Hot Thoughts (Red Vinyl)

USインディ・シーンで20年以上に渡って第一線で活躍し、海外の総合レビュー・サイト「Metacritic」の統計で、2000年代最も高い評価を得たバンドとなるなど、USインディ最重要バンドの一つとして人気を集めるスプーンが、記念すべきデビュー・アルバム『Telephono』をリリースしたNYの名門レーベル〈Matador〉に、20年の時を経て復帰!ローリングストーン誌やエンターテインメント・ウィークリー誌などの主要メディアが、"2017年最も期待を集めるアルバム特集"に選出するなど、注目を集めていた待望の新アルバム『Hot Thoughts』をリリース!初の全米トップ10 入りを果たした2007 年の『Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga』以降、2010 年の『Transference』と2014 年の『They Want My Soul』と2作連続で全米4位を記録したスプーン。そして続く9作目となる本作は、ウィーザーやモグワイ、ベル・アンド・セバスチャン、MGMTらを手がけ、前作『They Want My Soul』にも携わるUSオルタナ界の大物プロデューサー、デイヴ・フリッドマンを共同プロデューサーに起用。かねてよりソングライティングに定評のある中心メンバー、ブリット・ダニエルは、今作では親しみやすさと実験性の境界線を完全に融解させ、これまで幾度となく変化を取り入れてきた彼らの素晴らしいキャリアの中でも、最も勇敢かつ独創的な作品を作り上げる。

So much is made of how consistent Spoon are that it's easy to overlook just how much they change things up on nearly every album. On Hot Thoughts, the differences aren't subtle: Spoon alternated between drifting songs and driving ones on They Want My Soul, but this time, they bring together their twin fascinations with structure and atmosphere with a rawness and sophistication evoked by the album cover's watercolor skull. Helping them add color to the bones of these songs is David Fridmann, who feels more in tune with the band (and vice versa) than he did on They Want My Soul; by Spoon's standards, songs such as "Pink Up" and the ghostly saxophone reverie "Us" are downright lush. And while rhythm has always been vital to their highly edited take on rock, Jim Eno's drumming is the star of Hot Thoughts. This is especially true of the album's first few songs, which glide in on shimmying grooves that almost sound like they're beat-matched. The title track swirls as much as it swaggers, thanks to strings that provide the refined yin to the yang of its relentless beat; the crackling "WhisperI'lllistentohearit" delivers maximum impact with minimum fuss; and "Do I Have to Talk You into It" turns what could've been a more typical Spoon rocker into something more playful -- and more convincing -- with the spacy synths and kinetic percussion that define the album. The band hinted at this direction with They Want My Soul's "Outlier," and the way they build on it with these seductive, stark yet flowing songs feels both logical and exciting. Even when they return to more familiar territory, they still keep things fresh. "First Caress" and "Shotgun" hit just as hard as Spoon's more straightforward rock songs, and though "Can I Sit Next to You"'s slinking riff bears more than a little resemblance to "I Turn My Camera On," the starlit synths and rubbery strings that surround it could be from some lost disco reverie. Similarly, the massive coda that punctuates "Tear It Down"'s bouncy pop feels new, while the expressive percussion on "I Ain't the One" -- which ranges from nothing to four-on-the-floor intensity -- only makes its loneliness and independence that much more genuine. One of their strongest albums in a while, Hot Thoughts is more proof that Spoon only get better at introducing new ideas into their music, while sounding unmistakably like themselves, as the years pass. ~ Heather Phares

96年の初作ぶりにマタドールへ戻ったことでも話題のニュー・アルバムです。初めて外部プロデューサーを起用した前作に続きデイヴ・フリッドマンとタッグを組んでいて、クラウトロックやサイケ・ガレージ、グラム・ロックなどを丸呑み! ロック本来の持つ艶やかさ/危険な魅力を取り戻そうとする気概が、作品全体から感じられます。ソリッドなギターと媚びないヴォーカルの何とキザなことか! トキメキが止まりません!!
bounce (C)中井幹代