Blonde Redhead

"I'll await you, while you're cheating/lightning strikes you when you're moving," sings Blonde Redhead frontwoman Kazu Mikino, whose vocals float atop rhythmic looping riffs in "The Dress," as she delves into loving-you-less and proves that early-'90s dreamy art-rock can still survive in today's power-pop-oriented world. The album's title track opens with bent piano chords, strikingly reminiscent of Neverending Story-like synths. Then the drums come in to whisk you off to a faraway place with their incessantly hypnotic and infectious beats. "Dr. Strangelove" follows, complete with rattlesnake-like percussion and yes, even cowbells, showing a tighter niche band whose musicianship is more diverse than ever. Whether or not they've been listening to a lot of Radiohead or have simply graduated on their own to a higher realm, Blonde Redhead's new record is both mature and polished.