Fabula Mendax

Since they re-formed in the early 2010s in the wake of chief songwriter and vocalist Bids serious health scare and renewed lease on life, the Monochrome Set have been releasing a steady stream of great albums that combine Bids singular songwriting style with 60s-influenced hooky guitar pop with some Baroque shadings around the edges. The last couple of albums have come close to masterpiece status, showing off Bids way with words and melody in a snappy, funny, and smart fashion that few of their contemporaries managed. 2019s Fabula Mendax does nothing to jeopardize the bands winning streak and adds some new twists and turns. Monochrome Set claim the songs are inspired by diaries written by one of Joan of Arcs contemporaries, and though thats not true, much of the album does have an epic feel and expanded arrangements that sound mythical and ancient, too. The cinematic Rest, Unquiet Spirit adds vocal chants, pounding timpani, and strings to get the feel of the soundtrack to a religious epic, My Little Reliquary adds a variety of horns and acoustic stringed instruments to conjure up what sounds like a swirling street scene, and the rest of the arrangements are stuffed with enough instruments to make Arcade Fire jealous. In the midst of all the cinematic sound and widescreen scope, Bid turns in a fine vocal performance, sounding like a prophet or preacher in the eye of a storm deftly dishing out witty yarns of gloom, doom, and mystery. Theres not as much humor in the lyrics this time out thanks to the thematic conceit, but Bid doesnt need jokes to be his usual brilliant self. The band and the gathered musicians back his timeless tales with sure-handed nuance and good-humored bluster, working up a rollicking storm on jaunty songs like I Cant Sleep, rocking out a bit on the blues ripper Sliding Icicle, and showing where Belle and Sebastian got some of their swagger on the classic Set-sounding Come to Me, Oh, My Beautiful. Fabula Mendax is another winning installment of the Monochrome Set story that reaches the same heady heights as their recent work, and proves yet again that the group somehow remain as surprising, witty, and tunefully intriguing as they have been right from the start. ~ Tim Sendra

ポスト・パンク～ネオアコ・ムーヴメントにおいて圧倒的な存在感を放ち、後続のUKミュージシャンたちに多大な影響を与えて来た彼らが、結成40周年を迎えて新作を発表した。ジャンヌ・ダルクと同時代の人物による手記をモチーフにしたという今作は、弦楽器やティンパニなどの音色が散りばめられ、荘厳な叙事詩のごとき雰囲気を醸し出している。前衛と古典が織り交ぜられた美しい旋律が心に響く一枚。
bounce (C)柴田かずえ