Sad Girl

ロンドンのエレクトロニック・プロデューサー TSHAが最新アルバム『Sad Girl』をリリース!!

「IBISHA 2024」と題したイビサ・ツアーでDC10、Pacha、Hi Ibiza、Amnesia、Ushuaiaといったメガ・クラブで10万人のクラウドを熱狂の渦に巻き込んでいるロンドン出身のプロデューサー、Tshaが待望のセカンド・アルバム『Sad Girl』を〈Ninja Tune〉からリリース! Caroline Byrneをフィーチャリングした先行シングル「Sweet Devotion」や、「ガールズとゲイたち」に贈るクラブ・アンセム「Girls」を筆頭に、『Sad Girl』は、これまでで最もダンサブルな12曲となっているが、今回TSHAは自身の歌声を起用するなど、新たな一面も見せている。また、前作『Capricorn Sun』の多幸感やメラコリーな面に加え、今作はさらに深層へと探り、幼少時代の悲しみや、パートナーとの言い争いなども取り上げ、「悲しい時があってもいいのだ」というメッセージを伝えている。絶頂を感じるには、一度、落ちることも必要なのだと。快楽や逃避を追求し、深層心理までをエモーショナルに、そしてダンサブルに表現した一枚!

TSHAs first album, the exceptional Capricorn Sun, was filled with surging, festival-ready dance tracks that expressed complex emotions, from urgent desires to heartache and desperation in the face of a rocky relationship. Sad Girl, the artists second full-length, further taps into feelings of isolation and depression, while producing some of her most extroverted, escapist material yet. Dan Whitlams opening monologue about a girl stuck in her room, accepting her loneliness, brashly contrasts with the vibrant, runway-ready house of "Girls," the Rose Gray-featuring second track. "In the Night" is a yearning, propulsive Euro-dance tune about wanting to be young, high, and free forever. Other tracks heavily channel 90s vibes -- "Green" is filled with retro horn stabs, while "In Bloom" (with Abi Flynn) updates downtempo R&B with 21st century chirpy vocal effects. The albums eclecticism further encompasses smooth drumnbass ("Cant Dance," which juxtaposes acoustic guitars and panpipes with snarky lyrics by Master Peace), the lush house anthem "Sweet Devotion" (featuring Caroline Byrne), and the slow-burning ballad "Azaleas," which begins with Ingrid Witts forlorn vocals over swelling strings before being swept away by a pounding beat. The records clear standout is "Drive," another song with Witt, which has even more dramatic strings along with rave pianos and shuffling breakbeats. Somewhat surprisingly, "Fight" opens with a melody played on a stringed instrument like a dulcimer, before the track switches to an aggressive, Underworld-inspired banger, with the sound of police sirens ramping up the tension. Sad Girl is the work of an artist using music to navigate through intense changes and conflicting emotions, and its best moments feel like a breakthrough. ~ Paul Simpson