Anomie & Bonhomie

レゲエ、ソウル、ファンク、ジャズを取り入れながら、80年代ニューウェーヴの中でも正統派ポップ・センスで異彩を放ち、天使の歌声とも称されるグリーン・ガートサイド率いるスクリッティ・ポリッティの名カタログが本人たち監修のもと新装再発決定!
1999年にリリースされた4作目となるオリジナル・アルバム。前作から実に11年ぶりのリリースとなった本作はグリーンのブラック・ミュージックへの傾倒がより色濃く反映され、バンドのスタイリッシュでポップなサウンドはいち早くヒップホップのグルーヴを取り入れた異色作となった。
モス・デフ、ミシェル・ンデゲオチェロ、ウェンディー・メルボインといったコラボレーター達を照らしながらもグリーンの個性はさらに際立ち、「First Goodbye」や「Brushed With Oil, Dusted With Powder」といったバラードは今なおファンの間では評価の高い人気曲。
ヒップホップと心を打つバラードが隣り合い、心に響くメロディー、妥協のない音楽性はバンドの個性をさらに揺るぎないものへと昇華した。

Scritti Politti finally delivered their fourth album, Anomie & Bonhomie, in the summer of 1999, nearly 15 years after their third. Such a long wait almost guarantees some change in the music, but the strange thing about Anomie & Bonhomie is how the updates -- rapper cameos, vague house beats, grunge guitars -- sound as if they're pasted over backing tracks from 1986. Not necessarily a bad thing, but disconcerting, since the heart of this album is squarely in Cupid & Psyche 85 territory. Green Gartside still creates unabashedly fey, unapologetically smooth pop, sprinkled with hints of soul and dance. Green's high, thin voice takes some getting used to, as does his aesthetic. He likes melodies, but he likes surfaces and textures even more, particularly if they're manufactured and polished. That was the very thing that made Cupid & Psyche 85 irresistible, at least to post-New Romantic new wavers, and parts of Anomie & Bonhomie work on that same appealingly slick level, since Green has a talent for constructing hooks and sounds. They don't necessarily add up to full-fledged songs, yet the feel is always right -- a light, persistent groove, swooning melodies, and a sense of twee sophistication. That's why the contemporary flourishes don't fit -- they're forced, and Green is at his best when he makes it all seem easy, no matter how intricately constructed his music is. Subsequent spins let Green's talents float to the surface, particularly on the luxurious "First Goodbye," the dancefloor opener "Umm," and "Mystic Handyman." If the album winds up succeeding on the strength of soundcraft instead of songcraft, that's the way Green works. While it may not be worth an extended wait, Anomie & Bonhomie ultimately remains faithful to the sophsti-pop aesthetic the band pioneered in the mid-'80s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine