7s

Animal Collectiveのメイン・ソングライター
Avey Tareによるソロ最新作がリリース!!

Animal Collectiveのメイン・ソングライターとしても知られるAvey TareことDave Portner。
2019年に発売した『Cows on Hourglass Pond』以来となるソロ・アルバム『7s』を2月17日にリリース!本作のマスタリングはBob Marley、J Dilla、Paramoreらの作品にたずさわってきたDave Cooleyが手がけ、これまでにもAvey Tareの作品を手がけてきたAdam McDanielが共同プロデュースとミックスを担当した。
Animal Collectiveのサウンドが魅力的な不可解さによって定義されてきたとすれば、Avey Tareの魅力は親密さと率直さだと表現できる。
弾力のあるゴムのようなサウンドのシンセと弾けるようなギターの「The Musical」、エチオピアのファンクとブラジルのサンバの違いを巧みに表現する「Invisible Darlings」など、ソロならではのAvey Tareの世界を堪能できる全7曲を収録している。

Whether with his long-running experimental pop troupe Animal Collective, his solo work, or any of his various side projects, Dave Portner a.k.a. Avey Tare rarely takes the same route twice. Fourth solo album 7s closely follows Animal Collectives remotely-assembled 2022 effort Time Skiffs, and while its got some things in common with the dense arrangements and surrealistic atmospheres of Time Skiffs, 7s is in a completely different stylistic area code than the watery rural psychedelia of Portners 2019 solo outing Cows on Hourglass Pond. Recorded with producer Adam McDaniel and sometimes enlisting the rhythmic help of drummer Alex Farrar, 7s is a relatively less abstract picture of the psychedelic pop Portner has made his own over the years. Songs like "Invisible Darlings" and "The Musical" have all the hallmarks of his signature sound. The melodies are wandering yet catchy, and dressed in hard-to-identify sounds that could be highly-treated guitars, synths, samples of heavenly harps, or something else completely. Wildly experimental elements always come into the mix, sometimes out of nowhere curve balls like Portner suddenly dousing his vocals in flanger until he sounds like a cartoon duck and other times more slowly, as with the layers of distorted tones that gradually stack on top of the groove that carries "The Musical." The album centers around "Hey Bog," a lengthy piece that slowly blooms out of an ambient introduction into a weird, rubbery kind of meditative funk. The bass synth lines feel inspired by early Acid techno, the drums are mostly minimal time-keeping hi-hat clicks, and heavy doses of blissful vocal harmonies and washed-out instrumental textures float almost disconnectedly on top of the rhythmic elements. The song, much like the album on the whole, feels simultaneously airy and anxious. The mix of sounds pulls from throughout Portners massive sonic toolbox, going into new territory with the aforementioned Acid-esque bass and the fuzzy lead sounds of "Neurons" while returning to more familiar misty atmospheres and blurry acoustic guitars on the softly spiraling "Sweepers Grin." 7s is a great distilment of Portners various and always curious styles, recalling some of the best moments from different points in Animal Collectives ever-shifting discography as well as finding new inspirations in his solo journey. Its a great reminder of how weird and one-of-a-kind Avey Tare has always been, and how hes still refreshing his strangeness with every new record. ~ Fred Thomas

アニマル・コレクティヴのデヴィッド・ポートナーが発表した最新ソロ・アルバム。サイケデリックなエレクトロニック・サウンドから親密感あふれるフォーキーな曲まで、音楽的引き出しの多さが光る良盤だ。親しみやすいメロディーを創出する優れたソングライティング能力も印象的。耳馴染みの良さとアヴァンギャルドな音作りが共立した内容は、熟練の技を感じさせる。
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