"A pinch of melody": that's the most important ingredient for a good Blondie song, according to singer Debbie Harry. "We try to do something that stays in the head and that is melodic, a catchy chorus," he adds. That is the secret of the influential New York band who, throughout their long career, has garnered numerous world hits such as "One Way Or Another", "Call Me" and "Atomic". His eleventh album, "Pollinator", goes on sale tomorrow and is full of new hits. The two singles released to date, "Fun" and "Long Time", have left a good taste. The first, a casual theme that invites to dance, sounds more to the disco music of the 70's than the group ever launched at that time. At the end of the music video of the new song the parties of "Studio 24" are remembered. In that legendary discotheque the video of "Heart Of Glass" was recorded. And in "Long Time", parts of that old hit are heard. "We celebrate recycling," she said. Harry is 71 and guitarist Chris Stein, 67. While some age groups put on a slower gait and produce slower music, the Blondie continues with dynamic and nergic songs in "Pollinator". "I knew I had to play rock'n'roll more," Stein explains in an interview with dpa. "Less electronic and with more guitar", it had to be. Something that has been followed especially in the first track, "Doom Or Destiny". In just three minutes Stein has time for an old-school guitar solo. In the background, guest singer Joan Jett ("I Love Rock'n'Roll") is heard.
Blondie has also received help in the process of composing the themes. The title of the album (pollinator in Spanish) describes the concept: pollinate and be pollinated. Just under half of the songs are written by Blondie. The others were written by other composers and later "blondieficadas". The British Charli XCX, known for being the singer of the hit disco I Love It Icona Pop, contributed to "Gravity", electronic rock, while Australian artist Sia ("Cheap Thrills") composed the somewhat monotonous ballad " Best Day Ever ". Former Smiths guitarist and declared Blondie fan Johnny Marr also participated in "Pollinator". He wrote "My Monster", a rock song in which he also plays the guitar. The songs on the new album revolve around personal relationships, love, its beginning and its end. "Do you love me yet? Fuckin 'prove it!" (Do you still love me? Well, prove it!) Demands Harry in "Fragments". This peculiar seven-minute progressive track that begins after two minutes of silence comes from indie Canadian composer Adam Johnston. Blondie has thought, produced and recorded this work in an intimate setting in the famous New York studio The Magic Shop, which also recorded David Bowie and Lou Reed. Stein worked more on his own on the previous album, "Ghosts Of Download" (2014). "This time we did it more as a group in the studio, as before," explains Harry. This means that "Pollinator" was performed largely live.
It was, of course, the last record recorded in The Magic Shop, because the studio had to close after 28 years because the rent in the neighborhood of Soho rose too much of price. As it was perceived in the last concerts of Blondie, the voice of Harry is now much finer, something that already was noticed in the past album. In "Pollinator" his voice has sometimes been modified with different effects. This is especially appreciated in "Best Day Ever" and "Gravity". However, it does not bother you at all. "We wanted to make a traditional Blondie album that sounded like our old works," Harry said. And the truth is that they got it. Harry, Stein and others re-join punk, new wave and disco music in "Pollinator" with a mixture of high quality pop loyal to the typical sound of Blondie. Although her music sounds inevitably more mature than it did 40 years ago, it's still very catchy and stays in the head.
