This release is a bit problematic. Structured ostensibly as a tribute to the group's "European roots," Blonde Redhead could be forgiven for trumping the "global village" exotica card. The concept is not sound enough, however, nor is it executed as smoothly as one might have hoped.

The EP consists of five songs, the first two of which are versions of songs off their Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons album ("In Particular" and "Hated Because of Great Qualities") sung in French and Italian. These opening tracks form the crux of Melodie Citronique's misgiving. They're nothing special; the songs themselves are, note for note, exactly like their previous versions, suggesting that Kazu Makino, who sings on both, simply dubbed foreign language vocals over the backing tracks. While that's an underwhelming prospect to say the least, the awkward vocalizations add no new dimensions to the songs. The questionable premise is undercut by the fact that the Japanese Kazu has no "European roots" to speak of, and a certain laziness is apparent in neglecting to translate the chorus of "In Particular," which remains exactly as it was on the album.

The one new original track, "Chi E E Non E," is an entirely different matter. The first song written by the group in Italian, it's a delicate acoustic track sung beautifully by guitarist Amedeo Pace that brings to mind the more subdued moments of Os Mutantes. Why the song is tucked away and not given prominence in the EP's tracklisting is a mystery. Following it is a well-executed Serge Gainsbourg cover, "Slogan," sung in French by Kazu.

Melodie Citronique closes with "Four Damaged Lemons," a remix of Melody's "For the Damaged" by Third Eye Foundation's Matt Elliot. The remixing apparently had to do mostly with texture and atmosphere, as Elliot opts not to tinker with the actual song, preferring instead to drape a translucent sparseness upon an otherwise unchanged track. Pleasant enough, it's not the dramatic reworking necessary to round off this lukewarm collection. Simply put, the first two tracks are completely dispensable, the remaining three only lightly.

-S. Murray