But I'll Wait For You＜Indie Exclusive Iridescent White, Blue Vinyl＞

A companion album to 2023s Time Will Wait for No One, Local Natives sixth album, 2024s But Ill Wait for You, offers more of the enticingly sultry alt-rock-meets-soul atmosphere of its predecessor. Produced by John Congleton, the album was recorded during the same sessions as Time Will Wait for No One. Not surprisingly, then, it works as an aesthetic continuation of the sound of that album, one steeped in smooth, falsettoed harmonies and dewy guitar and keyboard lines. This is a good thing, and cuts like "Throw It in the Fire," "Camera Shy," and "April" are as hooky as anything off Time Will Wait for No One, nicely showcasing the groups nuanced blend of soul and rock influences. Once again, singer Taylor Rice shines, as on "Neon Memory," where his yearning croon deftly underscores the bands long-simmering Jeff Buckley influence. There is a sleepy, sun-baked eroticism to But Ill Wait for You, as in "As Soon as You Arrive," where Rice, evoking an emotional unburdening, sings, "Soon as you arrive, youll start to feel it/All the weight lifted as you set down your bags/Blooming desert flowers/White sand and idle hours." Its an enticing vibe, even as some of the tracks bleed into each other towards the latter half of the album. Nonetheless, the fact that Local Natives are able to pull a wholly separate, not to mention catchy and emotionally engaging, album from those initial Congleton sessions speaks to the high level of quality and artistic inspiration they were working with. The album also works as a farewell to founding keyboardist/singer Kelce Ayer, who revealed he was amicably leaving the group following the tour for the album, a choice that perhaps adds some weight to their decision to release more of their final recordings together. A warm echo of Time Will Wait for No One, But Ill Wait for You is the call-and-response album Local Natives fans may not have asked for but will surely appreciate. ~ Matt Collar

美しいメロディーとハーモニーを武器とするLA出身ロック・バンドの6作目は、前作『Time Will Wait For No One』(2023年)と同時期に録音されていたという、いわゆる姉妹作。前作がレイドバック感のある内容だったのに対し、今作はシリアスかつウェットな感触で、そのコントラストが非常に興味深い。グラミー受賞プロデューサーのジョン・コングルトンも参加。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二