Floatr

UKのギターロックバンド大化けの3作目!傑作!
UKのギターロックバンド、3年間の活動休止を経て完成した3作目。休止期間中ドラムのアッシュは本当の自分の姿であるドラァグクイーンとなり、メインのソングライティングを務めるギターのジョンとともに、まだ僕たちの聴いたことも見たことのない、奇跡みたいな青春オルタナの名作をここに作り上げた。エリオット・スミスばりのソングライティングセンスとスパークルホースにも似たアレンジの名曲(1)を始めtc 90年代インディ~オルタナ好きなら間違いなし。
(C)渋谷店:山内 慶一郎

After releasing their second album, Write In, in 2017, London indie rockers Happyness went on a brief hiatus that involved co-leader Benji Compston parting ways with the group. With help from members of their touring band, including Yucks Max Bloom, the remaining duo of Jonny Allan and Ash Kenazi re-emerge three years later with Floatr. Collecting songs that were largely affected by the existential dread shared by many in the wake of the 2016 elections, its a slightly more downcast effort from a project usually always in a thoughtful headspace. While intimate and ruminative -- a mood only emphasized by Allans Elliott Smith-reminiscent vocals -- they still deliver volatile, borderline dance-rock on tracks like Ouch (Yup). It mingles its yearning melodies and lush keyboard atmospheres with driving drums, crashing cymbals, and even an extended guitar solo. Other lush, uptempo selections include the melancholy Undone and funked-up Milk Float, both of which add a balance of distortion to the mix. The bulk of the album is foggier, though, with a dreamy confluence of midtempo rhythms and atmosphere established with the opening track Floatr alongside lyrics like Maybe it’d be much better to be irreversibly changing endlessly. On the sparer side, the elegant When Im Far Away (From You) embellished a timeless piano ballad with warped, murmuring electronics and touches of off-balance guitar, all mixed below half-whispered, filtered vocals. The albums diverse arrangements but consistent, sighing mood give Floatr a low-key cinematic quality on top of its meditative one. Though it may not be Happyness most playlist-friendly set, it still lingers. ~ Marcy Donelson