Angels & Queens Pt. 1

Over four years, Gabriels released an albums worth of songs laced with halting composites of gospel, doo wop, and soul, some with string arrangements worthy of thriller film scores. Along the line, they gained support from prominent BBC and KCRW DJs and famous musicians alike, leading to an appearance at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival. The trio seemed to be on the brink of a greater breakthrough when, in September 2022, they issued their first album. Make that part of it. This is actually presented as its first half, with the flipside promised for 2023, but the depth and density of Gabriels songs are such that the delayed gratification is just as well. (Its lengthy for a side anyway, almost 28 minutes in duration.) In completing the set, Gabriels scrapped some summer 2022 tour dates to take advantage of the availability of Sounwave, an in-demand producer known most for his close work with Kendrick Lamar. In no obvious way did they compromise their previously all-internal creative process. Theres more funk and a little disco in the mix -- as on the multi-tiered title song and "Remember Me," highlights haunted by ghosts of Memphis and Philadelphia, if transmitted from Mars -- but Gabriels continue to sound out of time all the time. As with their previous recordings, some components of these seven songs sound as if they were liberated from a stash of disintegrating demos recorded in ramshackle churches and orchestra halls. Powering this is Jacob Lusk, an upper-range marvel who somehow sounds as if hes both in your face and communicating from the beyond, evoking Eddie Kendricks at his most anguished, and Sylvester at his most ecstatic, if with a character all his own. Moreover, the lyricism is remarkable, like when hes detailing lustful temptation with a band lurching and convulsing behind him to signify withdrawal: "Bible says its bad, but not for me/Dont bring me fruit then say I cant eat." Regret, longing, and grief fill the other songs, but Lusks soaring, whole-hearted articulations of hope and reassurance prevent this transfixing half-album from being an unqualified downer. ~ Andy Kellman

LAを拠点に活動するソウル・プロジェクトによる7曲入りの初EP。ゴスペル的なヴォーカルの高揚を主軸に据えた音楽であり、楽曲はストリングスや管楽器も鳴るリッチな生音でのレトロ・ヴィンテージ系サウンドだ。だがそれだけではなく、ジャズやAORテイストを混ぜ込んだきめ細かい編曲やレイヤードされた歌声によって、きっちりと2020年代のモダンな響きを感じさせるのはプロデュースを務めたサウンウェイヴの手腕だろう。そして何より歌声の神々しいまでにシルキーでふくよかな響きに耳を奪われてしまう。アレンジを抑えたごまかしの利かないゴスペル"If You Only Knew"でのパフォーマンスも圧巻だ。来年春にリリースを控えているという本作のパート2も非常に楽しみになる、注目すべき一作。
bounce (C)池谷瑛子