Mordechai＜Color Vinyl＞

After Khruangbin released their second album, Con Todo el Mundo, in early 2018, the jet-setting Texan trios music suddenly seemed to pop up everywhere, from play lists of many stripes to hip boutiques and eateries. Their uncategorizable but easily enjoyable blend of psych, funk, dub, and myriad other styles managed to find the right audience, and they sold out concerts left and right, while vinyl collectors fiended over limited pressings of their records. Several months before their third full-length appeared in 2020, they collaborated with retro-soul troubadour Leon Bridges on the four-song EP Texas Sun, their first release to feature clear, upfront singing. Mordechai contains vocals on nearly every song, and the group have much more to say this time around. Time (You and I), maybe their best song to date, reflects on a desire to build a future with someone, if only there was more time and the feeling was mutual. The sprawling disco beat and playful cadences make the song an easy party jam, but the lyrics mixture of fantasy and invitation resonate harder than anything else theyve written. Almost as affecting is If There Is No Question, an unassuming soul groove which carries the comforting reassurance that Youre wild, but youre not crazy. So We Dont Forget is light, steady funk with Afro-pop guitar lines, glistening organ, and softly cooing vocals, and its mood is equal parts blissful vibing and bashful introspection. A chilled-out reggae variation titled One to Remember is also present, echoing the bands 2019 dub excursion Hasta el Cielo. Much more outgoing is Pelota, a spicy, percussive tune filled with handclaps and exuberant Spanish-sung vocals. The band also have a bit of fun alluding to French New Wave films with the seductive dialogue of Connaissais de Face. Khruangbins music can still work as an ebullient, sun-baked soundtrack to daily activities, social gatherings, or cross-country road trips, but their songs have gotten more expressive and soul-searching, and Mordechai rewards closer listening more than any of their previous recordings. ~ Paul Simpson

2018年に2作目『Con Todo El Mundo』をリリースしてからの彼らの勢いは凄まじかった。世界各地でライヴを行い、日本では単独公演を即完させて〈フジロック〉にも出演、〈コーチェラ〉でも圧巻のパフォーマンスを披露した。作品を重ねるごとにさまざまな国の土着的な音楽やカルチャーを吸収して変化してきたが、このサード・アルバムではライヴで訪れた韓国や西アフリカ、パキスタンの要素を加え、ほぼ全曲にメンバーのヴォーカルをフィーチャーしている。大きく変化はしているが、スロウテンポなファンクの心地良さと絶妙にゆるゆるなグルーヴは健在だ。先行シングル"So We Won't Forget"のMVが日本で撮影されているのも注目。さあ、クルアンビンという飛行機でぜひ世界各地をめぐる音楽の旅へ。
bounce (C)長谷川義和