Penny Sparkle

Penny Sparkle is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Blonde Redhead. The album was released through 4AD in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2010, and the following day in the United States.

Penny Sparkle
Studio album by Blonde Redhead
Released	September 13, 2010
Studio	The Magic Shop (Manhattan, New York) Sear Sound (New York, New York) DNA (New York, New York)
Genre	Indie rock dream pop electronica
Length	43:56
Label	4AD
Producer	Blonde Redhead Drew Brown Alan Moulder Van Rivers & The Subliminal Kid
Blonde Redhead chronology
23 (2007) Penny Sparkle (2010) Barragán (2014)
Singles from Penny Sparkle
"Here Sometimes" Released: August 24, 2010[1]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.0/10[2]
Metacritic	64/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Alternative Press	[5]
The A.V. Club	B−[6]
The Guardian	[7]
The Irish Times	[8]
Mojo	[9]
NME	8/10[10]
Pitchfork	4.0/10[11]
Spin	6/10[12]
Uncut	[13]

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"	4:18
5.	"Love or Prison"	6:13
6.	"Oslo"	3:54
7.	"Penny Sparkle"	4:34
8.	"Everything Is Wrong"	2:49
9.	"Black Guitar"	5:20
10.	"Spain"	4:56
Total length:		43:56

iTunes Store bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Untitled"	3:03
12.	"Love or Prison" (Kastellet Mix)	4:39
Total length:		51:38

Personnel

Credits for Penny Sparkle adapted from album liner notes.[14]

Blonde Redhead

• Kazu Makino
• Amedeo Pace
• Simone Pace

Additional musicians

• David Thor Jonsson – keyboards on "Penny Sparkle"
• Walter Sear – modular Moog

Production

• Blonde Redhead – production
• Drew Brown – additional engineering, additional 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 – engineering, production

Artwork and design

• Kazu Makino – design
• Triboro – design

Management

• Kari Dexter – management
• Ed Horrox – A&R
• Tom Sarig – management

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15]	57
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16]	65
French Albums (SNEP)[17]	89
Greek Albums (IFPI)[18]	18
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19]	41
US Billboard 200[20]	79
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21]	16
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[22]	18
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[23]	29

References

1. "Here Sometimes – Single by Blonde Redhead". United States: iTunes Store. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
2. "Penny Sparkle by Blonde Redhead reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
3. "Reviews for Penny Sparkle by Blonde Redhead". Metacritic. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
4. Phares, Heather. "Penny Sparkle – Blonde Redhead". AllMusic. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
5. "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Alternative Press (267): 112. October 2010.
6. Matos, Michaelangelo (September 14, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
7. Hughes, Tom (September 16, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". The Guardian. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
8. Clarke, Jocelyn (September 10, 2010). "Blonde Redhead". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
9. "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Mojo (203): 90. October 2010.
10. 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.
11. Cohen, Ian (September 14, 2010). "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
12. Weingarten, Christopher R. (September 1, 2010). "Blonde Redhead, 'Penny Sparkle' (4AD)". Spin. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
13. "Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle". Uncut (161): 87. October 2010.
14. Penny Sparkle (liner notes). Blonde Redhead. 4AD. 2010. CAD 3X27CD.CS1 maint: others (link)
15. "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
16. "Ultratop.be – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
17. "Lescharts.com – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
18. "Greekcharts.com – Blonde Redhead – Penny Sparkle". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
19. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
20. "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
21. "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
22. "Blonde Redhead Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
23. "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)