The Family Sign ［2LP+7inch］

Rhymesayersレーベルの看板=Atmosphereの2011年作『The Family Sign』が10周年記念でアナログ2LPで再リリース!
オリジナルの14曲にプラス、"Millenium Dodo 2"、"Cut You Down"の2曲をボーナス収録し、"By Your Side"、"Bar Food"をカップリングした7インチを付属!

Rapper Slug and producer Ant continue to evolve with their 2011 effort The Family Sign, a conceptual effort dealing with the family unit. No surprise that the duo that arguably invented emo-rap finds a lot of pain in family and growing up, and when Mom gets to “mourn for the touch of a punch” during “The Last to Say,” it’s downright devastating. Slug’s lyrics are equally vivid and blunt, and after all these years of delivering therapy session rhymes, he still continues to impress, giving up the stark reality like few others can. Still, the most interesting devices on the album are Ant’s subtle references to the “Minneapolis sound” that the duo grew up with. Electro percussion that recalls Prince and white-noise, gritty sounds that are Husker Du-influenced add a bit of nostalgia and suburban hominess to the landscape, as if Slug’s lyrics were the domestic strife of the downstairs and Ant’s productions were the boombox bedroom escapism of upstairs, where new wave and Paisley Park offered a way out. In other words, knowing a bit about where this group literally came from helps a lot, and when you add the personal element of Slug chopping down his family tree, this effort may be too inward-looking for the newcomer. That said, anyone intrigued by the idea of emo-rap at its most introspective will find this a well-crafted and moving effort, while returning Atmosphere fans get the satisfying usual with some extra maturity and growth. ~ David Jeffries

全米チャートで最高5位を記録して話題になった『When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold』からちょうど3年ぶり、2枚のEPを挿んでの新作。スラッグとアントに子供ができたころが近因になっているのか、タイトルやジャケットに打ち出されているようにアルバムのテーマはずばり＜ファミリー＞。スラッグのストーリーテリングが冴える冒頭の"The Last To Say"以下、メランコリックなトラックに乗せてさまざまなリレーションシップの在り方を説いていく内容は、前作ほどのヴァラエティー感こそないものの統一感では一枚上。エンディングの"Something So"～"My Notes"でのエモーション表現など、随所ではブルックリン勢を筆頭とした近年のUSインディー・ロックからの影響も窺わせる。
bounce (C)高橋芳朗