Below a Massive Dark Land

元ゴート・ガールのネイマ・ボック(ネイマ・ジェリー)の新作が完成。高い評価を博した前作から2年、自らの力を中心に制作されたセカンド・アルバム『ビロウ・ア・マッシヴ・ダーク・ランド』、サブ・ポップよりリリース。

イギリスのシンガーソングライター、Naima Bockのセカンド・アルバム『Below A Massive Dark Land』は、大勢のミュージシャンを起用した力強く目的意識の高いアレンジで構成され、包み込むような空間と暖かい光に満ちているが、その曲作りのほとんどは孤独な作業だった。また、間違いなく共同体験であった2022年のデビュー作『Giant Palm』のリリース以来、Naimaのパフォーマンスを見たことのある人にとって、これは驚きの事実であろう。しかし、孤独の中にも力がある。『Giant Palm』はコラボレーターであるJoel Burtonとともにアレンジされたが、真に自分らしいものを求めて一人でこの作品に取り組んだことで、Naimaは自分には自らが知る以上の能力があることに気づいた。『Below A Massive Dark Land』は、Jack Osborne(Bingo Fury)とJoe Jonesが主にプロデュースを担当し、ロンドン北部のThe Cryptでレコーディングを実施。追加のプロダクションとアレンジメントはOliver Hamilton(caroline、Shovel Dance Collective)とNaima自身がおこなった。また、収録された6曲のミックスはJason Agelがおこない、残りはOsborne Jonesが手がけた。また、アルバムのマスタリングはKevin Tuffyが担当した。

On Below a Massive Dark Land, Naima Bock makes it clear that her music is born out of her refusal to stay still -- physically or artistically. Touring in support of her acclaimed debut album, Giant Palm, allowed her to tour the world and grow more comfortable as a performer; both of these souvenirs can be felt on her second full-length. As on Giant Palm, Bocks songs go where they will, leaving her someplace completely different than where she started. "Gentle" begins like a prayer and ends like a party, with woodwinds, reeds, strings, brass, and a choir joining her as she contemplates her inability to settle down. The effect is nearly as transcendent as her debuts title track, but where "Giant Palm" used synths to lift her to the heavens, this time she employs saxophone to elevate songs such as "Kaley," where it complements the 70s glam rock guitars perfectly. Bocks choice to work with co-producers Jack Osborne and Joe Jones rather than her previous collaborator Joel Burton emphasizes how much of Giant Palm was her own creation and also affords her a change of pace. She relies less on studio-created moods in favor of concise yet full-sounding songs that emphasize how far shes come since her debut. Her growth as an arranger is apparent when the trumpet kicks in on "Moving" in a moment of elegiac perfection. Her development as a writer is also remarkable: Bock penned Below a Massive Dark Lands songs in as much solitude as she could get, stealing moments on tour and on vacation. She manages to hang onto this candid introspection even as songs like "Age" and "Feed My Release," which loosely resembles a less self-loathing version of Nicos "These Days," brim over with contributions from others. Bock brings loves paradoxes into sharp focus on "Further Away," observing "But loving is easier than that/When Im further away" over the prickly tones of a bouzouki she picked up in Greece. "Takes One" is even more pointed, intertwining post-breakup bitterness, devastation, and hope as skillfully as the harmonies surrounding her illustrate her isolation. Indeed, some of the albums most powerful moments are the loneliest; "My Sweet Body" and "Star" are so personal, it feels like eavesdropping to listen to them. Far from a glossy attempt to make Bocks music more palatable to a wider audience, Below a Massive Dark Land is more restless -- and more confident -- than Giant Palm. Its an active, engaging album from an artist whose travels ultimately brought her more knowledge of herself. ~ Heather Phares

グラストンベリー出身でブラジルにもルーツを持つ元ゴート・ガールのベーシスト。ダン・キャリーがレコーディングを手掛け、各方面で評価の高かったデビュー作以来となるこのニュー・アルバムはアシッド・フォーク+ブラジル音楽の雰囲気を残しつつ、よりアコースティック楽器の演奏を中心としたシンプルなフォーク作に仕上がった。艶の増した彼女のヴォーカルも最高だ。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二