Raspberry Moon

Some albums grab you from the start, hitting you with such a great lead-off track that its almost like you dont even need to hear the rest of the album to know youve already fallen in love. Such is the case with Hotline TNTs third full-length and second for Third Man Records, 2025s romantic and fuzz-tone drenched Raspberry Moon. The opening "Was I Wrong" is the perfect re-introduction to the band, a woozy, melancholy rocker whose rising sense of uplift is shot through with a sense of gutting doubt as singer/guitarist Will Anderson seems to question all the buzz and critical acclaim they earned for 2023s Cartwheel, singing "Was I wrong, or did you sing my song?" While Anderson is still the creative focal point of the band, the album marks his first recording with a dedicated quartet line-up, including guitarist Lucky Hunter, bassist Haylen Trammel, and drummer Mike Ralston. Here, they are joined by Tenements Amos Pitsch who produces with an empathetic ear for vinyl-era analog warmth. Its a shift away from the drum machine and one-man band approach that marked both 2021s Nineteen in Love and 2023s Cartwheel. Consequently, theres an organic grit and live in-studio immediacy to Raspberry Moon that seems to jibe with the bands tube amp and stomp-box energy. Its a throwback vibe, evoking the flannel-laden days of 90s underground pop guitar groups like Dinosaur Jr., Sloan, and Teenage Fanclub; unabashed touchstones for Anderson whose work on Raspberry Moon believably lives up to the comparisons. Cuts like the opening "Was I Wrong?," Julias War," and "Letter to Heaven" are euphoric slacker anthems, full of romantic ennui and a screw-it sense of underdog decency that Anderson carries throughout the whole album. Also carried through is Hotline TNTs knack for spiraling guitar sonics, as on "The Scene" and "If Time Flies" where their sound burns with white noise, like a sky full of rockets screaming towards space. Yet, its an emotional, lyrical engine roar, as if Anderson is either burning off heartbreak, or holding fast in the rage of new love. Its a rapturous vibe he encapsulates on "Candle," proclaiming, "I wanna try/Get butterflies." With Hotline TNTs Raspberry Moon, its all butterflies. ~ Matt Collar

ジャック・ホワイトが主宰するサード・マンから発表した『Cartwheel』(2023年)で一躍注目を集めた、NYの4人組シューゲイザー・バンド。約2年ぶりとなるこの3作目もサード・マンからのリリースで、分厚い轟音ギターを基盤にしながらも、リズム、メロディー、ヴォーカルのすべてが繊細に調和し、美しいバランスを生み出している。なかでも際立つのは〈歌〉への強いこだわり。キャッチーで耳に残るメロディーと言葉が明瞭に届くクリアなヴォーカルは、ノイズに埋もれることなく心に届く。マイブラやダイナソーJrを彷彿とさせながらも二番煎じ感はなく、あくまで現代的な独自の音像が魅力だ。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二