Blonde Redhead

Blonde Redhead formed just 15 years ago, but 15 years in indie rock may as well be a lifetime. Indeed, Blonde Redhead already seems like it’s on its second life: The group’s spirit is intact, but its sound is far removed from the jagged fits of its early days and more in keeping with its current home on 4AD—the music on 23 is ever mysterious and always amorphous. The title track bends and warps guitar like a long-lost My Bloody Valentine gem, with singer Kazu Makino floating ghostlike through the fog. “Dr. Strangelove” and “Silently” similarly balance sweetness, melancholy and sonic invention, while “Top Ranking” and “SW” flirt with pop music without coming off shallow.

It’s fascinating to hear this former avant rock outfit grow and develop into something to be embraced, not just admired—though if there’s a downside to 23 it’s that relative gloss invites you to relax all too readily, with even the rare out-and-out guitar assault “Spring and By Summer Fall” seeming pillow-fight soft. But if there’s one thing both My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth (Blonde Redhead’s perpetual, if by now inaccurate, comparison point) proved long ago, it’s that volume and dissonance can be downright pretty when presented in the right shape and form. Like those prominent predecessors, Blonde Redhead appears to have mastered that shape and form as well, and also demonstrates that beauty for the sake of beauty can be thrilling in its own right.—Joshua Klein

Blonde Redhead plays Metro Saturday 14.