Gamel

Originally an offshoot of the experimental rock madness of the Boredoms, Yoshimi P-We's multicolored song explosions with OOIOO grew exponentially into their own fearless amalgam of boisterous pop and trail-blazing experimentalism. Gamel is the band's seventh album since they began their studio existence with 1997's self-titled outing, and their first collection of new material since 2009's Armonico Hewa. Where other albums have been heavily edited and processed studio affairs, Gamel aims to harness the power of the band's live show, going for a more direct sound on its 11 brazen tracks. OOIOO have taken considerable inspiration for Gamel from Javanese gamelan music, a centuries-old style that often employs large ensembles playing a din of percussion instruments in unison. The band seems moved not exactly by the sounds of traditional gamelan, but by the spirit of many people working as one, and the singular Wall of Sound it can create. Though many of the songs do incorporate the interlocking bells, gongs, and chimes of gamelan, these ancient sounds co-exist with OOIOO's frantic vocalizations, crazed guitar sounds, and shape-shifting impulses of rock, tribal prog, and mutated chamber pop. The best moments of Gamel happen when all these frantic musical perspectives meet on an unexpected middle ground. Compositionally brilliant tracks like "Jesso Testa" manage to be graceful, threatening, and disarming at the same time, blending caustic guitar tones with playfully child-like vocal melodies and a blur of gamelan bells fluttering in the background like a swarm of happy hummingbirds. Epic album-opener "Don Ah" slowly builds from a rush of group vocals and cascading bell patterns into an almost funky prog-like riff, mutating into tribal psychedelia with blasts of noisy electronics and communal vocals before the song abruptly melts into the album's next selection around the ten-minute mark. Gamel is a frenzied and ecstatic experience, and one that ends up being brilliant in its bizarre combinations of sounds and ideas. ~ Fred Thomas

OOIOO×インドネシアの伝統音楽ガムラン!! 待ち望んだ4年振りのアルバムが凄いことになってます。1曲目のガムランの響きから心持ってかれました。OOIOOの予測のつかない曲展開、カッコイイベースライン、NEW WAVE、Yoshimi節とOOIOO族の魅力満載ですが、ガムランのリズムと倍音がゆらぎ溶け合い今まで聴いた事のない今まで聴いた事のない唯一無二の新しい民族音楽を聴かせてくれます! その超越さに感動。リスペクト!!
intoxicate (C)今瑞穂

極彩色に舞い躍るガムランの音色と、原始のグルーヴに脳を揺さぶられる!　BOREDOMSのYOSHIMIを中心に、カルト的な人気を誇るアヴァン・バンドの4年ぶりの新作が、自身主宰のレーベルより登場。前面に押し出されたガムランと呪術的な歌声、パーカッションのミニマルなリズムが混然一体となった祝祭サウンドは圧倒的な熱量だ。特に、揺らめくギターに眩暈すら覚える“Don Ah”のトリップ度はハンパない!
bounce (C)郡司和歌