For All My Sisters

大人気UKロックバンド、ザ・クリブスによるニュー・アルバム!

UKロックバンド、ザ・クリブスが3年振り6thアルバムをリリース!
2012年にNMEアワード、Qアワードなど様々な音楽賞を受賞し、音楽シーンに影響を与えてきたザ・クリブズがカムバック!
英ウェイクフィールド出身のゲイリー、ライアン、ロスのジャーマン3兄弟で結成したザ・クリブス。12年に開催した第2回Hostess Club Weekenderにヘッドライナーとして出演し話題をさらった彼等による3年振りの新作となる本作は、米ボストンの人気バンド、カーズのリック・オケイセックによるプロデュースで制作された。共同プロデューサー&エンジニアとしてR.E.M.やサーカ・ウェーヴスを手掛けるサム・ベルが参加!二人はウィーザーの最新作『エヴリシング・ウィル・ビー・オールライト・イン・ジ・エンド』を手掛けた黄金コンビで、ザ・クリブスの魅力を最大限に引き出したロックアルバムが完成!

NME (Magazine) - "'Different Angle' rides in on a characteristically bold guitar riff and spectral backing coos and `Burning For No One' takes the new-wave tone of Elvis Costello or Magazine to unravel what sounds like a story of being ditched by a celebrity..." NME (Magazine) - "The Cribs are old masters at delirious, damaged indie punk greatness, and FOR ALL MY SISTERS is rammed with prime cuts." Clash (Magazine) - "FOR ALL MY SISTERS is loaded with the big riffs, melodic infectiousness and subtle euphoria that Weezer have made their own; the conceit is that it still sounds just like The Cribs at the same time..."

The Cribs have worked with plenty of A-list collaborators over the years, including Edwyn Collins, Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos, Johnny Marr, and Steve Albini. Nevertheless, having Ric Ocasek produce For All My Sisters was an especially inspired choice, considering that the band conceived of the album as a set of pop songs (an Albini-produced punk album was set to be released soon after). Much of the Cribs' charm comes from their volatile mix of rough and sweet -- especially on their previous album In the Belly of the Brazen Bull -- so focusing on just one of those aspects could have diminished their music. However, few of the band's other attempts to polish their style have sounded this natural. Ocasek adds just enough new wave sheen to make the most of For All My Sisters' sizeable hooks: Witness the handclaps and buzzy synths on "Mr. Wrong" or "Summer of Chances"' chugging riffs. Touches like these recall not only the Cars but also bring out the side of the Cribs that resembles Weezer, minus that band's endearing and infuriating tangents. Like Rivers Cuomo at his most appealingly vulnerable, there's an emotional purity and directness to the Jarman brothers' songwriting on For All My Sisters. "Finally Free" opens the album with nostalgia that's as ambivalent as it is bittersweet; Gary Jarman sings "why do I still dream of your house?" with a distance that avoids wallowing. Indeed, the Jarmans have become increasingly fine lyricists over the years -- it's not your average punk-pop song that boasts a refrain as poetic as "Burning for No One"'s "like a candle on a vacant table." Sometimes For All My Sisters' misfit anthems are almost too consistent, but the Cribs avoid monotony with songs like "Pink Snow," a seven-minute epic that could be a sequel to "Be Safe" from Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever (another album that showcased the band's pop side expertly) and "An Ivory Hand," which turns guitar heroics and lighters-aloft choruses into their version of a power ballad. As exciting as the promise of the band going full Albini is, For All My Sisters shows that a cleaned-up Cribs can also be pretty thrilling. ~ Heather Phares

ウィーザーの新作も記憶に新しい黄金コンビ、サム・ベルとカーズのリック・オケイセックにプロデュースを任せた6枚目のニュー・アルバムだ。地元ウェイクフィールドを飛び出し、NY録音を敢行しているが、ギター・ポップと初期パンクをイイトコ取りしたようなヒリヒリした青春ロックは、むしろデビュー時に戻った印象すら受ける。そういえば、ジャケも初期の2作品ぶりにジャーマン3兄弟が映っているな。
bounce (C)長崎耕平