán's light, almost minimalistic sound compared to previous Blonde Redhead albums was received with mixed feelings. Exclaim! reviewer Cam Lindsay summarized that "Barragán is not an album determined to grab you in one listen; it's a 'grower,' as they say, but once it grows, it's apparent there's no shortage of baroque delights to discover on this veteran band's ninth album."[11] PopMatters' Zachary Houle was more critical, arguing that the music "lacks any kind of clarity in direction", and that fans might be alienated by "a band that is reinventing itself for the sake of reinvention."[14]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Blonde Redhead (Kazu Makino, Amedeo Pace and Simone Pace)

No.TitleLength
1."Barragán"2:13
2."Lady M"2:59
3."Dripping"3:40
4."Cat on Tin Roof"3:37
5."The One I Love"3:51
6."No More Honey"3:42
7."Mind to Be Had"8:46
8."Defeatist Anthem (Harry and I)"6:14
9."Penultimo"3:18
10."Seven Two"3:25
Total length:41:45

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[18]

Blonde Redhead

  • Kazu Makino – vocals, Chamberlin and Mellotron keyboards, harpsichord, organ, piano, synthesizer
  • Amedeo Pace – vocals, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, electric guitar, bass, Chamberlin and Mellotron keyboards, harpsichord, organ, piano, synthesizer
  • Simone Pace – drums, percussion, drum programming, organ, piano, synthesizer

Additional musicians

Production

  • Drew Brown – production, engineering, mixing
  • Jason Chang – engineering (assistant)
  • Sean Gavigan – engineering (assistant)
  • Kabir Hermon – engineering
  • John Horne – engineering (assistant)
  • David Ives – engineering, mastering
  • Lex – software design
  • Jessica Ruffins – engineering
  • Bill Skibbe – engineering

Design

  • Claude Cahun – cover photography
  • Tim Flach – photography
  • Lucie Kim – artwork
  • Kazu Makino – artwork

Charts

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Chart (2014) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 68
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 86
French Albums (SNEP)[21] 104
UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC)[22] 17
US Billboard 200[23] 180
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[24] 29
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[25] 48

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Podplesky, Azaria C. (November 5–11, 2014). "The Week Ahead". Seattle Weekly. p. 35. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "No More Honey (2014) | Blonde Redhead". United Kingdom: 7digital. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "Dripping (2014) | Blonde Redhead". United Kingdom: 7digital. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Beauchemin, Molly; Gordon, Jeremy (June 10, 2014). "Blonde Redhead Announce New Album Barragán, Share 'No More Honey'". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  5. ^ Thompson, Stephen (August 24, 2014). "First Listen: Blonde Redhead, 'Barragán'". NPR Music. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "Barragán by Blonde Redhead reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Barragán by Blonde Redhead Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Phares, Heather. "Barragán – Blonde Redhead". AllMusic. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "Blonde Redhead: Barragán". Alternative Press. No. 315. October 2014. p. 98.
  10. ^ Terry, Josh (September 2, 2014). "Blonde Redhead's quiet, listless reinvention on Barragán". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Lindsay, Cam (August 29, 2014). "Blonde Redhead: Barragán". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  12. ^ Horner, Al (August 31, 2014). "Blonde Redhead – 'Barragán'". NME. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  13. ^ Heller, Jason (September 3, 2014). "Blonde Redhead: Barragán". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Houle, Zachary (September 2, 2014). "Blonde Redhead: Barragán". PopMatters. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  15. ^ Segal, Victoria (October 2014). "Blonde Redhead: Barragán". Q. No. 339. p. 114.
  16. ^ Machado, Jessica (September 2, 2014). "Barragán". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  17. ^ "Blonde Redhead: Barragán". Uncut. No. 209. October 2014. p. 68.
  18. ^ Barragán (liner notes). Blonde Redhead. Blonde Redhead LLC. 2014. BLDE001CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – Barragán" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – Barragán" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  21. ^ "Lescharts.com – Blonde Redhead – Barragán". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  22. ^ "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  23. ^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  24. ^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  25. ^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
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