Outside

カナダはモントリオール出身のプロデューサー、マイク・シルバーによるソロ・プロジェクトCFCF(シーエフシーエフ)が、約4年振りとなる2ndアルバムをリリース!2012年から2013年にかけ、カナダの優良インディー・レーベル＜Paper Bag Records＞から発表された2枚のEP、『Exercises』、『Music for Objects』が話題沸騰中のCFCF。これまでのシンセ・ウェイブ～インディー・ディスコ路線とは打って変り、フィリップ・グラスや坂本龍一などのアーティストから影響を受けたというポストクラシカル寄りなサウンドを展開。また、ヴォーカルを加えることにより、80年代の爽やかなプロダクションを強調。彼が今まで探検してきた音やアイデアの集大成となっている。本作中の多くの曲はバスや電車で移動中に作曲し、目まぐるしく変化する環境の美しさを表現している。

During the four years between CFCF's full-length albums, Michael Silver explored several different sounds via a series of EPs. Some of these short-form releases, such as Exercises and Music for Objects, veered closer to classical and ambient music than the fizzy house and electro leanings of CFCF's debut album Continent. While Outside, which revolves around Silver's impressions of travel, motion, stability, and exploration, is just as conceptual as those EPs, musically it's another shift. Often, the album feels like the flipside of the still-hip '80s sounds he played with on his debut: Outside overflows with breathy synth pads, new age-y pan flutes, and approximations of exotic instruments that often read as cheesy to listeners decades later. Coupled with his soothing vocals, these songs are reminiscent of hypnagogic pop, though as a whole the album is more straightforward than most work by the practitioners of that dreamily retro style. Silver's reproductions of this glassy '80s sound are extremely faithful -- "Strange Form of Life" could have soundtracked an episode of Miami Vice. The way "Beyond Light"'s smoothly pulsating beat and melody gradually build in speed like a train pulling away from the station makes it a highlight, while "The Crossing" and "Jump Out of the Train" bring some passion to the proceedings. ~ Heather Phares|