Emotion in Motion: Blonde Redhead

BLONDE REDHEAD IS a tough band to sit in with. That's because the avant-rock trio's unique musical and familial relationships make it difficult to penetrate its aura of intimacy — thus, the lack of a steady bass player.

"It's hard to find other people who can be in the same space with us," says Amedeo Pace, guitarist and singer for the New York-based group. "It already feels full."

Pace, twin brother to drummer Simone Pace and songwriting Gemini to guitarist and singer Kazu Makino, admits the complexities of their kinships manifest in their music, and that live, fans often misinterpret his and Makino's musical fireworks for something that's more than just friends.

"People think we're married," Pace says. "It's a body language that shows how close we are to each other and the things you do when you're taken by the music."

Blonde Redhead's music has always been emotionally pitched, but also slightly experimental.

Initially drenched in feedback — as the darlings of the downtown indie-rock scene of the early '90s, signed to Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley's Smells Like Records — then inversely stripped bare — after switching to the Chicago-based, indie-heavyweight Touch and Go label — the threesome has been consistently edgy.

"23," Blonde Redhead's latest album, their sophomore full-length for 4AD, finds the band once again embracing a breadth of sound, but with synthesized strings and a symphonic din worthy of the label's dream-pop reputation.

"At the time, it felt like it needed that," Pace says. "Every record we do has a mind of its own and requires us to do certain things. '23' was difficult to make ... it took a lot out of me personally."

Blonde Redhead is best known for its singer-songwriting team's matching expressiveness. Pace and Makino, each other's equal as artists, typically write lyrics apart from each other but collaborate on song melody and composition.

On "Silently," Makino's voice pierces the musical atmosphere: "I realize now you're not to be blamed, my love / You didn't choose your name, my love." Simone Pace's rhythmic propulsion sends the songstress into an almost Supremes-like, "Baby Love" spiral.

"23" is lushly produced and elaborately arranged, but don't be fooled; Blonde Redhead remains true to its nature in concert. Sans studio trickery and a low end to back them up, the trio fills in the gaps with explosive emotion.

» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; with School of Seven Bells, Wed., 7:30 p.m., $20; 202-265-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express contributor Johnathan Rickman

Photos by Sebastian Mlynarski