Hadsel

インディ・フォークとバロック・ポップの逢瀬、安らぎを求めたノルウェー・ハッセル島産の4年振り新作!

インディ・フォークを軸にバロック・ポップやワールド・ミュージックを取り込み、インディ・ロックの可能性を大幅アップさせたザック・コンドン率いる巨匠ベイルート。2019年の『GALLIPOLI』以来、4年振りとなる最新作『HADSEL』が自主レーベルPOMPEIIより登場!

『GALLIPOLI』を引っ提げた世界ツアー中にザックが心身の不調で離脱、そのままツアーは中止に。絶望の淵に立たされたザックは安らぎと回復する場所を求め、ノルウェーはハッセル島に渡航。北欧の美しい自然を見たりオーロラを生で体感し、徐々に回復した状態で現地にて制作を開始し、大自然の光景そのままを音にフィードバック!そうして出来上がった本作は、先行シングル"SO MANY PLANS"で鳴っている、優雅で壮大なアレンジとザックの素朴な弾き語りが合体した、キャリア屈指の名盤間違い無しな内容に!今までの華やかさから少し離れ、MVで映るノルウェーの海が、ザックの現在を表しているかのようです。

After recurring health issues, including throat problems, forced him to cancel large portions of tours in support of 2019s Gallipoli, Beiruts Zach Condon headed to a cabin in Hadsel, in northern Norway, to rest and recuperate. In a part of the world with mountain views and northern lights but where the sun never rises above the horizon in winter (this was in early 2020), he took with him recording equipment including a borrowed pump organ, two rigs of modular synthesizers, an old tape machine, and his trumpet, among a handful of other gear. Condon soon also gained access to an early-19th century church organ, thanks to an invitation from a local resident. The isolation he experienced during his two months there continued upon his return to his apartment in Berlin, where pandemic mitigations were underway, so he worked on fleshing out his Norway recordings with additional instruments, including his baritone ukulele, various percussion, and a French horn. The organs, uke, and synths feature heavily in the sound of the completed Hadsel, his sixth album under the Beirut banner and one that takes the project back to its solitary, D.I.Y. origins. Its a record that also captures struggles with mental health, with songs like the bittersweet, swaying "So Many Plans" occupying the emotional territory between despair and acceptance. That song begins with rhythmically strummed ukulele, then mixes in syncopated and stomping percussion, pulsing brass, and additional vocal lines as he repeats the phrase "This had to end" and alternates "We had so many plans" with "We had so many friends." Tributes to his sojourn are also included among Hadsels 12 tracks, including a bright, organ-based title track, the melancholy, ukulele- and water-splashed "Island Life," and the lusher "Arctic Forest," which features overlapping, round-like vocals and sustained organ tones. Elsewhere, "Melbu" offers a wistful organ interlude, and "The Tern," which was built on existing synthesizer and drum machine recordings, adds layers of church organ and lively hand percussion for a kinetic if lyrically unsettled outing ("Youre not too late to find who you are…/But oh, Im not so easy"). This mix of warmth and wariness permeates Hadsel and, despite its idiosyncratic inspirations and unorthodox instrumentation, may well make it a timely and timeless destination for those who relate to its juxtaposition of comfort and alienation. ~ Marcy Donelson