Penny Sparkle

Penny Sparkle
Penny Sparkle
Studio album by Blonde Redhead
Released	September 13, 2010
Studio	The Magic Shop, New York City; Sear Sound, New York City; DNA, New York City;
Genre	Dream pop; shoegaze; electropop; synth-pop;
Length	43:56
Label	4AD
Producer	Blonde Redhead; Van Rivers & the Subliminal Kid; Drew Brown; Alan Moulder;
Blonde Redhead chronology
Singles from Penny Sparkle
	"Here Sometimes"; Released: August 24, 2010;

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.0/10^[4]
Metacritic	64/100^[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]
Alternative Press	^[7]
The A.V. Club	B−^[8]
The Guardian	^[9]
The Irish Times	^[1]
Mojo	^[10]
NME	8/10^[11]
Pitchfork	4.0/10^[12]
Spin	6/10^[13]
Uncut	^[14]

Penny Sparkle is the eighth studio album by Japanese-Canadian alternative rock band Blonde Redhead. The album was released by 4AD on September 13, 2010, internationally, and on the following day in the USA.^[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Blonde Redhead (Kazu Makino, Amedeo Pace and Simone Pace)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Here Sometimes"	4:43
2.	"Not Getting There"	2:46
3.	"Will There Be Stars"	4:27
4.	"My Plants Are Dead"	4:17
5.	"Love or Prison"	6:13
6.	"Oslo"	3:54
7.	"Penny Sparkle"	4:33
8.	"Everything Is Wrong"	2:49
9.	"Black Guitar"	5:19
10.	"Spain"	4:55
Total length:		43:56

iTunes Store edition bonus track
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Untitled"	3:03
Total length:		46:59

Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Untitled"	3:03
12.	"Love or Prison" (Kastellet mix)	4:39
Total length:		51:38

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[16]

Blonde Redhead

Kazu Makino
Amedeo Pace
Simone Pace

Additional musicians

Davíð Þór Jónsson – keyboards on "Penny Sparkle"
Walter Sear – modular Moog synthesizer

Production

Blonde Redhead – production
Drew Brown – additional engineering and production
Chris Coady – additional engineering
Kabir Hermon – engineering (assistant)
Alan Moulder – mixing, additional production
Geoff Pesche – mastering
David Schoenwetter – engineering (assistant)
Brian Thorn – engineering (assistant)
Van Rivers & the Subliminal Kid – production, engineering

Design

Kazu Makino – design
Triboro – design

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[17]	57
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[18]	65
French Albums (SNEP)^[19]	89
Greek Albums (IFPI)^[20]	18
UK Independent Albums (OCC)^[21]	41
US Billboard 200^[22]	79
US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[23]	16
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)^[24]	18
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[25]	29

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Clarke, Jocelyn (September 10, 2010). "Blonde Redhead". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Pan, Arnold (September 22, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". PopMatters. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
^ "Here Sometimes – Single by Blonde Redhead". United States: Apple Music. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
^ "Penny Sparkle by Blonde Redhead reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
^ "Penny Sparkle by Blonde Redhead Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
^ Phares, Heather. "Penny Sparkle – Blonde Redhead". AllMusic. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^ "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Alternative Press. No. 267. October 2010. p. 112.
^ Matos, Michaelangelo (September 14, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^ Hughes, Tom (September 16, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". The Guardian. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^ Stubbs, Dan (October 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Mojo. No. 203. p. 90.
^ Sheffield, Hazel (September 13, 2010). "Album review: Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle (4AD)". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^ Cohen, Ian (September 14, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (September 1, 2010). "Blonde Redhead, 'Penny Sparkle' (4AD)". Spin. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^ "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Uncut. No. 161. October 2010. p. 87.
^ Breihan, Tom (June 23, 2010). "Blonde Redhead Sparkle on New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
^ Penny Sparkle (liner notes). Blonde Redhead. 4AD. 2010. CAD 3X27CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^ "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^ "Lescharts.com – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^ "Greekcharts.com – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^ "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

External links

Penny Sparkle at Discogs (list of releases)
Penny Sparkle at MusicBrainz (list of releases)

[Clarke-1] Clarke, Jocelyn (September 10, 2010). "Blonde Redhead". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 17, 2018.

[Pan-2] Pan, Arnold (September 22, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". PopMatters. Retrieved March 8, 2021.

[3] "Here Sometimes – Single by Blonde Redhead". United States: Apple Music. Retrieved March 8, 2021.

[4] "Penny Sparkle by Blonde Redhead reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

[5] "Penny Sparkle by Blonde Redhead Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 8, 2021.

[6] Phares, Heather. "Penny Sparkle – Blonde Redhead". AllMusic. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

[7] "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Alternative Press. No. 267. October 2010. p. 112.

[8] Matos, Michaelangelo (September 14, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 17, 2018.

[9] Hughes, Tom (September 16, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". The Guardian. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

[10] Stubbs, Dan (October 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Mojo. No. 203. p. 90.

[11] Sheffield, Hazel (September 13, 2010). "Album review: Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle (4AD)". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

[12] Cohen, Ian (September 14, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

[13] Weingarten, Christopher R. (September 1, 2010). "Blonde Redhead, 'Penny Sparkle' (4AD)". Spin. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2018.

[14] "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Uncut. No. 161. October 2010. p. 87.

[15] Breihan, Tom (June 23, 2010). "Blonde Redhead Sparkle on New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 8, 2021.

[16] Penny Sparkle (liner notes). Blonde Redhead. 4AD. 2010. CAD 3X27CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[ac_Flanders_Blonde_Redhead-17] "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.

[ac_Wallonia_Blonde_Redhead-18] "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.

[ac_France_Blonde_Redhead-19] "Lescharts.com – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.

[20] "Greekcharts.com – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2018.

[ac_UKIndependent_-21] "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 10, 2019.

[ac_Billboard200_Blonde_Redhead-22] "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

[ac_BillboardIndependent_Blonde_Redhead-23] "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

[ac_BillboardAlternative_Blonde_Redhead-24] "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

[ac_BillboardRock_Blonde_Redhead-25] "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

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