Review: Blonde Redhead at The Rechabite

Blonde Redhead at The Rechabite
w/ Artfool
Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Beloved indie band Blonde Redhead returned to Perth after nearly 10 years since their last tour here. It was an intimate gathering with only the floor open tonight on a pleasant winter evening at The Rechabite in Northbridge.

Kicking off the proceedings was Artfool. Tonight, singer-songwriter Lo O’Hara had one other support musician on guitar, and between the two of them, they made an abundance of sound to showcase O’Hara’s earnest songs. Their short set of jangly numbers showed considerable promise, with the crowd engaged with the swelling melodies, insightful lyrics and deft strumming.

Next, Blonde Redhead appeared, looking stylish as always with flowing scarves, sharp threads and lots of curly or flowing hair. One of the two main singers, Kazu Makino, moved from guitar to bass to keys/synths effortlessly throughout the set. On some early songs, it appeared as though she might be suffering from a slight cold or some hoarseness, but she adjusted her style and charged on. Her impassioned singing, strutting and dancing provided a visual focal point for the songs she sang.

Blonde Redhead have always had a varied approach to presenting lyrics, with words spoken, shouted, crooned in falsetto, or whispered, all on display tonight. Fellow singer and guitarist Amedeo Pace and identical twin brother Simone Pace were also in good form, with Simone holding down the rhythms on the drums with aplomb and Amedeo rocking out on occasion and stepping on what looked like dozens of effects pedals during the songs. Playing their songs live, Kazu and Amedeo made use of loops and effects on the stringed instruments and keyboards to make a far bigger sound than you would imagine for just three people, requiring no additional musicians to pull off the songs faithfully.

They opened with Falling Man from 2004’s Misery is a Butterfly, a nice introduction to what was to come. This was also the earliest material the band drew from, with four songs from Misery, including the driving Elephant Woman (one of the many highlights), Doll is Mine and Maddening Crowd. Although 20 years old, these songs blended in well with last year’s most recent album, the wonderful Sit Down For Dinner.

Some of the more dramatic numbers featured were lifted from their most ‘dream pop’ album, 23. The title track, Dr. Strangeluv, and especially SW filled the hall with some of the fullest-sounding tracks of the evening.

The songs from Sit Down for Dinner comprised the standout performances for the show. After the decade-long break (and interestingly, no songs from the previous lo-fi album Barragan were played), the band was primed to perform songs from Dinner. The songs on this album bask in a sort of lushness from the delicate arrangements and shifting melodies within each composition. The title tracks (parts 1 and 2) were a perfect pop pair, whereas Snowman benefitted from a heavier guitar sound that gave the hooks some real melodic heft. Especially wonderful was Melody Experiment; to hear the melodies in this track unfold and build on each other was another standout moment. The heart-tugging I Thought You Should Know was also a joy to hear live, with the warm sounds enveloping the room and channelling the slow jams of bands like early indie stalwarts Galaxie 500.

The encore saw them play a couple more songs, including Kiss Her Kiss Her from Dinner, featuring Kazu’s animated singing, concluding the evening in style. Thirty years into their existence, Blonde Redhead seem poised to keep exploring and growing their sound and style. Never resting on past achievements, they have gotten better with age, like a vintage wine, and are a much better band now than 30 or 20 or 10 years ago, albeit a different one. On a June night, the rapt Perth audience got to experience them at the top of their game.

PAUL DOUGHTY

Photos by Linda Dunjey