m b v (Deluxe Edition)

20年間の潜伏期間を経て、2013年に突如発表された3rdアルバム『m b v』は、マイ・ブラッディ・ヴァレンタインにとって最も実験的であると同時に、最もメロディックで即効性のある作品であり、改革に対する彼らの飽くなき意欲を証明したものだった。音楽とジャンルの概念をさらに押し広げた驚異的な作品として高く評価され、これまでにはなかったタイプの楽曲も収録されている。別世界の音のようであり、親しみやすくもあり、直感的に聴くこともできる本作は、それまで知られていたMBVの代名詞的サウンドが、驚くほど美しく変貌を遂げた新時代の傑作である。アルバムの最後に収録されている「Wonder 2」は、その証明であり、シールズの催眠的なギター・サウンドとドラムンベースが混ざり合ったサウンドは、多くを驚嘆させた。

・デラックス・エディションLP (高品質チップオン・ジャケット式ゲートフォールド・スリーヴ仕様/オリジナル1/4インチ・アナログ・テープからマスタリングされた音源を収録/180g重量盤)

Even though My Bloody Valentine promised late in 2012 that they would release new music in the near future, when m b v arrived in the middle of a February weekend in 2013, it was hard to believe it actually existed -- and not just because demand for the album kept crashing the band's website. For years, a follow-up to their 1991 masterpiece Loveless seemed impossible, and perhaps even unnecessary. What could live up to Kevin Shields' notorious perfectionism, never mind the expectations of rabid fans (some of whom weren't even alive when Loveless was released)? With a title that evoked years of scrawling initials on mixtapes and playlists, m b v answered those worries with a set of songs that felt immediately familiar. And, appropriately enough given the 22-year wait, many of these tracks are decidedly unhurried, and maybe even hazier than what came before. "who sees you" and "if i am" churn and hover, full of cloudy vocals and lingering guitars, while "she found now" recalls Loveless' "Sometimes" in its whispery bliss. Yet there are differences, too: m b v's production is surprisingly direct and intimate, at times almost insular compared to Loveless' panoramas. "is this and yes," which jettisons guitars in favor of organ and brass that evoke Stereolab's regal serenity, is one of the most strikingly different songs in their catalog. Shields and company spend much of the album avoiding the rhythmic heft that made their previous music equally lush and propulsive. Instead, they save m b v's loudest and most daring moments for last. "in another way" pairs a stair-stepping vocal melody with tones that approach free jazz in their dense clusters, while "nothing is" rides a pummeling riff and drums that are almost perversely loud, as if to make up for muffling them elsewhere. The most exciting moment is "wonder 2," which makes the jet engine comparisons to their music more literal than ever before, with rapid-fire beats and streaking sonics that suggest the song is being shot into space. Occasionally, m b v's songwriting doesn't always feel as immediate as before: "only tomorrow" and "new you" are among the tracks that make the most of their poppy structures and Bilinda Butcher's sugared murmurs, but as fans know, most of the band's hooks take their time to emerge. More comforting than revelatory, m b v reaffirms that My Bloody Valentine are one of a kind; the subtlety to their melodies, instrumentation, and the way they blur together belongs to them alone. They're not trying to re-create Loveless, nor should they, and m b v doesn't have to reinvent music (again) to be worth the wait. ~ Heather Phares

約20年の時を経て突如届けられたニュー・アルバムは、表題通りまさにマイ・ブラッディ・ヴァレンタイン以外の何者でもない音が鳴っている。サウンドの傾向は大きく3つに分かれていて、冒頭の3曲が『Loveless』からの延長線上にあるもの。続く3曲では静謐さを強調し、そして最後の3曲ではドラムンベース調のビートも飛び出す攻撃的なナンバーといった具合だ。個人的には、物語でいう起承転結の〈承〉に当たるような2番目のパートが本作の肝だと思う。どこか物憂げでブルーな印象を受けるこの部分こそ、ケヴィンが長い時間のなかで達した境地なのではないかと。それは『Loveless』における孤独感とは異なる、諦念にも似た〈優しさ〉を感じさせる、すべてを包み込むようなノイズ・ミュージックだ。
bounce (C)佐藤一道