When It Falls [Digipak][Limited] [CCCD]

Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker made their debut as Zero 7 to much acclaim with 2001's SIMPLE THINGS. The UK duo's follow-up, WHEN IT FALLS, is a refinement of their style, rather than an expansion. Producers/songwriters Binns and Hardaker once again concoct a sultry melange of soul, acid jazz, pop, and electronica, all filtered through a hazy, late-night mood that gets murky but never melancholic.
On this set of songs, warm electric piano and twinkling synthesizers dance atop a bed of subtly insinuated funk grooves with a lazy, mid-summer feeling. Guest vocalists (mostly female) intone sweetly atop Binns and Hardaker's tracks, perhaps most notably the honey-voiced Mozez, reprising her role from the first album. The perky "Look Up" speeds along in a loungey, Stereolab kind of way, but otherwise WHEN IT FALLS is strictly music for the chill-out room, a silky salve for tired ears, and a place where both bed-sitters and all-night revelers can come to collect themselves and soak up the serene vibe.|

プロデューサーやリミキサーとしても名高いサム・ハーデイカーとヘンリー・ビンズによるユニット、ゼロ7がニュー・アルバムを発表。その独特なダウンテンポ・サウンドは、今作においても健在である。レイドバックしたギター、フェンダー・ローズが奏でるメロディー、ゆるやかに刻まれるリズム、たなびくヴォーカル。そこにほんの少しのソウル・フィーリングを加え、ワン・アンド・オンリーなサウンドを生み出している。
bounce (C)則武 秀保