The New Romance (20th Anniversary Edition)＜数量限定盤/White Vinyl＞

Matador再発シリーズ〈Revisionist History〉
シアトルのガールズパンク～ポストパンクバンド Pretty Girls Make Gravesによる2003年発表2ndが20周年記念のカラー・ヴァイナルにて数量限定リイシュー!

フガジやアット・ザ・ドライヴ・インを引き合いに、カッティング・エッジなダンス・パンク・サウンドで名を馳せたシアトルの人気バンド、Pretty Girls Make Gravesの傑作2ndアルバム『The New Romance』が発売20周年を記念して初カラー盤リイシュー。「Something Bigger, Something Brighter」を筆頭にキャリア屈指の人気曲を収録した名盤が〈Matador〉の再発シリーズ"Revisionist History"に登場。

How many times have you seen it happen: indie hotshot band makes a swell record, gets lots of press, builds a fan base, signs to a bigger label, and immediately releases a completely horrible record that loses all its fans and turns the critics into a frothing pack of wild dogs. Quite often. Pretty Girls Make Graves manages to nimbly sidestep this tragedy by signing with Matador (just a small leap up in size from Lookout) and releasing a record that is actually a whole lot better than anything the group has previously done. In fact, it is better than one could imagine them ever being. The New Romance is a dramatic, thoughtful, emotional, imaginative, and hard-rocking effort full of songs that will tug at your heartstrings anthemically. The band, with help from producer Phil Ek, tones down its sonic assault a couple of notches and allows the music to open up and breathe some. Songs like "Something Bigger, Something Brighter," the desperate-sounding "The Teeth Collector," and "This Is Our Emergency" are epics built around the spiraling guitars of Nathan Thelen and Jay Clark, manic yet tightly controlled drums, fuzzy keyboards, and Andrea Zollo's soaring vocals; she's lost all traces of riot grrrl tunelessness but none of the toughness or power. There are traces of '80s post-punk, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and emo in their sound; you could lump them in with the new wave of new wave bands like Hot Hot Heat or the Vue because they seem to share the same aesthetic. The only difference is that the members of Pretty Girls Make Graves mean every word they say and note they play. And they are as good as any of the bands they take their cues from. The New Romance is the kind of record that will make the band's career. Put Pretty Girls Make Graves on the short list of bands that matter and make sure you get this record. ~ Tim Sendra

フガジやアット・ザ・ドライヴ・イン、モデストマウスなどが好きな人には超オススメ!シアトル出身の5人組PGMGの2nd。スリリングでソリッド!トリッキーに絡み合う2本のギターと女性vo、アンドレアの緊張感たっぷりのスレスレの歌声がとにかくもうスゴすぎなんです!1stに比べインストナンバーも増えて音響効果もアップ。ちょっとだけニューウェーヴ感がただよう所もいい!ポスト・パンクの最新形、体験して下さい。 (C)はすだゆき

フガジやアット・ザ・ドライヴ・インを彷彿とさせる〈知的激情型パンク・サウンド〉で、シーンの話題をさらったガールズ・バンドによる待望の新作。ソリッド&トリッキーに絡むツイン・ギター、タイトかつ変幻自在のリズム隊、一筋縄ではいかない曲構成といった持ち味はそのままに、随所に手拍子やエレクトロニクスを挿入するという遊び心もふんだんに盛り込まれている。これぞパンクの最新形!
bounce (C)渡辺 貴仁