DIE PRETTY-Blondelle

Die Pretty-
Blondelle
Label-Rude Records
Status-Out as of 2007
Rating-4 Feathers

Hailing from England, Blondelle are one of those bands that make you wonder why they aren’t well known. Staying true to their punk influences, Blondelle released Die Pretty, a combination of punk and pop with a danceable tone. ‘Canary Effect Intro’ is not really a song, but an illustration of what the next song is going to be about. ‘The English Way’ is a genuine punk song about English Imperialism in the early Americas. The general guitar arrangements and vocals are true punk, which’ll make you swoon almost immediately. ‘Wonder’ is generally on the same note as the previous song, but only a tad more pop. Nontheless, it’s one the best songs from the album. ‘Golden Carriage’ starts out a little dark, but that good in my book. The crude vocals in keep with the authentic punk feel. ‘Yesterday’s Man’ is angrier than the last song, but the verse’s sound like ‘Say Hello To The Angels’ by Interpol, but the tone of the chorus saves it. ‘Other People’s Cars’ is not the best song, as in it’s not all that catchy and it’s really nothing too special. ‘Robolove’ starts out with a groovy keyboard that gives it a unique tune. The main problem with the song though is that the vocals start to meld with the instruments, which is generally unappealing. ‘Leave ‘Em for Dead’ is just a lot better in caliber than the last two songs. The lyrics are pretty entertaining and instrumental ‘breakdown’ in the middle is a nicely done. ‘Sofia Ran Away’: This is gonna sound anti-agression/punk, but they sound like they had a lot of fun recording this song, which if that feeling transmits to the listener, it’s automatically likeable. ‘Snow Clear Lines’ is a dark song, and although the vocals are a little too poppy, the instrumentation is very well done. ‘Die Pretty’ starts with a very catchy punctuated guitar. It has a danceable zest, which really gives a nice flair. You also gotta love lines like ‘well if vanity kills, then at least you’ll die pretty’. ‘With No Money’ has a nice mix of a light acoustic guitar combined with their signature electric guitar sound that gives it a bit more of an edge compared to the majority of the songs. ‘2 Years Short of a 5 Year Plan’ shows that they truly saved one of the best songs for last. The beat is absurdly danceable, but they still stay true to their basic sound. It has a weird time signature, but if your not out of your seat dancing around you don’t understand music. This is beyond doubt a fantastic ending to such a huge breath of fresh air. If you couldn’t tell, this album was really great for the lack of publicity it received. Basically, if you like The Clash when they’re authentic punk and you like the flair of The Ramones, you will like Blondelle without a doubt. Blondelle are now split, but upon hearing this album you can find solace in knowing that they definitely died pretty.

"It's the end of an era for us to say the least and although we never quite made it to the top, we hope that we will live on in a few people's memories." –Closing message from Blondelle

Video for Wonder

Recommendations: The English Way, Wonder, and Golden Carriage
Blondelle's Official Website
Note: Yeah, I promised I was gonna post another review last week, but I didn't, watcha gonna do about it? Huh? I kid of course. I was gonna post this but I ran out of time. I really hope you enjoy Blondelle. Just by looking at them you can tell they must be good. Happy Reading!