Zinc

On Zinc., his alluring first album for the independent Mom + Pop Music, R&B outlier Gallant switches it up somewhat by working closely with Ariza, a fellow songwriter and producer known most for his work on Camilos Latin Grammy-nominated album De Adentro Pa Afuera. Ariza either produces or co-produces all but one track, which is handled by Stint, Gallants main collaborator on Ology, Sweet Insomnia, and Neptune. The two producers also partner on the incendiary -- if regretful, hardly resolutionary -- finale. Ariza proves to be equally compatible with Gallant, an open book who continues to use his remarkably elegant voice to work through romantic instability, conflict, remorse, and longing. The bulk of the productions sound slightly scalded and on edge, whether its the wistful folk-soul ballad "Centigrade." (a duet with the well-matched Nao), driving rocker "Crimes of Compassion.," or the atmospheric drumnbass projectile "Monorail." Most stirring of all is "Atoms.," a devotional ballad in the post-Prince mold of Miguel and Paul brothers A.K. and Jai. While the record takes its title from an antioxidant that can aid in the healing of wounds, it signifies the singers need for a remedy rather than the albums effect. In "Siberia.," Gallant offers "cold comfort" "with seizures and chills, like a poisonous pill." Its a trudge rife with self-pity, but its gracefulness, further elevated by the singers pained falsetto, is something to behold. Gallant plays with a lot of familiar water and fire metaphors to express assorted emotional disturbances, but this time, they sound more vivid, as if they werent merely within grasp as lyrical crutches but instead more like lived experiences. ~ Andy Kellman

EP2作を経ての5年ぶりのアルバム。幽玄なトラックに狂おしいファルセットを絡めて歌う作法は不変ながら、"Fly On The Wall(Osaka Version)"など、インディー・ロック系レーベルへの移籍もあってか、素地にあった越境感覚が際立つ。シンセティックかつオーガニックな曲が並び、同じ親日家のネイオとのスロウを含めて狭義のオルタナティヴR&B的王道を行く意欲作。
bounce (C)林剛