Modern Anxiety

UK発 実力派シンガー・ソング・ライター=Josef Salvat(ジョセフ・サルヴァ)のセカンド・アルバム『modern anxiety』

オーストラリア出身、現在はロンドンをベース活動するシンガー・ソングライター、Josef Salvat(ジョセフ・サルヴァ)。
2013年リリースしたシングル「This Life」「Hustler」で頭角を現し、ヨーロッパを中心に人気を呼んだ。その後、彼が歌ったリアーナ「Diamonds」のカバーがソニー4KテレビのCMに採用されたことで大きな注目を集め、ソニー・ミュージックと契約。2016年にアルバム『Night Swim』でデビューを果たす。
セカンド・アルバムとなる今作『modern anxiety』は、彼のソング・ライターとしての資質が更に進化し、ポップなメロディーセンスと憂いを帯びた声が相まり、独特かつ新しさも充分に感じさせる快作。サム・スミスやチャーリー・プースのファンにもおすすめです。

Australian electro-pop singer/songwriter Josef Salvat rode a wave of buzz in 2014 for his lush, moody cover of Rihannas Diamonds, which was a highlight of his debut album, Night Swim, the following year. Similarly, his original songs showed a penchant for drama with sweeping orchestral sections weaving in and out of his glossy synth pop, earning fevered comparisons to Lana Del Rey and Morrissey from bloggers. Worn down from the pressures of his first album cycle, Salvat stepped away for a few years, taking a breath before attempting a follow-up release. His soul searching slowly coalesced into a thoughtful collection that thematically explored some of those social pressures that plagued him the first time around. Titled modern anxiety. (yes, all lower-case with a period), Salvats sophomore album boasts a sleek and lavish feel which ranges in tone from the dark sulk of Alone to the breezy, near-Balearic sweetness of In the Afternoon. Anchoring the set is the title track, whose busy production offers an engaging mix of sonic ear candy and bright rhythmic hooks, underpinning Salvats vulnerable lyrics about the confusion of being so tied up in the virtual connections of modern society. While his observations on anxiety are astute, much of the record is given over to the romantic synth pop which, while not quite left-field, still offers plenty of pop appeal. ~ Timothy Monger