Crispy Crunchy Nothing

カナダ発LO-FI/インディ注目株 更なる進化を感じさせる2ND!

女性ヴォーカリスト/ソング・ライターMADELINE LINK率いるカナダはトロントを拠点とする4ピース・バンドPACKS。 90'Sインディー黄金時代の空気感を感じさせてくれた傑作デビュー作に続く、待望の2NDアルバム『CRISPY CRUNCHY NOTHING』をCD/LPリリース!初期PAVEMENTのユルさと、SEBADOHのシャープさを感じさせる魅力はそのままに、ALEX Gの気まぐれさとHELVETIAの轟音ダイナミズムを取り入れたバンドの変化と進化を感じさせる内容!更には、ロックダウン中にANGEL OLSENや、RENEE REEDなどの同世代のシンガーソングライター、そして父親から教わったというカントリー・レジェンドHANK LOCKLIN、HANK WILLIAMSからの影響をアルバムに反映させフォーキーな魅力も加味された、隙の無い仕上がり。前作同様に全てのインディ/オルタナ・ファンへと届いてほしい、大スイセン盤となっています!

PACKS bandleader Madeline Link returns with more of the pandemic-informed, young adulthood-concerned vexation that permeated her bands 2021 debut on the follow-up, Crispy Crunchy Nothing. Written partly while still sheltering at her parents home in suburban Ottawa, Canada, it also finds her grappling with love and loss, including the death of a family member who was the victim of a hit-and-run. Reportedly "bashed out" during a recording retreat at a cabin in rural Quebec and continuing to take cues from vintage lo-fi slacker rock, the albums loose, moody displays of burnout and angst do, on occasion, seek out slivers of hope and light, but they never stay anywhere for long, with the 14 songs here streaking by in 30 minutes. The grumbling "Cheese" opens the set list with distorted electronic tones before coming into focus on a sparse, laid-back groove. Links typically mismatched double-tracked vocals are nearly monotone to begin with but find signs of life in a more melodic chorus about sanitizing before touching. Much of the record concentrates on small moments and frustrating details such as this, with only a handful of the longer tracks -- "Not the Same," the catchy "Smallest One," trippy "Sunscreen + Epoxy," and emotionally stunted "Always Be a Kid" -- seeming to constitute fully developed songs (no track here reaches the three-minute mark). Thats not to say the album doesnt hit its disaffected mark but that its ephemeral nature extends to a relative lack of memorable hooks, despite some fine ones alongside noteworthy bass work by Noah ONeil. ~ Marcy Donelson