23 was self-produced by Blonde Redhead.[9] The members of the band stated that while working on 23, they aimed to be more "spontaneous" in their songwriting; "for simplicity and clarity"; and to avoid overanalyzing their compositions.[9] Drummer Simone Pace said that he found it "nerve-wracking" to begin recording the album with only loose ideas for songs.[9]Mitchell Froom collaborated with Blonde Redhead for several days in the middle of the album's recording period, assisting the band on two tracks, "Silently" and "Top Ranking".[9]
Lead vocalist Kazu Makino admitted that making 23 "wasn't an entirely enjoyable experience", adding: "Without a producer, a referee, we could really get on each other's cases. It got intense."[9] Guitarist Amedeo Pace stated that the band was unsure of the album's direction until the mixing stage.[9]
23 was released by the label 4AD on April 10, 2007 in the United States.[11] It debuted at number 63 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart, selling roughly 11,000 copies in its first week of release.[12] In the United Kingdom, the album was released on April 16, 2007.[11]
The track "23" was released on April 2, 2007 as a one-track 7-inch vinyl single.[13] "Silently" was released on May 28, 2007 as a digital EP featuring the additional tracks "(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I" and "Signs Along the Path",[14] and as a 7-inch vinyl single featuring an alternate version of "(We Are a Real Team) Harry and I" on the B-side.[15]
Melodie McDaniel directed the first official music video for "23".[16]Mike Mills directed music videos for five of the album's tracks: "23", "My Impure Hair", "Silently", "The Dress" and "Top Ranking".[17] The "Top Ranking" video stars actress Miranda July.[18]
23 was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 83, based on 30 reviews.[19] Heather Phares of AllMusic noted that on 23, Blonde Redhead "trades the cloistered chamber rock" of their previous album Misery Is a Butterfly (2004) "for tone-bending dream pop and subtle electronics".[2] She found that "while the wide open spaces sound a little bare at first, this streamlined approach ends up making this Blonde Redhead's loveliest and most accessible work yet."[2]The A.V. Club's Michaelangelo Matos said that the band's stylistic shift toward a "softer" sound "fits them exceptionally well."[20]Entertainment Weekly critic Simon Vozick-Levinson praised 23 as "an enthralling listen, proving once and for all that they deserve the wide success of fellow travelers like Radiohead and Sonic Youth."[6]
Pitchfork's D. Shawn Bosler was more reserved in his praise, finding the songs on 23 to be "well-written" but overproduced.[23] Dave Simpson of The Guardian felt that the album is marred by "muddy, unfocused production", despite having "more than most seventh albums' share of otherworldly pop delights."[21] Joe Gross of Spin stated that the band lapses into "overheated ambience", and was particularly critical of Amedeo Pace's "wailing, overemotive" vocals.[8]
At the end of 2007, American webzineSomewherecold listed 23 as one of the year's best albums.[27] In 2016, Pitchfork ranked 23 as the 30th best shoegaze album of all time.[5]
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