A N N I V E R S A R Y (Deluxe Edition)

Given its look and timing -- issued exactly five years after T R A P S O U L, a deluxe edition of which preceded it by a week -- A N N I V E R S A R Y does not appear to be designed as a work of distinct identity. Whereas Bryson Tiller has spoken of his inclination to be a shadowy figure, the singer/rappers 2015 debut continues to cast a large shadow with a different effect, preventing his successive output from being taken on its own terms. This sets makeup certainly suggests that the artist is OK with it, as he serves up mostly downcast verses and boastful non-sequiturs over torpid booming rhythms. Tiller works with a crew of new and familiar collaborators, and on Outta Time calls in major reinforcements, swapping brooding reflections with Drake, backed by sympathetic production from Nineteen85, Vinylz, and Noah 40 Shebib. More deserving of heavy rotation is Inhale, a seductive warping of the 90s R&B-sampling methodology thats as much a part of Tillers sound as the rattling percussion. ~ Andy Kellman

亡き祖母に捧げた昨年発表の3作目に5曲を追加したデラックス版がLP化。スノー・アレグラ使いのドレイク客演曲、ピーター・アレンのAOR引用など、名曲と一体化しながら甘くのっぺりとしたラップ風の歌唱でトラップ・ソウルの世界に誘う作法は今作でも不変だ。特に"Inhale"でのSWV、ビッグ・ショーンを招いた追加曲でのクリストファー・ウィリアムスなど、90年代R&B ネタを旨みとする楽曲での郷愁と先鋭感のせめぎ合いがたまらない。
bounce (C)林