A Perfect Contradiction＜完全生産限定盤/Blue Vinyl＞

ロンドン出身のシンガーソングライター=パロマ・フェイス
2014年発売の3rd アルバム『A Perfect Contradiction』発売10周年記念盤(ブルー・ヴァイナル)

イギリス ロンドン出身のシンガー・ソングライター、パロマ・フェイス。かつてマジシャンのアシスタントを務め、現代舞踊の教育を受け、セント・マーティンズ・カレッジの卒業生で舞台監督学の学士号を持ち、バラエティショーのパフォーマーや女優というシンガーだけではなく様々な経歴を持つアーティスト。
2014年発売の3rdアルバム『A Perfect Contradiction』は、ファレル・ウィリアムスがプロデュースしたシングル「Can't Rely on You」や、世界的アンセムとなった「Only Love Can Hurt Like This」等が収録され、大ヒットを記録。今作は発売10周年を記念した2LP盤で、テディ・スウィムスをフィーチャーした「Only Love Can Hurt Like This - Remix」をボーナス・トラックとして収録。

British vocalist Paloma Faith's third studio album, 2014's A Perfect Contradiction, is a slick, funky production featuring several big-name songwriters, from Pharrell Williams to Raphael Saadiq. In the post-Amy Winehouse world of soulful, '60s-centric, dance-oriented divas, Faith has always leaned toward the artier end of the spectrum, setting her cherubic yet impossibly robust vocals against her Frida Kahlo-meets-Dusty Springfield persona. Which isn't to say that Faith's music is an acquired taste. On the contrary, her previous efforts (2009's Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? and 2012's Fall to Grace) found the London-born singer balancing an inclination toward arch theatricality with her gift for belting out R&B hooks. On the heels of Adele's success, and in sea of up-and-coming Springfield devotees, Faith smartly moves away, if ever so slightly, from the neo-vintage, Mark Ronson-esque production of her past albums and toward a more high-sheen, disco, and '70's soul-influenced sound. Cuts like the Pharrell-produced "I Can't Rely on You," and the Saadiq-helmed "Mouth to Mouth," are infectious, booty-shaking numbers that wouldn't sound out of place booming out over the speakers at Studio 54. Similarly, the cowbell-heavy "Take Me" is a jubilant, Southern soul-influenced anthem that veritably drills itself into your head as soon as the descending piano riff starts. That said, Faith has built her career upon '50s- and '60s- influenced sounds and aesthetics, and A Perfect Contradiction certainly has its share of neo-retro reappropriation in the Diane Warren-penned "Only Love Can Hurt Like This" and the Stuart Matthewman co-write "Taste My Own Tears," which does sound a bit like Matthewman's longtime boss Sade, if she had recorded at Motown in the mid-'60s. Ultimately, it's Faith's irrepressible enthusiasm and unbridled vocal ability that shine the most on A Perfect Contradiction, and having musicians like Pharrell and Saadiq around just works to sweeten the deal. ~ Matt Collar

3枚目の新作。ファレルが関わっているせいかチキチキしたビートがロビン・シック“Blurred Lines”っぽく聴こえて仕方ない冒頭曲をはじめ、ラファエル・サディークやジョン・レジェンドら制作者の顔ぶれからもこれまで以上にソウルを意識したことが窺えます。特にH=D=H作法のモータウン調、ダップ・キングスの助力が光るソリッドなファンク曲に、エイミー・ワインハウスの背中をひた向きに追う姿が見えますね。
bounce (C)山西絵美