World's Strongest Man＜Colored Vinyl＞

The title World's Strongest Man is a feint from Gaz Coombes, a rocking singer/songwriter who has never been known to avoid humor. Not that he's in a particularly laughing mood on World's Strongest Man. Underneath the title boast, Coombes is exploring the outer reaches of his psyche, camouflaging his anxiety underneath shimmering synths, drum loops, and guitars that aren't so much strummed as used for waves of textures. Once the giddiest of melodicists, Coombes is pretty restrained on World's Strongest Man: the hooks are there, but they unfold slowly, either under whispers or cool walls of sound. Listen closely, and it's possible to hear how Coombes spends the album wrestling either with his demons or his middle age. Although he may allude to digital disconnection, he's also moving forward, embracing the sounds of the late 2010s -- like so many records of 2018, it is clearly cut together on computer, with dense rhythms competing with smooth surfaces -- but also not chasing pop trends. Instead, it's a mature modern album, one filled with questions but also curiously settled, a combination that makes World's Strongest Man more rewarding with each listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

環境問題や男性性と向き合ったというギャズ・クームスのソロ3作目。何やらいろいろと考えさせられそうな詞世界を、美しくも不気味に浮遊する音飾やスーパーグラス時代から変わらない耳にこびりつく歌メロで彩っていく。フランク・オーシャン『Blonde』とレディオヘッド『OK Computer』をギャズなりに繋げたような内容で、俯きながら内面を掘り下げつつ、同時に壮大なスケールをモノにした様子が伝わってくる。
bounce (C)柴田かずえ