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Delusions of Adequacy

Arguably the best album in their career.

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Misery doesn't step forward so much as expand outward; roughly half of the album... sounds as if it could've been lifted off of Melody. The other half is purely visceral. [#10, p.91]

All Music Guide

The album's soft-focus allows Blonde Redhead to explore its relatively newfound romanticism more deeply than before... but with less tension between the fragile and harsh aspects of the band's sound, its soft-focus occasionally drifts into lack of focus.

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Junkmedia

Repeated listens... reveal the album's complexity and highlight how far the band has come in the four years since their last release.

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PopMatters

The expansion of their sound to include breathtaking strings and keyboards has proven to lift Blonde Redhead out of the post-rock mire and recreated them as a band finally worthy of their past praise.

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Tiny Mix Tapes

The whole affair has a grandiose, almost decadent feel to it, with its damaged beauty and elegance.

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Playlouder

It's not just the vocals that captivate. The sheer busyness of the whole production and all the sounds are to be marvelled at, and though it would be easy to over-egg, they never allow any of the tracks to be cluttered or overblown.

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The Wire

A rewarding new departure. [#242, p.72]

Stylus Magazine

Despite the increased emphasis on production, like Blonde Redhead's entire catalogue, the chirping, child-like cords of lead vocalists Amedeo Pace and Kazu Makino act as the essential ingredient to the bands avant-garde concoction.

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Logo

Like an air-bushed Slint re-emerging with Stereolab as their chief influence, Blonde Redhead engulf their guitars beneath so many keyboard tinkerings.

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Mojo

They've carved a bleak and beautiful album; their best, in fact. [May 2004, p.106]

Flak Magazine

The album is something of a wash, packing a less potent dose of Makino but an extra kick of Pace.

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Pitchfork

The bristling energy that once held would-be sympathizers at bay has been turned inward, resulting in an unprecedented illusion of warmth.

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Spin

[Has a] swirling spy-movie ambience. [Jun 2004, p.108]

Q Magazine

An otherworldly, richly cinematic adventure. [May 2004, p.98]

Uncut

It works, mainly: though one or two songs could benefit from the old viciousness, these are seductive confections. [Apr 2004, p.104]

Rolling Stone

A bang-up mix of electronic song structure and guitar impressionism.

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Urb

Blonde Redhead's most confounding element is also one of their most endearing. With her ethereal, paper-thin voice, [Kazu] Makino often slips frustratingly off-key. [May 2004, p.84]

No Ripcord

It is never fun, but is always compelling.

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Splendid

Deliberately slow in tempo, delicately arranged, emphatically "dreamy" in tone, Misery is a Butterfly is lovely, but also difficult going for Blonde Redhead fans.

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Entertainment Weekly

Despite sounding derivative at times, Misery... further refines [their] volatile mix with a touch of fidgety elegance. [19 Mar 2004, p.65]

Dusted Magazine

Blonde Redhead haven't run out of ideas, but Misery strips them of their eccentricities so thoroughly that the few that remain sound out of place.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Marty S. gave it a10:
An album of absolute wonder ......... can't get enough!

jyotirmaya d gave it a9:
yoko ono recommended this cd to me. when i first heard it, it reminded me of some of the goth stuff i used to listen to in the 90s, but it was of better quality. a welcome addition to my cd collection. i love it.

kelly w gave it a2:
this record reminds me of the memory of the taste of this giant feast in a reoccuring dream; the savory liquids of the turkeys and hams turned out to be saliva cakes on my pillow. I used to love this band but thier preciousness is wearing thin; warm production and some strings can't save this lackluster record that is harmonically placid. Like the Catherine Wheel they started on fire though not knowing what they were doing or where they were going; the more they figure it out the less i want to hear thier music.

Tristram C gave it a6:
When I first bought this in the early half of last year I hated it. I felt like it was aping Radiohead, Mercury Rev and the like and mining for folks who couldn't tell the differernce. I did like one of the tracks, Pink Love, but I shelved it basically for the rest of 2004. At years end Blender included Elephant Woman in their best songs of the year issue and I tried the cd again. I was in the process of rediscovering the Cocteau Twins and this album struck a chord. Look, it isn't high art or anything but the textures are intricately composed and quite captivating. You could easily do worse and if you are into the bands mentioned or the dream pop coming out of Iceland (Sigur Ros, Mum, etc) you will definitely dig this record.

Toshiaki A gave it a10:
These Critics don't know what they are talking about. This group and this album is a masterpiece. 50 my ***.

John gave it a10:
This is a haunting album that stays with you for days. I found myself listening to it over an over again and couldn't put it away. Best Blonde Redhead album yet.

[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
I love every single song on this album.

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