It's typical of those strange, real-life coincidences that your reviewer should just be finishing off reading about Catherine The Great when the new Blonde Redhead single, also apparently about, er, a passion of sorts for all things equestrian should land at his feet.
Still, while we maybe shouldn't go any further down that road, one thing is for sure: "Equus" - always the obvious single from Blonde Redhead's striking recent album "Misery Is A Butterfly" - is an excellent piece of work, now presented in pepped-up, buffed'n'sheened form with an additional, well-tailored disco heartbeat bassline from Skull Sverrison to boot. It's a lovely, haunting and accomplished four minutes that finds BF again clawing hard at their underground rock cocoon and shows they are getting ready for a more mainstream transformation.
It's not all of note here either. There's also a new version of "Messenger", where the existing chromatic drama is enhanced by a dark brown croon from legendary guest vocalist David Sylvian, formerly of Japan and a weighty solo performer in his own right. This writer must confess to having zoned out of developments chez Sylvian in recent years, but certainly here his voice adds enigma and gravitas to a song already steeped in atmosphere, and with maintained tension and Eyvind Kang and Jane 'ominpresent' Scarpantoni making with plucked arch strings, it really can't fail.
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Follow this up with a French language version of the sombre, beguiling "Melody" and a curiously captivating she-robot/ HR Giger-ish promo video featuring stop-frame animation from respected director Chris Hopewell (of Radiohead and Franz Ferdinand fame) and you have a package that just reeks of class and takes mystery to bed.
A strange, sophisticated seduction, Blonde Redhead are becoming more of a full-blown affair than a mere dalliance these heady days.
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