Change is natural for Blonde Redhead

Blonde Redhead has never stood still or settled for more of the same. Despite finding success as leading purveyors of the art-punk scene that thrived in New York City during the early '90s -- they were quickly signed to the Smells Like label launched by Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley, who produced their self-titled '94 debut -- the outfit has always made a point of forging toward new sonic frontiers.

In 2004, Blonde Redhead released "Misery Is a Butterfly," a disc that traded in much of the serrated guitar squall, jagged melodies, and general mayhem of its earlier work for a quieter, dreamier approach. Its latest, recently released seventh album, "23" (out now on the 4AD label), shifts even more dramatically into openly vast, ethereal territories and gently spangled electro-pop.

With the new disc, Blonde Redhead, which headlines the Paradise on Wednesday, has changed colors again, and yet there are as many strikingly textured highlights as ever, from the swirling shoegaze-y atmospherics of the title track to the blissful highs of "Dr. Strangeluv" to the woozy reflections of "My Impure Hair." The seismic shift in sound and strategy, says singer-guitarist Kazu Makino, happened quite naturally.

"I think we have been wanting to get here all this time," explains the Japanese-born Makino, on the phone a day before her band, which also includes twin brothers Amedeo (vocals, guitar) and Simone (drums) Pace, was scheduled to perform at the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif. "We hit a nice spot, and it was almost unknowing, sort of like the surprise of, 'Oh, I've been looking for this quite a while.' This is where we always wanted to be. We were always kind of exploring and everything came together. It just feels right to be doing this right now."

Although the name of the new album, as well as the lyrics to the title track, might seem to refer to the numeral that's been assigned a number of interpretations about its special metaphysical significance, Makino reveals a more mundane origin. "23 is my apartment number," she says with the kind of laugh that usually comes at the punch line of a joke. "But obviously, I like the number, and there's also significance for people about 23 -- it's a secret society in Europe. We don't know what the members do."

Makino is similarly circumspect -- and at times contradicts herself -- when talking about the transformation of Blonde Redhead's sound, what it might mean, and what might have triggered it. She once described the band's hairpin turns away from dissonant indie-rock and toward cinematic instrumental excursions and pensive minor-key reflections as a way of shrugging off confining expectations about what her band should be -- and how it should sound.

But now, Makino says she doesn't think, at least not consciously, about the implications of where Blonde Redhead's been, or where it's going. "I'm not aware of how we're changing." Makino says. "It's always amazing to me how everybody says, 'God, can't you just stay the same for a moment -- why do you have to keep changing?' But really, I'm not aware of it."

And yet, on those occasions Makino revisits the often tumultuous early work -- to brush up on old tunes for a new tour, for example -- she hears the group's music differently, at a remove and almost as a separate entity. "I say to myself, 'That's so good -- how come I couldn't appreciate it back then when I was doing it?' You feel all of the energy that you didn't realize you had."

Several years ago, a seriously scary accident nearly curtailed Blonde Redhead's energy for good. Makino was thrown from a horse while riding, got caught under the animal as she fell, and had her jaw shattered by its hoof. The singer's recovery was long and hard. She pauses when asked if she finally feels back to full strength. "Yeah, I suppose," Makino says, sounding vaguely unconvinced. "Sometimes, when I'm shouting my head off onstage, it feels a bit awkward to put [the jaw] back in a close-mouthed position, but it's no big deal. I got over that. I learned to sing with this jaw and I don't really remember what it was like before. I can still scream."

Not a bad boast from someone who's been doing just that on stages around the world for well over a decade (never mind someone who once had her jaw wired shut). But Blonde Redhead's shift in identity from onetime indie upstarts to seasoned veterans in a crowded field of next big things doesn't faze Makino. "The reason it's lasted so long is because we haven't really made our ultimate work yet," she says. "If we were completely satisfied with what we have done, we would have stopped. But I think the best is yet to come, for me at least."

BITS & PIECES Tonight The December Sound is at P.A.'s Lounge. Tomorrow Lucky 57 headlines the festivities at the St. Stanislaus Day Polka Party at the Abbey Lounge. Tuesday Grant-Lee Phillips is at the Paradise. Scuba celebrates the release of its new CD at Great Scott. The Toasters celebrate their 25th anniversary at the Middle East Upstairs. Wednesday Chris Brokaw and Geoff Farina are at the Lizard Lounge. Thursday Arcade Fire is at the Orpheum Theatre. Jet plays Avalon. The Swinging Steaks are at Toad.