I Don't Know Who Needs to Hear This...

USケンタッキー州ルイビル出身のフォーク・ミュージシャン、Tomberlinが、PITCHFOLKでベスト・ニュー・トラックを獲得するなど2018年に華々しくリリースしたデビュー『AT WEDDING』以来約4年ぶりとなる2NDアルバムをSADDLE CREEKよりリリースする。BIG THIEF新作に続く2022年型のオルタナ・フォーク・サウンド!

When songwriter Sarah Beth Tomberlin made her full-length debut as Tomberlin with the strikingly intimate and plaintive At Weddings in 2017, she did so with a minimalist color scheme consisting only of acoustic guitar, keyboards, light strings, and the liberal use of haunting echo. Producer Owen Pallett was her sole collaborator on the album. Arriving five years later, i dont know who needs to hear this... is somehow -- with a couple notable exceptions -- more elemental and spacious despite employing a far broader selection of instruments and over a half-dozen contributors, among them producer/engineer Phil Weinrobe (Adrianne Lenker, Kings of Convenience), Cass McCombs, Stuart Bogie, and Mums Gydha Valtysdottir. Here, every sound makes an impression. The albums orchestral timbral palette is introduced in the opening seconds of "easy," which begins with muted bass drum and hi-hat alongside sustained, straight-toned low notes from what sounds like double bass and bass clarinet in unison. A single reverberating piano note joins in before the singer enters with half-sung, half-spoken lines that alternate with measures of silence over the basal drum rhythm. As the song progresses, it adds quiet, atmospheric electronics, full piano chords, and artful, dissonant piano runs that contribute to the records occasional classical reference points. "Born Again Runner" and "Tap" consist of more-structured folksong, although "Tap" in particular has ghostly layered vocals, electric guitar, shaker-type percussion, and horns that, in turn, seem to appear out of nowhere and just as quickly dissipate. Elsewhere, saxophone is a recurring presence, winding between piano and strummed acoustic guitar on "collect caller" and providing counterpoint to vocals on the title track. This type of attentive listening is demanded throughout the first two-thirds of idkwntht, before the songwriter delivers two fuzzy rockers, "stoned" and "happy accident," that nonetheless continue to play with texture, including the crashing, metallic drum tones and brassy guitar effects on "stoned." Tomberlin abruptly quiets things down again with the bird-chirping intro to penultimate track "possessed," which sets the stage for a profound, self-referential title track that leaves listeners with advice including "I dont know who needs to hear this/Sometimes its good to sing your feelings/Especially when you dont know the next line or how it goes." Shes joined on that song by Told Slants Felix Walworth, who echoes her sentiments over gently rocking, campfire-style guitar and spontaneous-sounding one-or-two-finger piano (and saxophone). Older, wiser, and more ambitious than on her collegiate debut, Tomberlin finds a musical artistry on i dont know who needs to hear this... that rises to the level of her lyrical perceptiveness. ~ Marcy Donelson

ブルックリン拠点のSSW=Tomberlinの2ndアルバムは「誰がこのアルバムを聴くというのか...」という自虐的なタイトルだが彼女なりの遊び心だろう。卓越したソングライティングは言うまでもなく素晴らしい。バンドサウンドを取り入れた今作には、1stにはない深みや繊細な表現の背景には静かに燃える情熱が感じられる。後半の多重録音を用いた手法で声のハーモニーやピアノの音色に心をも浄化させる。Kings Of ConvenienceやAdrianne Lenkerを手掛けたPhilip Weinrobeの手腕も見事。今年のインディー・フォークを代表する作品だ。
intoxicate (C)石田真生

フロリダ州ジャクソンヴィルで生まれたシンガー・ソングライターのセカンド・アルバム。スティーヴ・ライヒやフィリップ・グラスの影もちらつくミニマルなサウンドスケープが印象的なフォークという趣で、シンプルに見えて多くの要素を重ねたアレンジの複雑さが際立つ。深く内観したような言葉選びが光る歌詞は哀愁で溢れ、ニック・ドレイクやジョニ・ミッチェルが脳裏に浮かぶ世界観を築き上げている。
bounce (C)近藤真弥