(4AD)

www.4AD.com

With each new album. Blonde Redhead moves away from the abrasive second-generation no wave trio that sprung up more than 15 years ago. No one can sustain that type of ruckus for that long and Penny Sparkle creates some heady dance music, blurring the lines between instruments and production. Like 2007's 23, Alan Moulder mixed the final product, but production chores were handled by the team of Van Rivers and The Subliminal Kid (Fever Ray, Massive Attack), who really give the band a new coat of paint. Drum machine and synth bass usher in "Here Sometimes" which, while disarming to longtime fans, still sounds fairly enchanting. That same can be said for vocalist Kazu Mazino, who sounds pretty and sweet here and throughout the album.

Once you get accustomed to its sound, Penny Sparkle's dreamier moments, like guitars initially thought to be buried in the mix, reveal themselves. But the songs all seem to reside around the same mid-tempo area, making the album drag during one sitting.

DOWNLOAD: "My Plants are Dead," "Love or Prison" MIKE SHANLEY