Blondie Returns With a Sophisticated ‘Exit’

*** BLONDIE

“No Exit”

Beyond Music

Back when there was no such thing as “alternative rock,” Blondie emerged as punk-rock’s Nirvana, projecting the essence of underground cool while capturing the popular imagination with such sexy No. 1 singles as “Heart of Glass” and “Rapture.” More than a decade after its last album, the group’s formula proves savvy enough to make Blondie a pop catalyst all over again.

In better voice than ever, singer Deborah Harry sounds just as sharply deadpan, street-smart and incurably romantic, whether crooning such torchy ballads as “Double Take,” trading lines with rapper Coolio in the apocalyptic title track or mugging in jazz mode on “Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room.” But while stray riffs occasionally recall earlier tunes, “No Exit” is no nostalgia trip. Rather, the group’s seductive fusion of sophistication and savagery turns out to be timeless.

Tackling lilting ska-pop, lush dance numbers, driving rock and trance-like reverie with equal sonic punch, the players (particularly drummer Clem Burke) still sound like hot-blooded kids. Yet there’s maturity in the sad reflections of “Under the Gun,” as well as a nod to the band’s distant past with the Shangri-Las’ “Out in the Streets.” In this ephemeral reading, the song’s wistful lines about growing up come across like a wry comment on Blondie’s own staying power.

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