Mwng

スーパー・ファーリー・アニマルズ、歴史的金字塔作品がリイシュー!

スーパー・ファーリー・アニマルズの傑作アルバムがファン待望、涙のリイシュー!ウェールズはカーディフ出身の5人組スーパー・ファーリー・アニマルズによる、長らく廃盤となっていた全編ウェールズ語の傑作『ムーング』(2000年)が英人気レーベル＜DOMINO＞の手によって涙の再発!
93年の結成以来、現在までに9枚のスタジオ・アルバムを発表し、その実験的でありながらあくまでポップなサウンドが非常に高い評価を受けているウェールズ出身バンド、スーパー・ファーリー・アニマルズ。ここ日本でも高い人気を誇る彼らによる通算4作目となる本作『ムーング』はバンド自身のレーベル＜Placid Casual＞より2000年にリリース。全英アルバム・チャート第11位にランクインし、NME、Melody Makerが選ぶ2000年のベスト・アルバムの1枚にも選出された。全英チャート20位以内に入った初の全編ウェールズ語アルバムとなった、歴史に残るSFA金字塔的作品!今回の再発に際し、オリジナル・アルバムに加えてアウトテイクやセッション音源、ライヴ音源などのお宝ボーナス・マテリアルを追加収録!まさにファン必携の一枚となっている!

The very fact that Super Furry Animals had the courage to release Mwng, an all-Welsh-language album, is proof that the group is the great eccentric band of its time. Unfortunately, many critics and listeners may dismiss Mwng as a stunt or a wacky joke, which is condescending -- especially in light of what a terrific album this is. It doesn't matter that many listeners will not understand the lyrics, since the music is terribly effective in its own right. Ironically, Mwng is more of a pop album than its predecessor, Guerrilla, which often took fascinating detours into electronica-inspired pure sound. Mwng has more than its fair share of evocative sonic textures -- it's easy to get lost not just in the surface sound but what's buried beneath the melodies -- yet it's also a concise, sharply written psychedelic pop record. These are smart, melodic, catchy songs graced with inventive, clever arrangements. Super Furry Animals have tempered their harder rocking in favor of expanding their prog, psych, and pop inclinations. There are still numbers that rock, but they're unconventional, taking wonderful left turns and being blessed with arrangements that are welcoming, but never predictable. Fuzztone guitars and floating keyboards vie for space in the mix, vocals swoon in reverb, horns sound equally eerie and enthusiastic, and instruments are compressed so they no longer sound normal. Even when it skirts with psych-pop convention, with sitars popping up in the mix, it sounds fresh. Mwng is simply intoxicating with its richly melodic songs and dreamlike flow. This is an otherworldly record not because it is sung in Welsh, but because the music is fully realized and visionary. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine|