James Christopher Sheppard
reviews Panic of Girls
by Blondie
After some record company issues spanning almost a year, Blondie independently release their ninth studio album, ‘Panic of Girls’, on 4th July 2011. For die-hard fans, the special collectors edition of the album is available in UK from the beginning of June, complete with a 132 page magazine featuring an exclusive glance at the story behind the album, images, interviews and an overview of the band’s incredible career. So how does it sound? Impressively, Blondie seem to have come up with their freshest sounding collection of new songs in years. Panic of Girls furthers Blondie’s domination over the new wave genre and brings them into their fifth consecutive active decade as a band.
‘D-Day’
Establishing Blondie’s new sound as evolved and as edgy as ever, ‘D-Day’ is an up-beat, synth-tastic, addictive opening. This song has more punch than ‘Maria’, with an athemic chorus, big beats and Miss Deborah Harry’s voice sounding young and passionate. Fans of early Blondie will go crazy for this. 9/10
‘What I Heard’
The second offering continues the up-beat new wave electro feel of ‘D-Day’. ‘What I Heard’ is catchy, punchy and would sound brilliant on radio. Definitely a contender for a single. 10/10
‘Mother’
First single from the album, ‘Mother’, is a great tool for getting lovers of Blondie and new listeners alike excited about the new album. With a simple video featuring the band performing the song is a zombie-filled club, that is exactly what ‘Mother’ is about, a band clearly having fun and loving what their doing. 9/10
Watch the video for ‘Mother’ here:
‘The End The End’
The fourth track takes the album in a completely different direction, but doesn’t stray too far from the many incarnations of Blondie over the years. ‘The End The End’ is the first of many chilled out, laid back reggae tinged song made for summer listening. Harry stays in the higher register of her voice here which gives a really old school Blondie feel to the song. 8/10
‘Girlie Girlie’
Continuing the summery reggae vibe, ‘Girlie Girlie’ includes some of the funniest Blondie lyrics I know of, and even includes a cheeky giggle from Harry a couple of verses in where she is clearly acknowledging the ridiculousness of what she is singing. The giggle and the tongue in cheek lyrics make ‘Girlie Girlie’ a great and memorable, feel-good moment so far. 10/10
‘Love Doesn’t Frighten Me’
Back to a more contemporary Blondie sound, ‘Love Doesn’t Frighten Me’ rocks the tempo back up to where the first three tracks left us. Following the reggae break, this is a decent example of the band rocking out. 7/10
Read the rest of the review at Eyewear and see the overall album rating. Let us know your thoughts about the new album below.
Intellectual Intercourse 