Saint Dymphna

Rolling Stone (p.125) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Like fellow New York weirdos Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance make modern tribal music that seems like it comes from a strange, beautiful, largely imaginary culture." Spin (p.91) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[W]hen the band wraps itself around singer Lizzie Bougatsos' singular shrieks, they ascend to vertiginous heights..." Alternative Press (p.152) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "DYMPHNA's genre distinctions are more sophisticated and nuanced, whether they're futuristic disco-soul, languid dub reggae, computer-pop gone haywire, anguished no-wave or diffracted funk." The Wire (p.56) - "[T]his music breathes; vocals are often cut-up exhalations, crafted into pointillist beats....It all sounds wonderful, sparkling and glistening." Blender (Magazine) (p.74) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'First Communion' rides a percolating mishmash of Afropop riffs and techno thuds, and 'House Jam' combines Bougatsos' airy histrionics with stroboscopic rave sounds." Clash (Magazine) (p.124) - "This LP has a real cinematic feel and does slip into trip-hop territory on a number of occasions....This album has some real moments such as the ethereal beauty of 'Blue Nile'..." Clash (Magazine) (p.69) - Ranked #09 in Clash's "The 40 Best Albums of 2008" -- "[A]n essential foray into dance music that sound vehemently opposed to the linear structures inherent in computers." Signal To Noise (pp.56-57) - "Having finally sort of mastered the game of hopscotch they've been playing, GGD find new ways to test their limits....On SAINT DYMPHNA, Gang Gang Dance busts and churns and, for the first time, dances."

アンダーグラウンドで熱狂的な支持を受ける彼らが、壮絶なフリーキー・アヴァン・サウンド満載の傑作を従えて3年ぶりにシーンの最前線に舞い戻った!　同じくNY出身のアニマル・コレクティヴを引き合いに出せばちょっとは理解してもらえるか、オリエンタル、サイケ、トライバル、エスノ、エレクトロなどなど、いかようにも聴こえる楽曲群はもはや前衛アートの域に達していると言っていい。今年に入ってホイットニー美術館主催のビエンナーレに参加しているが、本作で聴けるさまざまにコラージュされた砲弾の如きビートも、異国へと誘うエスニックなアレンジも、悪夢のように繰り返されるフレーズも、すべてオルタナティヴなバンド・サウンドであると同時に、パフォーミング・アートであることを証明している。
bounce (C)平塚 望