Guess for Thrills

長年に渡り高レベルのインディ・ポップ / ギター・ポップを量産するMIKE ADAMS AT HIS HONEST WEIGHT。最新作となる『GUESS FOR THRILLS』も安定感バツグンのポップ・ソング集!

70年代のポップス参照とシンセサイザー多めで作られた本作。しかし40年近くUSインディをサヴァイヴしてきた鬼才クレイマーがマスタリング担当なだけあって、どこか背筋がザワっとする瞬間も!"HALF FOOL"の際立ったメロディと奥行きがとてつもない音の拡がりは、参照元の70年代ぽさを思わせながら(ジャケットのデザインにも影響が!)、現行のUSインディともリンクするポップ感です!

Pop music is so often considered the province of youth that the notion of a great pop musician making an album that cautiously welcomes maturity is something of a novelty. That said, Mike Adams at his Honest Weight has never been a typical pop music act; led by vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Adams, its an enlightened variant on the well-established notion of the bedroom-recording advocate who creates his music with limited help from his friends and a whole lot of multi-tracking. As is frequently the case on his albums, Adams handled all the vocals and instrumental work on 2023s Guess for Thrills himself, with some post-production assistance from mixer Adam Jessup, allowing for an uncompromised presentation of his sonic vision. Guess for Thrills was written and recorded as Adams was turning 40 and contemplating his role as a husband and father, and the music is a bit less rambunctious than it was on his early releases, though age doesnt seem to inform the cooly well-crafted sound of these sessions nearly as much as thematics. The music sounds grown-up, like the more melodic end of 80s new wave filtered through an adult-alternative sense of reserve, but with the same sort of engaging tunefulness thats Adams stock in trade. As the easy but not simple tunes play out, the lyrics ponder how he "wandered into the future" ("Basement Spacemen"), accepting the realization of just how much hes changed ("Every Choice the Highest Mountain"), making sense of lifes increasing responsibilities ("Golden Rule Breakdown"), and the ongoing battle to find joy within it all ("Everything Nonstop"). The music may be less upbeat than one might hope, but this is his most beautifully crafted record to date, performed with confidence and verve, as the songs are bookended by abstract keyboard pieces, found sounds, and at one point, Adams telling his daughter to play nice with the cat. Its that rarity, an album about adulthood that doesnt sound tired or steeped in regret, and its assuring that the march of time not only doesnt rattle Mike Adams, but even inspires him. ~ Mark Deming