#420 Blondie - Blondie

One of those bands kicking around that I wanted to get caught up on.

I remember seeing Blondie on the (excellent) No Thanks punk compilation, and went, really? Blondie? Punk? On further listening...still don't see it. There's a disinterested disdain and sassy swagger that seems somewhere in the neighborhood of punk, but not on the same block. Too much melody, too much 50's copping, leaving us at New Wave Ave, at the closest.

Ok, enough about Blondie-as-Punk doctrine. The band has an undeniable ear for hooks, with rollicking bass, pre-REM jangly guitars, rolling synths and of course Debra Harry's keening over top. For the most part, its not for me, the vocals too annoying, the song structures a bit too clean, the whole sound too trebly, though the synth lines are a revelation, especially on tracks like In the Sun and Sharks in Jets Clothing, and Rifle Range's backing vocals give some needed body to the mix.

I'm left roughly where I started on the band - sassy new wave, not my scene 2.5/5

You might like this if: you like angular, synthy rock, with a brash ladysinger firmly at the fore