Blonde Redhead’s new album, Sit Down for Dinner (section1), is set to be released on September 29, 2023. Today, they present “Before,” one of the most sonically playful tracks on the album. With its stacked vocals by singer and multi-instrumentalist Kazu Makino, “Before” was written with the notion of reincarnation in mind, narrated from the perspective of a kid who seems to know it all: “I don’t need to see/I already know/I can tell you I’ve seen it all before/Once upon a time/Was I a silent child seen it all before/Stop before you run/Before you make a run/Turn it upside down.” Kazu elaborates, “Some children seem quite knowing as if they remember their past lives… or at least that’s the impression I get. The song is a sort of celebration of that kind of quality in a young person.” “Before” is the latest in a string of fantastic singles, including “Melody Experiment,” and “Snowman.”

In spring 2020, Makino encountered a passage from Joan Didion’s 2005 memoir of grief, The Year of Magical Thinking, which reflects on the author’s devastating experience of witnessing her husband’s sudden death at the dinner table. Makino was thinking of her own parents far away in Japan; the then-lost ritual of congregating for dinner with family; and the heavy, omnipresent feeling that life could change in the instant for any of us. There was one line in particular that would eventually lend itself to the album’s title: “Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.”
 
Sit Down for Dinner is immaculately structured, imbued with sensitivity, clarity, and resolve. Throughout the album, the understated yet visceral melodies create a foil to lyrics about the inescapable struggles of adulthood. It’s a meticulous and immersive testament to the unique internal logic Blonde Redhead has refined over its three-decade existence, one characterized by a sense of persistent togetherness.
 
Beginning this October, Blonde Redhead will tour North America, the UK and Europe. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets are on sale now. In the spirit of Sit Down for Dinner, Blonde Redhead will be hosting special dinners at select restaurants in Paris, London, New York and Los Angeles around the album’s release, offering a rare chance to spend actual time with the band. These are on offer via an exclusive bundle, including the Sit Down for Dinner signed vinyl, a limited edition section1 magazine, and of course, a dinner with the band.

Blonde Redhead Dinner Parties:
Sat. Sep. 23 – Paris, FR @ Montezuma Cafe
Mon. Sep. 25 – London, UK @ Brilliant Corners
Thu. Sep. 28 – New York, NY @ Public Records
Sun. Oct. 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Chainsaw – SOLD OUT
 
Blonde Redhead Tour Dates
Thu. Aug. 31 – Ogden, UT @ Ogden Amphitheater (supporting Phantogram)
Fri. Sept. 22 – London, UK @ The Lower Third – RESCHEDULED DATE
Thu. Oct. 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco
Sat. Oct. 14 – Riverside, CA @ Fox Performing Arts Center
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 @ Mohawk
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 @ Heimathafen Neukölln
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