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Sep 26, 2023 By Mark Redfern Photography by Charles Billot

Blonde Redhead are releasing a new album, Sit Down for Dinner, their first new studio album in nine years, this Friday via section1. Now they have shared two new songs, title tracks “Sit Down for Dinner Part I” and “Sit Down for Dinner Part II.” They were shared via a short film/music video. Sebastian Mlynarski directed the film. Watch it below, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates.

The iconic band features Kazu Makino and Italian twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace.

The two songs and the album title are inspired by this passage from Joan Didion’s 2005 memoir of grief, The Year of Magical Thinking: “Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.”

Makino had this to say in a press release: “‘Sit Down for Dinner’ is written like a journal and I suppose it’s confessional. ‘Part 1’ starts with me living on a remote island and contemplating what to do. ‘Part 2’ is me writing to my mother and father alongside inspiration from Ms. Didion’s writing. It touches on death and destiny and how we move through our lives without knowing how and when the end will come (with no pity). I’m excited by the way I was able to put down my rather terrifying thoughts on top of ‘uplifting’ music. You would never guess what I’m singing about.”

Of directing the short film, Mlynarski says: “The inspiration for the film I made for ‘Sit Down For Dinner’ was the result of long conversations with Kazu. It was important to both of us to create visuals that were deceptively simple. She told me that the song was partially written in honor of her friend’s passing and that got us talking about death. We talked about the various types of death we experience in a lifetime, like an ego death, the death of a loved one, or a death of ideals. Culturally there’s been a lot of discussion about the death of masculinity so we were also interested in that. I turned to the footage of conflict, political uprisings, and sports. For every win there’s a loss, for every victor, there’s a loser. To a certain degree, I think we are always both. Some people die victorious on a hill somewhere, some die doing something they love, but there could also be someone who may die getting ready to sit down for dinner in front of their favorite television show.”

Previously the band shared the album’s first single, “Snowman,” which was one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared its second single, “Melody Experiment,” which was also one of our Songs of the Week. The album’s third single, “Before,” made a special Songs of the Week playlist.

Sit Down for Dinner was written and recorded over a five-year period in New York City, Upstate New York, Milan, and Tuscany.

Of the album’s title, Simone Pace said in a previous press release: “I know a lot of people eat and run, eat in front of their TV, or don’t care about it too much—and that’s OK—but we really do. It’s a moment for us to sit down and have time with each other.”

For Makino, eating dinner as a family took on new meaning during the pandemic when she couldn’t visit her parents in Japan. She said: “Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.”

Of Blonde Redhead’s enduring band dynamic, Makino said: “We have a language we have kept. We try to change rhythms, concepts, and sounds. But that harmonic sensibility has stayed the same. It hits the same part of your heart.”

Blonde Redhead’s last full-length album was 2014’s Barragán, although in 2017 they released the 3 O’Clock EP.

Blonde Redhead Tour Dates:

Thu. Oct. 12 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent - NEW
Mon. Oct. 16 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
Wed. Oct. 18 - Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
Fri. Oct. 20 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Sat. Oct. 21 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall
Tue. Oct. 24 - Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
Wed. Oct. 25 - Sante Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
Fri. Oct. 27 - Austin, TX @ TBA
Sat. Oct. 28 - Dallas, TX @ Studio at The Factory
Mon. Oct. 30 - St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar and Hall
Tue. Oct. 31 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Thu. Nov. 2 - Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
Fri. Nov. 3 - Montreal, QC @ Le Studio TD
Sat. Nov. 4 - Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre
Wed. Nov. 8 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Thu. Nov. 9 - Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre
Fri. Nov. 10 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Mon. Nov. 20 - Genève, CH @ PTR L’Usine
Tue. Nov. 21 - Parma, IT @ Teatro Regio di Parma
Thu. Nov. 23 - Cologne, DE @ Gebaude 9
Fri. Nov. 24 - Berlin, DE @ Hole 44
Sat. Nov. 25 - Hamburg, DE @ Bahnhof Pauli
Mon. Nov. 27 - Lille, FR @ Aeronef
Tue. Nov. 28 - Paris, FR @ La Cigale
Wed. Nov. 29 - Nantes, FR @ Stereolux
Fri. Dec. 1 - Rennes, FR @ Antipode
Sat. Dec. 2 - La Rochelle, FR @ La Sirene
Sun. Dec. 3 - Toulouse, FR @ Le Bikini
Tue. Dec. 5 - Brussels, BE @ Orangerie (at Botanique)
Wed. Dec. 6 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Thu. Dec. 7 - Leffinge, BE @ De Zwerver
Sat. Dec. 9 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Sun. Dec. 10 - Bristol, UK @ Thekla
Tue. Dec. 12 - London, UK @ Village Underground

Blonde Redhead Sit Down for Dinner Vinyl + Dinner Bundle Dates:

Thu. Sep. 28 - New York, NY @ Public Records
Sun. Oct. 1 - Los Angeles, CA @ Chainsaw - SOLD OUT

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