Halo Moon

スティーブン・ローリーを中心に1987年に結成され、現在に至るまで音の渦を掻き鳴らし続けるザ・テレスコープスが17枚目のスタジオ・アルバム『HALO MOON』を待望のリリース!

UKシューゲイズの素晴らしい一面を体現したとも言い切れるであろう本作は、彼らが残してきた数多くのディスコグラフィの中で最も宇宙に急接近したともいえる程に素晴らしい陶酔感を纏うアルバム。先行配信されている「SHAKE IT ALL OUT」は抑圧され曇ったような音を鳴らし続けるドラムと刃こぼれを音に表したかのようなギター、シラフで受け止めるには重すぎるベースラインとスティーブン・ローリーのダウナーなヴォーカルが絡み合い、催眠術にも似たトランス状態をリスナーへともたらす事間違い無し。

Under the guidance of bandleader and sole constant member Stephen Lawrie, English psychedelic voyagers the Telescopes have released record after record of deeply hypnotic space rock, each new LP taking a slightly different route than the last. Halo Moon, the bands 17th album, is very much in keeping with the outer reaches astral traveling theyve been doing for over 30 years, but finds a lighter, more blissful reading of their sound. Many of the songs here are minimal, stretched-out zoners cut from the same cloth as Spacemen 3 or early Spiritualized. "Come Tomorrow" employs half-speed drums and bleary organ in what sounds like it could a repurposed hymnal melody. "Along the Way" drones in one-note grandeur with occasional dustings of fuzz guitar, while elsewhere the band locks into sinister, cinematic grooves on tracks like "Nothing Matters" and the death rattle hiss of "Lonesome Heart." The bands signature darkness is offset by some moments that feel almost sweet. "For the River Man" dances between swells of tape echo, twinkling Omnichord star showers, and a distant harmonica all supporting Lawries low-key vocals. Closing track "This Train Rolls On" again uses half-speed drum hits and a din of droning single-note textures to create a gloriously dense Wall of Sound. As on every new Telescopes album, the differences can be subtle, but as Halo Moon winds down, the overall feeling is decidedly softer, more contented, and less tortured than previous efforts. Lawrie still sings his cosmic space blues with a heavy heart, but with Halo Moon, we get a sense that hes renewed and hopeful, having seen the land beyond. ~ Fred Thomas