Kid Krow

テイラー・スウィフトも大絶賛する新星ポップ・プリンス!
テイラーだけでなく、ビリー・アイリッシュやThe 1975、テテ(BTS)をも虜にする新星ポップ・プリンス=コナン・グレイによるデビュー作!!テイラー・スウィフトに「この曲は一生リピート」と太鼓判を押された名曲(2)"Wish YouWere Sober"を筆頭に、〈Z世代〉の憂鬱を代弁する楽曲を収録!2020年は彼でキマリ!
(C)横浜ビブレ店:石黒 亮

終わりなき憂鬱に抗う新星ポップ・プリンス、コナン・グレイが放つデビュー・アルバム
【コナン・グレイの"ここがすごい!"まとめ】
＜＜ビリー・アイリッシュ、テテ(BTS)、The 1975、トロイ・シヴァンなど大物アーティストが大絶賛＞＞
＜＜Vogue、Paper、MTV、i-D、Billboardなどの海外主要メディアからの注目度急上昇中＞＞
＜＜3つの北米ツアーと初の欧州ツアーは全公演完売、コーチェラ2020への初出演も決定＞＞
＜＜VEVO"DSCVR Artists To Watch 2020"やNME100などの期待の新人リストにランクイン＞＞
＜＜「完璧」を求めない"Z世代"の憂鬱を代弁し、アメリカを中心に共感する若者が続出中＞＞

待望のファースト・アルバム。プロデュースは盟友Daniel Nigro。好調にストリーミング数を叩き出している「Comfort Crowd」(1,900万回)、「Checkmate」(2,200万回)、「Maniac」(5,100万回)や、最新シングル「The Story」収録。

On his full-length debut, 2020s Kid Krow, YouTuber turned pop auteur Conan Gray offers a coming-of-age album that showcases his knack for turning melancholy feelings of loneliness into buoyant pop confections. The album, which follows his equally compelling 2018 EP, Sunset Season, finds him expanding upon his intimate, indie pop sound with a wider production palette that marries confessional lyrics to dance grooves and subtle electronic flourishes. Helping Gray is producer Daniel Nigro, who previously worked with such artists as Sky Ferreira, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Freya Ridings. While Grays music is aimed at the teen and early twentysomething audience who grew up watching his vlog posts online, he is no lightweight presence here, incisively addressing issues of heartbreak, drug and alcohol abuse, and discovering ones sexual identity with a thoughtfulness that never feels callous or exploitative. Even the most sugary, dance-oriented songs -- like Checkmate, in which Gray calls out his gaslighting lover for lying and playing games -- pack a truthful emotional wallop. Similarly engaging are hooky cuts like Comfort Crowd, Maniac, and Wish You Were Sober, tracks that surprisingly straddle the line between the hooky pop of Death Cab for Cutie and the mainstream anthems of Taylor Swift. One of the aspects that makes Grays songs so compelling is his candid point of view. This is especially true on the more low-key, acoustic songs like Heather, where he details a poignantly unrequited love between a boy and another boy who is dating a girl. Similarly, on The Story, he addresses teenage isolation and the difficulty some young people can have making emotional connections. He sings, And when I was younger, I knew a boy and a boy/Best friends with each other, but always wished they were more/Cause they loved one other, but never discovered/Cause they were too afraid. Later, he offers hope, singing Oh, and Im afraid thats just the way the world works/But I think that it could work for you and me. Ultimately, Kid Krow is charming and relatable for the same reasons Grays videos earned thousands of fans, presenting him as a talented, thoughtful kid just trying to navigate the slings and arrows of young adulthood. Even at Grays most yearning and emotionally wrought moments, hes got the charisma to get you singing along. ~ Matt Collar

カリフォルニア出身のシンガー・ソングライター、コナン・グレイのデビュー・アルバムは実に眩しい。感情の機微が率直に綴られた歌詞に、プリズマイザーによるロボ声といった定番を押えたモダンなサウンド。それらすべてにコナンの確かな才気が窺える。音の豊富さも耳を惹いた。特に"The Cut That Always Bleeds"は、シンプルな音作りのおかげでメロディーの良さが際立つ良曲だ。
bounce (C)近藤真弥