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Album Review: Blondie - Pollinator

Ross Clelland
StarStarStar

"While 'Pollinator' is hardly imperative, the brand name isn't embarrassed."

More Blondie Blondie

Albums with new material by legacy bands can be a worry - how could any new track stand alongside a back catalogue like Blondie's?

However, their history and standing mean when they put out a call for songs, names like Charli XCX and Johnny Marr offered up some more than serviceable tunes for this. Allowing that Deborah Harry's voice obviously isn't the thrilling trill of 1979, craftsman-built work like the The Strokes' Nick Valensi and Sia co-write Best Day Ever —and particularly Blood Orange's Dev Hynes' very shiny Long Time, with its almost Heart Of Glass-ish synth tumble —means that while Pollinator is hardly imperative, the brand name isn't embarrassed.