Manic＜Milky Clear Vinyl＞

デビュー・アルバム全米2位、2ndアルバム全米1位と、若干24歳にしてキャリア最高潮にいるHalsey(ホールジー)待望の3rdアルバム!
全米1位を獲得している「Without Me」、2億回以上のストリーム数を記録しているシングル「Graveyard」、12/6リリースの新曲「Finally // beautiful stranger」、同時にリリースされたBTSのSUGAとコラボした新曲「SUGA's Interlude」が収録。
2020年を象徴する作品として様々な方面から期待の声が寄せられている要注目作。
ドミニク・ファイクやアラニス・モリセットなどの豪華ゲストアーティストも参加。

As she was in the throes of completing her third studio album in 2019, Halsey told Rolling Stone the record would contain hip-hop, rock, country, f***ing everything because its so manic. Its soooooo manic. It was so manic, Halsey decided Manic was the right title for this high-profile album, the first shes released since 2017s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom helped turn her into a regular presence at the top of the charts. As it turns out, Manic is indeed an appropriate name for an album so filled with twists and turns it feels like a double-LP crammed into the course of a 47-minute record. Such a description is slightly misleading, though, suggesting that the album contains a series of distinct shifts in mood when it is very much a record of its moment, thrumming along to the tasteful shape-shifting hybrids that populate playlists of all genres. Listen closely, certain stylistic aspects assert themselves -- a fingerpicked guitar line rolls along here, theres a reggae bounce there -- and her choice of guest stars is telling. Alanis Morissette -- who is by some measures a clear precursor to Halsey -- vies with rapper Dominic Fike and Suga of K-pop sensations BTS for splashiest cameo, with each of their appearances labeled as an interlude. The lack of concrete song titles winds up emphasizing the presence of artists who cross genres, a clear sign of how Manics seemingly scattershot appearance disguises how Halsey designed the album to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, streamlining all these sounds so they slide onto every conceivable playlist. Its a shrewd ploy that winds up not seeming crass thanks to Halseys affectless emo bloodletting -- she never resists an opportunity to hit her target squarely on the nose, such as the Im so glad I never ever had a baby with you refrain on You Should Be Sad -- and the clever way Manic is sequenced. The artiest, wobbliest songs start the record, followed by her saddest and starkest ballads, so it takes a while before it settles into its comfortable groove of adolescent angst doubling as AAA crossover pop. Such distinctions would be lost on the playlists individual tracks may later call home, but assembled in this fashion as a proper album, Manic showcases Halsey at her nerviest and at her best. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

『Hopeless Fountain Kingdom』で全米チャートを制して3年、その間にポスト・マローンやブリング・ミー・ザ・ホライゾンとのコラボも経験し、G・イージーとの交際や破局で話題を呼ぶ一方、ファッションや社会活動の方面にも影響力を発揮してきたホールジー。2019年は先行カット"Without Me"が自身名義で初の全米No.1シングルに輝き、"Graveyard"が2億超のストリーム数を記録するなど最高潮のお膳立てのなか、〈熱狂〉を掲げてサード・アルバムが登場した。ベニー・ブランコら腕利きを迎えつつトレンド自慢よりも剥き身の歌を前面に出してくるのが彼女の素晴らしさ。ドミニク・ファイク、アラニス・モリセット、BTSのSUGAを各々インタールードに迎えた以外はゲスト皆無なのも気合いを伝えるかのようだ。
bounce (C)轟ひろみ