For Who the Bell Tolls For

これまでTHE KILLERS、 FATHER JOHN MISTY、 THE LEMON TWIGS、 WHITNEY、そしてWEYES BLOODらのレコーディングに関わりインディロック・シーンにおける最も需要の高いプロデューサーと言えるJONATHAN RADOが、10年ぶりとなるソロ・アルバム『FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS FOR』をリリース!

アンセミックなマキシマリズムと古き良きスタジオ・マジックによって複雑に造形されたラドーの洗練された一面を強調した作品。ラドーの友人であり師であったプロデューサー、故RICHARD SWIFTの精神を反映させた"EASIER"や、"FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS FOR"などを収録。THE LEMON TWIGS、BRAD OBERHOFER、ANDREW SARLO、JACKIE COHEN、KANE RITCHOTTEら豪華コラボレーターも参加しています。

Jonathan Rados talents are many, but his gift for pastiche has always been especially striking. This was the entire mission statement when Rado was getting his start as one-half of Foxygen, an indie band whose earliest songs were lo-fi collages that felt like turning the radio dial in an alternate reality where the only the best classic rock and 60s pop were on every station. His first solo album, 2013s ramshackle Law & Order, appropriated something new on nearly every track, re-creating psychedelic country one moment and fuzzy chamber pop the next. In the time since, Rado emerged as a sought-after producer, bringing his fine-tuned ear to sessions with Weyes Blood, Father John Misty, and many others, and creating several more volumes of always-different Foxygen output before the band called it quits in 2019. For Who the Bell Tolls For is Rados first fully solo statement since Law & Order, and this time around hes deep in the Eno zone. The nearly seven-minute title track that starts the album has the same slightly warped pop sensibilities as Enos "rock" records, building arrangements on circular melodies that somehow manage to be both heavenly and distraught. Its a very specific feeling borrowed directly from Another Green World, but it translated into Rados production voice with glimmering synths and stacked vocal harmonies. "Farther Away" shifts to a deranged minimal funk similar to the kind Eno helped craft for Bowies Berlin records. Rado marries various Enoisms to other reference points throughout, landing somewhere between Harry Nilsson, John Cale, and John Lennon on "Easier," a touching tribute to his late production mentor Richard Swift. Rados singing has improved significantly since his last solo effort. On "Dont Wait Too Long," controlled vocals make the song shine, bringing out more personality in a tune modeled after similar 80s radio pop sounds as those Foxygen mined on their 2019 swan song, Seeing Other People. Help from members of the Lemon Twigs adds a hint of glam here and there, and Rados songwriting lens widens to include nods to Prince, Rain Dogs-era Tom Waits, and Warren Zevon, all tied together with loose, reverb-appreciative analog production. Theres a somber tone just under the surface, rising up pronouncedly on instrumental closer "Yer Funeral," but theres more joy than grief in For Who the Bell Tolls For. Its a guided tour through some of the favorite inspirations of an avid sound collector, easily as enjoyable as Foxygens best work of a similar nature, but showing more restraint as well as a new willingness on Rados part to step out from behind the curtain and vulnerably share difficult emotions. ~ Fred Thomas