Intimacy : New Version

デビューからたった4年でUKロック・シーンを牽引するバンドへと成長したブロック・パーティー。バンド最高傑作と呼び声も高い『インティマシー』に新曲1曲を追加収録したニュー・ヴァージョンが登場!プロデューサーにはポール・エプワースとジャックナイフ・リーを起用。

Rolling Stone (p.112) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Fronman Kele Okereke treats his voice like a strange instrument, chopping it up and dropping it into the mix....Replacing Bloc Party's distant cool with vivid honesty, he makes INTIMACY a confident new peak for his band." Spin (p.88) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Kele Okereke's lyrics make it clear the album's title is no accident: This is his relationship record..." Entertainment Weekly (p.61) - "Bloc Party have proved they can throw out a scapel-drawn guitar line with the best of the aughts' new-wave revivalists..." Uncut - 3 stars out of 5 -- "'Mercury' is a decidedly aggressive single...'One Month Off' is a quality 'Banquet' rewrite..." Alternative Press (p.144) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "INTIMACY is arguably Bloc Party's finest moment thus far, offering sweat and circuitry, savagery and submission, and a captivating energy that's severely lacking in many music scenes on the planet." Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Bloc Party have decided, it seems, to really go their own way on an album of extremes, both musically and emotionally....Boldness has its own reward in the big grime beats, tension-filled horns and cold self-loating of 'Mercury'..." Clash (Magazine) (p.122) - "Varied yet coherent, commercial yet experimental, one of the most confusing and downright exciting albums of the year."

〈飛躍〉という言葉がしっくりくる通算3作目だ。8月にはシングルを無料配信するなど時流に乗った試みで話題を呼んだ彼らだが、今作ではジャックナイフ・リーやポール・エプワースと手を組み、どっしりと腰を据えて次なる高みへと挑んだような印象を受ける。初作を〈動〉、前作を〈静〉とするならば、その両方のムードを取り込んだのが本作。爆発的なバンド・サウンドと美しい電子音を融合させ、目を見張るほどの進化を遂げたぞ!
bounce (C)白神 篤史