Radius＜Coke Bottle Green Vinyl＞

Radius is the follow-up to a self-titled release, Allen Stone's second album, which was released independently and then given wider distribution in 2012 through the ATO label. This is the first album he has created within the major-label system. Made with Tingsek, a Swedish jack of many trades Stone has long admired, it's a significantly slicker and less rollicking update of the retro-soul/roots rock hybrid that preceded it. This is most apparent in one of the singles, "Freedom," a tight romper much closer to Maroon 5 than anything filed in an old record store's R&B section. Subtract the studio sweetening -- the overdubs, the hints of perfectionism, the few concessions to contemporary pop -- and the songs tend to have the same pleasant, spirited, past-rooted foundation. Stone still often comes off as an affable everyman, one just trying to find his way in the world, one who thinks you should just be who you are, and he remains dedicated to making it known that he has soul and is authentic. In "Fake Future," however, Stone isn't so easygoing; he's a "hippie with soul" and an ax to grind. He jabs at electronic dance music with one of his earnest attempts at replicating '70s soul/funk sounds and implores "Chuck your laptops" and "Chuck your glitter, you glittery shites," among other things. ~ Andy Kellman

前作『Allen Stone』がデッカから世界流通に至るも、今回はマネジメントも含めて環境を一新し、ほぼ全曲をスウェーデンのマグナス・ティングセックと共作。マレイによる"Perfect World"やファンキーなディスコ調の快曲"Fake Future"がブルーノ・マーズに寄せているのは明白ながら、これは持ち前のスティーヴィー・ワンダーっぽい資質をメインストリームに接続せんとした結果でもあるだろう。ベニー・カセットも参加。
bounce (C)出嶌孝次