Oath

限られた人生の時間を何に使うのか?私たちの目的は何なのか?何をすべきなのか?過去25年間MONOは闇と光の関係、災害に直面したときの希望、誕生と死の二重性といったテーマを探求してきた。12枚目のフルアルバムで長年の友人でありコラボレーターでもあるスティーヴ・アルビニとともにレコーディングとミキシングを行った今作はまるで日の出のように、ゆっくりと昇るオーケストラとブラス・セクションで幕を開ける。

Oath is Monos 12th album and marks their 25th anniversary. Across their career, fans and detractors have sometimes described their music in similar terms: monolithic, soundtrack-y, soundscape-y, repetitive, etc. Its all those things, but also much more. Since releasing 2006s Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain in collaboration with electronicist Worlds End Girlfriend, Monos music seeks an intersection with sonic and textural worlds bigger, wider, saturated in tension and resonant motion. Theyve done so live and in studio with orchestras, chamber groups, and rock musicians. Oath marks their final studio collaboration with longtime producer/engineer Steve Albini, who died suddenly shortly before this release. The 71-minute album revolves around themes of time, and living within its strictures -- only time itself is eternal. The brief "Us, Then" emerges with sparkling guitar notes and electronic blips underscored gently by droning brass. They carry the circular motif before strings, bass, and guitars glide in a minimal progression that gradually increases in dynamic and drama. Dahm Majuri Cipollas drum kit pulses and transforms into a hub as the jam unfolds. During its final moments, the title track segues in with noisy guitar, bass, glockenspiel, and keyboards. An electronic drone painted by subtle bass and guitar lines introduce "Run On," the longest track. Takas elegant guitars add dimension to the orchestras drone as Tamaki Kunishis bassline whispers its support. Distorted crash cymbals, reverbed tom-toms, and keyboards paint the fore as the motif remains, evolving but unceasing. Warm brass and winds join the fray, adding heft that allows the quartet to ratchet its attack. As orchestral textures, harmonies, and dynamics merge with the quartet, they all become a monolith of crushing beauty and controlled, violent force. "Hear the Wind Sing" is the sets hinge track. A keyboard drone and wordless vocal choir softly frame subtle strings, then a phase-shifted electric guitar before a snare shuffle and circular piano vamp shade in the edges before the strings assert themselves. They meet Mono in the middle to first expand, then erase, and finally resurrect the motif with a distorted melancholy in a processional of power. The bell-and-slide guitar intro to "Moonlight Drawing" offers edgy gentleness. The orchestras lyric statement is given added dimension by the drums, as bass, drums, and electronics hover in the backdrop. Cipollas tom-tom shuffle with Kunishis whispering bass frame an early crescendo before atmospherics, ritualistic tom-toms/kick drums create oppositional force that claims dominion; the orchestra adapts, appends, colors, and adds ballast to the lithe melodies inside the cacophonous maelstrom. The sheer chaos, dynamic tension, and unruly power in the latter half of "We All Shine On" recall the bands early years. The monolith sonics, lush orchestral backdrops, lyric, tonal, and harmonic invention are abundant, they more than compensate for the deliberate repetition. On Oath, Monos seemingly disparate, trademark elements create a universe of sound and emotion to completely immerse oneself in for a moment, an hour, or a lifetime. ~ Thom Jurek

日本が世界に誇るインスト・バンドと呼ばれて久しい彼らも今年で結成25周年。20年来の仲となるスティーヴ・アルビニが今回も録音とミックスを担当した12作目は……奇しくも〈時間〉と〈人生〉がテーマ。先行の"Run On"などで垣間見せていたように、暗さに寄り添うのではなく感情を前向きに引き上げるような音風景が今回も見事だ。71分かけて美を堪能できる名作。
bounce (C)轟ひろみ