Misery Is a Butterfly (2004)

When they started in 1993, Blonde Redhead embraced guitar-driven dissonance, but the New York trio have mellowed over the years, wrapping their angst in cinematic ambience inspired by French sleaze-meister Serge Gainsbourg at his late-'60s peak. Despite sounding derivative at times, Misery Is a Butterfly further refines that volatile mix with a touch of fidgety elegance. Now if only the band could do something about the nails-on-a-blackboard singing.