Among the veteran groups that emerged in the nineties that still show no symptoms of creative exhaustion, Blonde Redhead must be mentioned. His career is experiencing a new moment of inspiration, since at least 2007, although many will say that there has never been a downturn.
Their new single is brilliant again. ‘Blood Spilled’ brings together all the ingredients that make Blonde Redhead’s sound recognizable, but rearranges them to sound, once again, different.
Today’s Song of the Day is one of those pieces that grow little by little. It begins wrapped in a dreamy indie rock, with distorted guitars and synthesizers floating around Kazu Makino’s voice, until leading to an epic crescendo, almost an emotional tornado.
The lyrics seem to revolve around death, grief and the bond with those who are no longer here. Makino sings about the “blood spilled on the ocean,” wondering “did you abandon me?” and ends up finding comfort in the idea of a reunion: “someday I will see you again.” Before he claims that “my time, my pain and my joy” belong to this life “until I leave this body.”
Makino herself has explained that she wrote the song after a period marked by losses. He assures that death means the end of the body, but not of the soul, and that he continues to feel the presence of people who are no longer here. For her, ‘Blood Spilled’ talks about the free will of the soul and body, but also about taking advantage of the time we have here: «This is our moment, our pain and our joy. “They belong to us.”
Presumably the first preview of a new album that remains unannounced, ‘Blood Spilled’ is released alongside a B-side, ‘Crimson Door’, precisely the “crimson door” that Makino invites to open in one of the song’s verses.
