After Robots

南アフリカ、ヨハネスブルグ出身の4ピース・ロック・バンド、BLK JKS(ブラック・ジャックス)が遂にデビュー! M.I.A.、ボンヂ・ド・ホレを世の中に送り出した張本人でグラミー賞にもノミネートされた最もゴキゲンなプロデューサー"ディプロ"に見い出され、アメリカに直輸入されたアフロでサイケな変化球ロック・バンド!プロデュースにシークレット・マシーンズのブランドン・カーティスを迎えて制作された本作は、シューゲイザー、ルーツ・レゲエ、アフロ・ロック、インプロなど様々な音楽要素を取り入れた、今までにないロック・サウンドが味わえる!

Spin - "[The album] exuberantly delivers....Epic centerpiece 'Kwa Nqingetje' reimagines OK COMPUTER if it had been unwittingly downloaded by teens in a Johannesburg township." Q - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]heir debut LP is an angst-ridden melange of everything from psychedelic guitar freakouts to jazz brass and dubby atmospherics." Rolling Stone - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "There are bits of jazz and dub, but mostly these guys want to rock. When they do it their way, they sound like nothing else." Paste - "On AFTER ROBOTS, the South African band strives for a sound as vast as the continent it hails from, and succeeds..." CMJ - "[E]pic, traversing a sonic territory that ranges from Afro-roots to the more melancholic art-rock and painting soundscapes as vast as the land from which the quartet hails." Clash - "[I]nfected with positively chaotic vibes, 'Molalatadi' and superior 'Banna Ba Modimo' feature a Hypnotic Brass Ensemble on sparkling form." Rolling Stone (p.105) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "There are bits of jazz and dub, but mostly these guys want to rock. When they do it their way, they sound like nothing else." Spin (p.82) - "[The album] exuberantly delivers....Epic centerpiece 'Kwa Nqingetje' reimagines OK COMPUTER if it had been unwittingly downloaded by teens in a Johannesburg township." Q (Magazine) (p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]heir debut LP is an angst-ridden melange of everything from psychedelic guitar freakouts to jazz brass and dubby atmospherics."

The '80s had GRACELAND, the '90s had Rusted Root, and the new millennium had Vampire Weekend, so at this point it should be no surprise when North American pop music embraces South African sensibilities. However, with BLK JKS' highly hyped debut, Afro-pop is presented in a different light. Instead of being a U.S.-minded album created with the help of African musicians, it's one created by African musicians. Instead of being a watered-down white take on tribal beats, it's a reversal: Africans staking their claim on indie rock. Like Mars Volta and TV on the Radio, the songs on BLK JKS' debut, AFTER ROBOTS, are made up of shifting soundcapes rather than a linear progression. More often than not, these reverberated parts (enhanced by producer Brandon Curtis) whirlwind away into a free-form jam full of horn blasts provided by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble or circular Santana-esque guitar runs. They fit into the indie rock genre about as loosely as Bad Brains fit the hardcore punk stereotype or Living Colour fit in the hair metal mold. Who cares? Pigeonholing is futile, this is simply solid music.|

またもディプロが素晴らしいバンドを引っ張ってきました。今度は南アフリカ出身だって!　ってことは伝統的なコーラス隊系!?　いえいえ、それが良い意味で予想を裏切る、哀愁味満点のサイケ・ロック・ダブ集団なのです。聴き方次第ではンバクァンガと呼ばれる同地のダンス音楽の進化系とも受け取れ、クセのあるフレーズや緻密に計算されたリズムはどこかスピリチュアルで、魂を持っていかれます。マーズ・ヴォルタ好きは必聴。
bounce (C)小泉いな子