Medulla

ビヨークの「Medulla」がLPで登場!180g重量盤

Rolling Stone (p.79) - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 - "MEDULLA is both the most extreme record Bjork has ever released and the most immediately accessible....[With] and awe-inspiring architecture of sound..." Spin (p.111) - "On MEDULLA, her voice is in constant motion, in sync with the beat, rather than battling it..." - Grade: B+ Spin (p.65) - Ranked #19 in Spin's "40 Best Albums of the Year" - "She's a siren, luring us into the mystic with nothing but her voice." Entertainment Weekly (pp.161-2) - "[S]he'll soon have you shunning electronica....One of her best efforts..." - Grade: A Uncut (p.100) - 3 stars out of 5 - "It is the curious marriage of glottal outpouring and emotional candour to microscopically detailed and often utterly illogical arrangements that keeps her music vital and unpredictable." Uncut (p.76) - Ranked #41 in Uncut's "Best New Albums of 2004" - "[A]n awe-inspiring achievement..." The Wire (p.55) - "MEDULLA breezes with a sense of serendipitous discovery, with Bjork singing as sublime as ever." CMJ (p.39) - "The beats of 'Mouth's Cradle' spit and sputter, sometimes as a contrast and sometimes as a perfect fit to the female choir that haunts the corners of the song." Mojo (Publisher) (p.93) - 4 stars out of 5 - "MEDULLA is not only the bravest record she's ever made, it's also one of the strangest and most uncompromising by a major artist to get a commercial release....[With a] raw beauty, intricate choral arrangements and decidedly outre production..."

頭だけで物事を考えていると徐々に不安が蓄積し、自分が透明に思えてきて、堂々巡りに陥りやすい。でも身体を使い、鼓動が脈打つのを感じると、不安は消えて自分は確かになり、明日を信じられる。身体と心は繋がっている、想像以上に──ビョークの新しいアルバム『Medｴulla』はそれを音楽で露わにしていて、〈声〉という彼女にとって最大の個性を存分に活かし、アカペラやヴォーカルを前面に押し出した音作りで、アイスランドのコーラス隊をはじめ、マイク・パットンやラーゼルらと共演して作り上げている。「筋肉や血や肉を感じ取るようなアルバムを作りたかった」と彼女自身が言い、自分の身体で表現しきることに挑戦した。結果、余計なものが削ぎ落とされてメッセージはクリアになり、目には見えない命の鼓動までも感じさせ気高く美しい。この不安だらけの社会の中で生き抜く術を伝え、生きてることの喜びを強く確認させてくれる作品だ。
bounce (C)和田 靜香