Echo Mountain＜限定盤＞

構成数 : 1枚
合計収録時間 : 00:00:00
Echo Mountain is K's Choice's first album in ten years, and the comeback status sets some expectations, further boosted by the strange two-CD format where each disc is basically an EP. With a setup like that, it's logical to assume that this would be either a conceptual revelation or a massive, overblown blunder bending under its own weight -- Avatar or Chinese Democracy, take your pick. But it's neither -- Echo Mountain is just a simple but mature and filler-free alt-rock album that did not require a decade-long break to produce, but feels none the worse for that. Even the two-CD division does not mean much -- the music progresses, but in a more organic way than a simple dichotomy: this is a single album, not really a pairing of EPs. The record opens with some dynamic but also very melodic rockers that sound like Death Cab for Cutie or Third Eye Blind in their prime -- the hooks are not very explicit, but the tunes build a fine mood and manage to get the listener interested in exploring them. But even the faster tracks have a softly melancholic atmosphere, and after a while they give way to slower, more relaxed tunes that tether on the brink of folk, but retain enough in their arrangements to make them worth hearing -- no primitive chord strumming here. K's Choice's biggest hits in the `90s, "Not an Addict" and "Everything for Free," were fairly dramatic, but with the exception of "Killing Dragons," Echo Mountain avoids going down this road again -- it's a nostalgic album, but not an angsty one, having the vibe of a summer night after a tiring but enjoyable day. The musical tools K's Choice use to achieve this feel are nothing new, but their subtle mood-building skills make up for that. ~ Alexey Eremenko