Superwolves＜限定盤＞

様々な顔を持つウィル・オールダムと名ギタリストマット・スウィーニー久しぶりの共演!

カメラマンでありつつ知れ渡っている名義ではBONNIE PRINCE BILLYで、ずっとUSインディ界のフォークセンスを支え養ってきたSSWウィル・オールダム。ビリーコーガン率いるZWANでギターを担当、その後もCAHVEZやプロデューサーで活躍してきたギタリストマット・スウィーニー。この2人が初めてタッグを組んだ2005年「SUPERWOLF」から16年、最新作「SUPERWOLVES」を引っさげて10年振りの帰還!レーベルはBONNIE PRINCE BILLYでお馴染みDRAG CITY!

BONNIE PRINCE BILLYで鍛え上げたオルタナセンスを、マットが華麗な技を添えこれでもかと華やかに聴こえさせる名曲『HALL OF DEATH』、彼らなりにBON IVERを飲み込んだ!?と言いたくなるスケールが大きくギターソロが胸に迫る『MAKE WORRY FOR ME』、弾き語りなのに底が無い奥深さを感じさせ、さりげなくでもツボを刺激してくるコードワークにも唸らせる『MY BLUE SUIT』とお互い長いキャリアで習得した空気を詰め込み形になった全14曲。

デビュー作と呼応したタイトルに2回目のデビューと言えなくもない本作は、彼等を追いかけ続けるファンは勿論若い世代のオルタナラヴァーにも聴いてもらいたいです!

Will Oldham's musical personality is strong and distinct enough that when he collaborates with another artist, with rare exception he firmly takes the lead (whether or not that was the intention). And while guitarist Matt Sweeney (formerly of Chavez and Zwan) gets equal billing with Oldham's alter ego Bonnie "Prince" Billy on 2005's Superwolf, one listen confirms that this is primarily Oldham's work, with Sweeney obviously second in command. (The liner notes state that Oldham wrote the lyrics and Sweeney wrote the music, though to these ears Sweeney is either remarkably gifted at channeling Oldham's musical notions or the lyricist passed along a few melodic ideas as well.) However, this isn't to say Sweeney's presence isn't strongly and clearly felt here -- Superwolf exists in a musical landscape very much like Bonnie "Prince" Billy's earlier recorded work, such as Ease Down the Road and I See a Darkness, but Sweeney's periodic interjections of hard guitar lines give this a firmer musical texture and a stronger structural backbone than one might expect. Also, with Sweeney on hand, Oldham has kept some of his less appealing musical eccentricities in check -- this is one of his strongest and best-focused works in years, with the slow tempos adding drama to songs that manage to go somewhere in dramatic fashion despite their deliberate pace, and Sweeney's spare but evocative guitar lines fill the spaces without cluttering the frames. Even if Oldham ends up being front and center on Superwolf, the results make it clear the man works best with a strong collaborator, and it's hard not to hope Oldham and Sweeney continue to work together in the future. ~ Mark Deming