Bow to Love＜限定盤/Colored Vinyl＞

In 2020, Isobel Campbell finally broke free of contractual issues that had kept her music in limbo for years, and was free to share the warming beauty of There Is No Other..., her first solo album in 14 years. Bow to Love follows relatively quickly just four years later, presenting a chapter of Campbells work thats less focused than the soft California pop of There Is No Other... but no less enjoyable. Each song takes a slightly different route, with opener "Everything Falls Apart" setting the tone by incorporating a little bit of the whispery folk, electronic underscoring, and moody lounge atmospheres that follow in the rest of the tracks. "Second Guessing" has the singsong naivete that made Campbells songs with Belle and Sebastian so charming, and the banjo-centered shuffle of the title track updates that charm with a looping arrangement thats a little more meandering and curious. "4316" is all bright synths and pop melodies, while "Take This Poison" is dour, moody, and droning. "You" brings in minor-key melodrama and cinematic violins, expanding the albums stylistic spectrum even further. The unifying factor throughout the record is Campbells distinctively hushed vocal presence, as well as her ability to wrap her voice around any instrumental template she comes across. By the orchestral, Chelsea Girl-evoking beauty of final track "Why Worry," Campbell has spent the album flitting from idea to idea, ending up with a sampler pack of different stylizations of her always lovely (if not always simple) songcraft. ~ Fred Thomas

ベル・アンド・セバスチャンの元メンバー、イザベラ・キャンベルの4年ぶり新作。前レーベルとのトラブルなど、多くの苦難を経て作られた曲群は暗い情感が際立つ。だが、曲が進んでいくにつれてその情感は解放感に変わっていき、最終的には陽のエネルギーが聴き手を包み込む。そうしたストーリー性を、ストリングスが目立つチェンバー・ポップで彩っている。
bounce (C)近藤真弥