Eight＜限定盤/Colored Vinyl＞

稀代の名曲"WAKE UP BOO!"で知られる英国リヴァプール出身のブリティッシュ・ギター・ポップ・バンド、ブー・ラドリーズ。
元々はシューゲイザー・シーンから頭角を現し、"WAKE UP BOO!"の大ヒット共に英国のギター・ポップを代表する存在になった彼らですが、1997年に解散。2022年には24年ぶりとなる再始動&完全新作アルバム『KEEP ON WITH FALLING』を発表し、長年のファンを歓喜させたブー・ラドリーズが、早くも8THスタジオ・アルバム『EIGHT』をリリース!
前作に引き続き、キラキラしたメロディと瑞々しいハーモニーと内省的な歌詞の対比は本作でも健在。 アルバムのオープニングを飾る"SEEKER"は「人生の浮き沈みを互いに助け合える人間関係」をテーマに高らかなホーンと共に何処までも高まる高揚感に満ちた、ブー・ラドリーズの本領発揮とも言える仕上がり。 再び全盛期を迎えたと言っても過言ではないバンドの充実ぶりが伺える2023年ニューアルバムです!

Despite taking more than 20 years off and re-forming as a trio without pivotal founding member and singer/guitarist/songwriter Martin Carr, the second-act Boo Radleys sound rejuvenated and more excitable than ever. Just a little over a year after their 2022 return, Keep On with Falling, the new Boos give the world their eighth album, Eight, a collection of vibrant and playful tunes that blur the line between bright, friendly Britpop and gently psychedelic dream pop. At no point in their long and winding history did the band ever stick to a simple path, and the strongest songs on Eight are those that shift gears frequently. "Seeker" tosses together grunge-lite distorted guitars and bubbly horn sections, occasionally detouring away from its steady groove into sunny vocal harmonies and brief moments of Beatlesque psychedelia. "The Unconscious" also follows this busy template, using a faux-reggae foundation to build an intricately ornamented lounge pop arrangement. More than the shoegaze experimentation some of their early work is known for, theres a relaxed and carefree element present in songs like "Skeleton Woman" or the effervescent electronic touches of "Sorrow (I Just Want to Be Free)" that recalls the space age bachelor pad movement of the mid- to late 90s, which included artists like Saint Etienne, the Cardigans, and Ivy. Even when tackling heavier subject matter like racism and violence on "Now Thats What I Call Obscene," the band sound like theyre having the time of their lives, with singer/guitarist Simon "Sice" Rowbottoms voice shooting through the entire sonic picture with an exuberance borrowed from the most upbeat moments of the Style Council. The band still rock out at times on Eight, but instead of shoegaze thrashing, it takes the form of orchestral moodiness on "Swifts Requiem" and robotic synth pop on peppy album closer "How Was I To Know." The feedback squalls and backwards guitars on "Dust" are as close as this iteration of the Boo Radleys get to traditional shoegaze, and even then, the blasts of guitar melt into baroque string parts. Eight is energetic, inspired, and hits with one melodic hook after another, capturing the sound of a band overjoyed to be back and having the time of their lives. ~ Fred Thomas

蒼く瑞々しい内容に驚かされた24年ぶりの復活作に続く8枚目のオリジナル作。ふたたびホーンを絡めた煌びやかなポップを鳴らしつつ、彼らの初期の作品群で聴けたノイジーでサイケなサウンドも織り交ぜ、いかにも英国のバンドらしい哀愁感のあるギター・ロックが楽しめる。ヴェテランらしい余裕も感じさせる、キャリアを総括するような作品だ。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二