Changephobia

As a solo artist, Rostam Batmanglij joins his most experimental sounds and confessional thoughts in music that expresses as much in its arrangement and production as it does with its lyrics. Half-Light, his debut as Rostam, was a vibrant musical memoir that combined a lifetimes worth of memories and hopes into a warm, dreamy blur; on Changephobia, his approach is a little more concise and considered, but just as evocative. As he examines the scary, exciting, and rewarding aspects of change on songs imbued with nostalgia, he reminds listeners of his brilliance at capturing moods that are equally specific and universal. Even the songs set in the present sound like theyre already fond memories. On Bio18, a tug-of-war between stability and impatience, Rostam asks a lover who may soon be in the past, Whats the emotion that keeps you in motion? with the hushed closeness of a late-night conversation. Batmanglij mines the tension of a world in flux sensitively and creatively throughout Changephobia, musing on the environmental fate of the planet on These Kids We Knew and, more frequently, reflecting on smaller moments that have a huge emotional impact. As on Half-Light, hes still caught between the East and West Coast on the swirling Next Thing, where he doubles the syllables in California to hold all of his expectations and ultimately realizes that some pain is OK. Cars feature prominently on the album as both intimate spaces and literal vehicles of change, whether Rostam embarks on a road trip through a valley of echoing vocals on 4Runner or tries to make a moment last as long as it possibly can on From the Back of a Cab, where precisely ticking percussion gives the lie to that illusion. Though Changephobias sound is as meticulously crafted as any of Batmanglijs music, this time he leaves behind the classical influences that dominated his previous work in favor of jazz and R&B elements. The baritone saxophone, an instrument he fell in love with after making Half-Light, appears on many of the albums pivotal songs. It lends a dapper breeziness to the title track and the flirtations of Unfold You, and heightens the swooning romance of Kinney and Starlight, a sweet update of old-fashioned vocal pop that makes for one of the albums many standouts. Rostams music didnt need much altering, but on Changephobia, its more artful and heartfelt than ever. ~ Heather Phares

ヴァンパイア・ウィークエンドの元メンバー、チャーリーXCXのプロデューサーなど、さまざまな肩書きを持つロスタム・バトマングリのセカンド・アルバム。もともと巧みな音作りやソングライティング能力は定評を得ていたが、その魅力は本作でも遺憾なく発揮されている。ロック、ヒップホップ、ジャズといった多くの要素を端正なポップソングにまとめあげる上手さは抜群の一言。特にお気に入りなのは"4Runner"だ。立体的でドリーミーな音像が心地良く、繰り返し聴きたくなるような親しみやすい旋律が光る。"Kinney"もおもしろい。ドラムンベース的な高速ビートから始まり、曲の終盤で突如シューゲイザーな轟音ギターを鳴らすという構成に、思わず笑ってしまった。
bounce (C)近藤真弥