White Trash Heroes

米ノースカロライナ出身で、90年代USカレッジ・シーンで圧倒的人気を誇っていたアーチャーズ・オブ・ローフ。彼らが98年にリリースした4thアルバム『ホワイト・トラッシュ・ヒーローズ』が最新リマスター盤＆新ジャケット写真＆新ライナーノーツ＆13曲入りボーナスディスク付で登場！昨年1月、地元で13年ぶりとなるサプライズ・ギグを敢行し、まさかの再結成を果たしたアーチャーズ・オブ・ローフ。そして彼らがこれまでにリリースしたスタジオ・アルバム4枚全てが、米老舗レーベル＜マージ・レコーズ＞よりリイシューされることが決定（むせび泣き）！本作はその第4弾！キーボードやヴォコーダーを導入し変化を求めた意欲作。13曲入りのボーナスディスクが付いたファンにはたまらない豪華盤！

The final studio record from the Archers of Loaf is a far cry from their early days of fast, dirty, and unrelenting indie rock anthems, but it is also a phenomenally progressive album for the band as well as a fitting swansong. The opening, "Fashion Bleeds," is the closest the band comes to its days of yore, with a chugging drumbeat and vocalist Eric Bachman's strained vocals leading the way. The presence of a keyboard that soon starts to drift in sets the tone for the rest of the record, a dark and moody venture with some unexpected styles emanating from the group. They still get raucous and loud on occasion, but sometimes they mask it under a wave of distorted sounds or in the guise of a slowed-down dirge. The closing title track is also of note, in that its sinister keyboard and drum machine sounds, along with Bachmann's oddly throaty and melodic vocals, are exactly what the singer went on to do with his next group, Crooked Fingers. In fact, White Trash Heroes sounds more like a mix of the two groups than an actual Archers record, a fact that anyone familiar with the latter group will certainly realize to be a good thing. This is certainly not the simple and sloppy indie rock outfit that churned out short poppy hits in the mid-'90s, but the band clearly developed into something equally astounding and, with a few listens, the emotion and craftsmanship of these songs prove to be a truly impressive feat. ~ Peter J. D'Angelo