Voyager

Through moves from Reno to New York to Los Angeles and places in between in the mid- to late 2010s, Nick Rattigan continued to write and record music for his murky, post-punk-informed solo project, Current Joys, as well as sustaining his garage-pop duo, Surf Curse. Circa 2018, after settling in Los Angeles, he saw an uptick in interest in Current Joys as reflected in social media activity, mushrooming catalog streams, and sold-out shows in Europe and venues like the El Rey Theatre in L.A. The interest prompted Rattigan to let in collaborators for the first time for his seventh album, which was also his first to be recorded in a professional studio. While it maintains Current Joys distinctly intimate, brooding character, the resulting Voyager is an ambitious, nearly hour-long set exhibiting a notable upgrade in production quality. Speaking of character, its an aurally and thematically cinematic work that was highly inspired by Rattigans love of film, specifically the stylized storytelling of directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Lars von Trier. (Song titles like Rebecca, Dancer in the Dark, and Breaking the Waves are no coincidence.) A song inspired by the soundtrack to the 2009 film Adventureland, which includes an appearance by the titular band, the yearning Big Star is among a handful of acoustic-minded tunes that also include brittle guitar ballad The Spirit or the Curse. Most of the album, however, relies instead on lush, strings-embellished indie rock arrangements featuring deep-toned guitars in line with Rattigans voice. Meanwhile, longing, vulnerable lyrics sometimes take dark turns into self-harm and romantic despair, even on a track like the musically upbeat duet Something Real. Other slight diversions among Voyagers generous 16 tracks are Money Making Machine, a song that evokes the rock & roll of, say, Eddie & the Cruisers, and Shivers, a cover of Boys Next Door, a short-lived group that included major Rattigan influence Nick Cave. Current Joys debut for the Secretly Canadian label, Voyager serves as a logical entry point for the uninitiated with its refreshed sound, and, although some longtime fans may miss the raw, immediate quality of his homemade releases, the arrangements here only intensify Rattigans emotive writing and performances. ~ Marcy Donelson

米ネバダ州リノ出身のニック・ラティガンによるソロ・プロジェクトの新作は、ホイットニーやステラ・ドネリーが所属するシークレットリー・カナディアンに移籍してのリリースに。今はスタジオを使用してフル・バンドで録音を行っており、これまでのローファイ的な感覚を残しつつも、よりダイナミックで躍動感のある音が新鮮。オーケストラ・サウンドの多用も効果的で、どの過去作とも色の違う新境地の一枚です。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二