American Romance

アメリカのシンガー・ソングライター=ルーカス・ネルソン 初ソロ・アルバム『American Romance』

アメリカのシンガー・ソングライター ルーカス・ネルソン。自身のバンド"ルーカス・ネルソン&プロミス・オブ・ザ・リアル"での活動で知られ、レディー・ガガ主演映画のサウンドトラック『アリー/ スター誕生』のプロデュースでグラミー賞を受賞。また、レジェンド・カントリー・シンガーのウィリー・ネルソンの息子でもある。
そんな彼が、バンドを活動休止し、初のソロ・アルバム『American Romance』(アメリカン・ロマンス)をリリース。シューター・ジェニングスのプロデュースによってレコーディングされたこのアルバムは、シンガー・ソングライターであるネルソンのサウンドの広がりを示すのと同時に、彼の基にある芸術性を倍増させている。「バンドでの旅は長く、刺激的だった。今は、パレットへ新しい絵具を試すような機会なんだ」と彼は言う。類まれな器用さを持つシンガー・ソングライターであることを証明しながら、その新しい色をまばゆいばかりに引き出している。『アメリカン・ロマンス』は、彼の人生を切り取ったような、複雑さと美しさに満ちた小説的なアルバムだ。

Though American Romance is technically a debut, Lukas Nelson is hardly a beginner. Between 2008 and 2024, he was the leader of Promise of the Real, a ragged Americana band who sometimes backed up Neil Young on-stage and made records of their own that gradually grew to include elements of jam-band searching and danceable grooves amongst their twangy roots rock. As the son of country legend Willie Nelson, Lukas Nelson was born into his musical path to a degree, and while American Romance is his first solo outing, it comes after decades of work in his own lifetime, and under the incalculable personal and musical influence of his bloodline. All of that being said, there’s still a kind of first-go-round charm to these 12 tunes. Even though Nelson has penned dozens of songs at this point, the material on American Romance feels wide-eyed and at times even naive. He sings about spending his best years touring and wondering if its too late to reconsider his life choices on the excitable rocker "Born Runnin Outta Time," but the songs eager energy and straightforward arrangement make it feel like the work of someone just starting out. The way the song wears its Tom Petty influence so proudly also makes it feel more like an openhearted work of nascent inspiration than something an industry-hardened career musician would make. Though Nelsons backing players are solid (and production from fellow country-rock footstep-follower Shooter Jennings is crisp), the absence of Promise of the Reals muscular, locked-in presence gives the songs a lighter feel and puts the focus more on the singing and songwriting. "Make You Happy" moves between airy, almost fragile verses and choruses that switch gears to the kind of groove-centered country-soul that PotR sometimes explored. "Outsmarted" is a grinning romp with bluegrass fiddle runs and spirals of pedal steel guitar carefully dialed into a supportive role beneath Nelsons lyrical narrative. The lyrics of the albums restrained title track write out picture postcards of scenes from growing up in the American heartland, "Aint Done" adds a little bluesy pleading to the mix, and "Disappearing Light" is a reflective, plaintive ballad somewhere between Springsteen and Nelsons dad. Fittingly, the album ends with "You Were It," the first song Nelson ever wrote when he was just a child of 11. Knowing this aching and lovelorn closing number was written from the imagination of a youngster and not lived experience enhances its sweetness, and serves as a perfect summary for the album on the whole. With American Romance, Nelson tunes into feelings of expectancy, newness, and a nervous uncertainty thats endearing. He pairs these fresh-faced emotions with a craft honed during his many years in the trenches of the music industry, and the resultant songs are masterfully constructed yet still conveyed from genuine beginner perspectives. ~ Fred Thomas

プロミス・オブ・ザ・リアルの活動休止宣言から約1年、初のソロ名義作が到着。フォークやブルース、ロックやカントリーなどを自然な形で融合させた楽曲の魅力もさることながら、成熟度を増した歌声の響き具合が素晴らしく、あらゆる世界を魅惑的なスモーキーな色合いに染め上げていく。スティーヴン・ウィルソンJrとのデュエット曲"Desappearing Light"が白眉。
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