Settle (10th Anniversary Edition)＜Orange Vinyl＞

Disclosureデビュー盤『Settle』10周年記念!

Disclosureのデビュー・アルバム『Settle』の10周年を記念して、2LPオレンジ・ヴァイナルがリリース。兄弟が選んだアルバム未収録トラック4曲が初アナログ化。10周年記念ステッカー付属。

Cunning if not particularly novel synthesists, Surreys Guy and Howard Lawrence draw from several styles and sub-styles of dance music -- house, garage, dubstep, bass -- and add pop appeal on Settle, their first album. The Lawrences began humbly with MySpace uploads of scruffy, sampling-enhanced dubstep tracks, but they quickly accelerated to making lustrous, impeccably assembled tracks with varied vocalists. Between October 2012 and April 2013, the duo released a trio of singles that fared no worse than number 11 on the U.K. pop chart: the soaring shuffle-tech of Latch (with a bursting, almost overdone lead from Sam Smith), the undeniable crossover house track White Noise (a perfectly timed partnership with upcoming duo AlunaGeorge), and the rush-inducing so-called future garage of You & Me (featuring Eliza Doolittle, something of a sequel to their fine remix of Jessie Wares Running). Those hits appear here. Without them, the album would still be generous. Few tracks, however, will appease those who bemoaned the duos departure from relying on sampled and treated vocals. The sluggish Second Chance, where a downcast Kelis line dissolves into mush, and the rattling Grab Her! -- its refrain pinched from Slum Village -- are no match for past sample-heavy delights like Carnival, Flow, or Whats in Your Head. The new vocal cuts are either near the level of the hits or are merely pleasant. Howard Lawrences lead turn on F for You approaches the sweetness of Scritti Polittis Green Gartside. Teenaged Sasha Keable sounds wise beyond her years on Voices, one of the albums deeper house tracks (I tried to dismiss what you taught me). London Grammars Hannah Reid has the unenviable task of following Doolittle, Jamie Woon, and Jessie Ware but delivers one of the most heartrending leads on Help Me Lose My Mind. Like the closing songs on the first three Basement Jaxx albums, the song initially comes across as an insignificant finale but gradually bubbles to the top as a discreet highlight. Considering all the shrewd alliances and its polished attack, Settle seems like it was designed to be 2013s acceptable dance album. That said, any purist who denies its abundance of pleasures is a crank. ~ Andy Kellman

アルーナ・ジョージとの"White Noize"がヒットした時点から見えていた人も多かっただろう……予想通りの全英1位! 南ロンドン出身のローレンス兄弟(21歳と18歳)によるデュオの初作で、それにしてもイライザ・ドゥーリトルを迎えた先行シングル"You & Me"がベースの弾む2ステップ仕様で驚かされたのだが、その他の楽曲にもディープ・ハウスやスピガラ経由の奥行きがあって、その情緒が昨今のインディー夢心地とうまく結び付いた結果、アルバムには流麗な色気が充満している。いわゆるフューチャー・ガラージ系の袋小路を感じないのは、各曲がソング・オリエンテッドな下世話さを失っていないからだろう。ジェシー・ウェアやジェイミー・ウーンといった他ゲスト陣の振る舞いも完璧。今年の顔はこんな顔!
bounce (C)出嶌孝次