Sons (Deluxe Edition) ［LP+7inch］

グルーヴィなヴィンテージ・ロックン・ソウル・サウンドが、君の身体と心を強引にスウィングさせる! ここ日本を含む世界中で熱狂的なファン・ベースを築き上げる、英国バース出身のロック・アクト、ザ・ヘヴィー。うねるベースとグルーヴィなギター、そしてソウルフルなヴォーカル…、彼らのトレードマークとも言うべきサウンドに更なる磨きをかけた、これぞ"ザ・ヘヴィー"なサウンドを鳴らす最新作が、アナログ盤でも登場! こちらは7"シングルをカップリングしたデラックス・アナログ盤!

Kicking off with a spire of electric guitar fury, the Heavy's fifth studio album, 2019's Sons, further cements their reputation as one of the baddest old-school rock and funk outfits of their generation. Hailing from Bath, Somerset, England, and featuring the swaggering, throaty vocals of Kelvin Swaby, the Heavy are akin to '70s British trad-rock bands like Faces or Humble Pie, but only if they'd been fronted by James Brown. In fact, the lead-off "Heavy for You," with that aforementioned spire of electric guitar riffage, is a swaggering flagship opener that evokes a mind-blowing mix of Maggot Brain-era Funkadelic and Check Your Head-era Beastie Boys. It also sets the tone for everything to come on Sons, which is one of the group's loosest, most swing-from-the-hips albums to date. Along with Swaby, the Heavy features guitarist Dan Taylor, bassist Spencer Page, and drummer Chris Ellul, who supply the bone-grinding, tube-amp core of the album. Punctuating that core throughout is a bright, live-sounding horn section. Together, they rip through these hooky tracks moving from bombastic glam rockers ("Fire"), to punchy funk groovers ("Fighting for the Same Thing"), to twangy slow jams ("What Don't Kill You"). They even make room for the synthy, early- '80s Cameo-sounding electro cut "Simple Things." And it's not just the Heavy's knack for booty-shaking riffs that makes Sons so compelling, they also imbue the album with a warm sense of global optimism and positivity. On the infectious "Better as One," Swaby sings "I know that we can do better/I know we're better as one/I know we can do better without evil on our tongue." There's no evil on Sons, just the Heavy's wickedly inspired funk rock anthems. ~ Matt Collar

前作『Hurt & The Merciless』(2016年)から約3年ぶりの通算4作目。前作を最後にカウンターを離れたものの、今回は出世作『The Glorious Dead』(2012年)で組んだプロデューサー/エンジニアのポール・コーケットをふたたび起用し、却って彼ららしさを強固にしてきた印象だ。のっけから人気曲"Same Ol'"を思わせる大仰なリフを備えた"Heavy For You"を強靭に叩き付けてツカミはOK。ヴィンテージ・ソウル調の"The Thief"に続いてはJB～ストーンズ系のファンキーな"Better As One"をグルーヴィーに畳み掛け、以降もブリブリのソリッドなファンク"Simple Things"やガレージーに暴れる"A Whole Lot Of Love"など、清々しいまでにノー・ギミックな快曲群が押し寄せてくる。こういうのがいいのよ!
bounce (C)轟ひろみ