Blonde Redhead – Misery Is A Butterfly

I got this after being on the blag with 4AD! I didn’t know anything about them when I got it, but I had it in my car then, and I played it to death. I still don’t know a massive amount about them – I know they’re twin Italian brothers and a Japanese female singer – but sometimes it’s good when you don’t know much about a band and just like the record. You don’t have to know all the history. I love the juxtaposition of the songs with the guys on, the ones with her on, and the weird imagery. ‘Maddening Cloud’ is one of my favourites by them, and the album after this, 23, is great too. I saw them play around the time of this album, though, in Berlin, and I loved it. What a beautiful sleeve as well. And David Sylvian did the vocal on ‘Messenger’, which was one of their B-sides. God, I loved Japan!