Athena

Nothing about Sudan Archives and Sink, Brittney Parks self-written and self-produced Stones Throw EPs, sounded underdeveloped or uncertain. That they were filled with tunes akin to repeated epigrams and transportive moodscapes -- instead of traditionally-structured songs -- seemed like a deliberate artistic choice, not a deficiency. Its only after being weighed against the LP follow-up Athena that they come across as unripe. The previously solitary Parks opted here to work with a crew including James R. McCall IV, Will Archer, Rodaidh McDonald, Paul White, and Catherine Parks (her sister) among the dozen or so fellow producers and songwriters. The result is her freest, richest, most accomplished work. In a way, the naked image of the artist on the cover undersells her artistry; a mike, a pen, and a pad belong beside her just as much as her raised violin. Parks strings do slice through and spring across the rhythms, and are sometimes plucked to hypnotic effect, in each method distinguishing the album from any other recording that can be loosely classified as alternative R&B (or the artists own tag, fiddle funk). Just as appreciable is a newfound directness to Parks lyrics and a clear lilt to her voice, especially when it comes to Down on Me and Green Eyes, a pair of torrid slow jams, and Pelicans in the Summer, a pulsing/snaking song of deep affection. Other standouts transmit positive self-image and emotional support and fortitude on communal and one-on-one levels. All the added instrumental layering and effects -- wriggling synthesizers, buzzing basslines, ricocheting percussion, apparition-like vocal processing, and suchlike -- are nuanced, not once getting in the way of a musician who can put forth an affecting message with just her voice and violin. ~ Andy Kellman

ストーンズ・スロウの推す才媛が初フル・アルバムを完成。先行EP『Sink』などで聴けたアフリカン・リズムや土着的な音楽観は今作では後退し、歌を前に出しつつより洗練に向かった印象だ。長短と軽重の表現が自在なヴァイオリンの音色を駆使し、どんな楽曲にもある種の気品を付与できるのは彼女ならではだろう。ダークなトラップ・ビートに天上からヴァイオリンの美音が降り注ぐ"Black Vivaldi Sonata"の曲名に象徴されるように、ルーツと欧州の両方の価値観を呑み込み、みずからの表現とする強さが際立つ快作だ。西洋美術である彫像を、ブラックネスを強調した裸体によって生々しく模したジャケット写真も、本作を聴き終える頃には、彼女の音楽を表す見事なアートワークだと思えるはず。
bounce (C)池谷瑛子