What Are We Fighting For＜限定盤＞

全英7位を獲得した大ヒット・アルバム『Free Peace Sweet』をはじめ、「ステイング・アウト・フォー・ザ・サマー」や「グッド・イナフ」、「イン・ア・ルーム」など数多くの人気曲でも知られるブリット・ポップの雄、ドッジーのアルバム!ビートの効いたM-1、軽快なM-2、ドッジー節が炸裂するメランコリックなM-3、ティーンエイジ・ファンクラブ好きもご満悦なM-4、5、7など、ベテランらしい奥深きポップ・チューンが満載!同時期にリリースされるティーンエイジ・ファンクラブの新作と一緒に聴きたくなる、グッド・メロディな作品です。ULTRASOUNDのVANESSA WILSONが参加し、プロデュースはメンバーのNIGEL CLARKが担当。

The second album Dodgy released after reuniting in 2008, 2016's What Are We Fighting For may not be as defiant or despairing as the title suggests, yet it definitely shows a sense of assurance that befits a band settling into its skin. Dodgy don't expand their horizons -- most of the jangle and roar heard here could've been originally essayed in the '90s -- but they're digging deeper, spending more time on their songcraft along with the production. Substituting abandon for polish does mean this isn't as kinetic as their earliest hits but it's also good that they're not striving for a false sense of youth. Now firmly in middle age, they're reflective craftsman, capable of sly allusions -- the Luther Perkins single-note riffs on the intro of "Mended Heart" are a neat way to expand the scope of a popular song -- while also angling toward epics like the concluding title track. If everything feels a little bit on an even keel, blame it on that sense of craft as well: they're good enough to be clever and also good enough to wander into the middlebrow without intending to do so. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine