Greatest Hits / BBC Sessions

LPでリリースされる『Greatest Hits』と『BBC Sessions』と同じ内容を2枚のCDに収録したセット商品!

■仕様:2枚組CD、4パネル・デジスリーヴ、16ページ・ブックレット

At the time of Greatest Hits release, Metronomy had been around in one form or another for over 25 years, with a discography brimming with witty, creative songs to show for it. The distinct viewpoint within Metronomys music flourished as the project grew from Joe Mounts solo home studio experiments into a full-fledged, celebrated electro-indie pop group, but Greatest Hits avoids strict chronological order. Instead, the set puts the focus on the bands vivid pairings of light melodies and deep feelings, synthetic sounds and very real emotions, and limitations and innovation. All of these qualities were abundant on 2011s breakthrough The English Riviera; unsurprisingly, its one of the most-represented albums on the collection. "The Look" begins Greatest Hits by distilling Metronomys preoccupations with small-town claustrophobia, nostalgia, and yearning to escape. When Mount sings "this towns the oldest friend of mine" over echoing keyboards that call to mind an empty amusement park, its with a mix of fondness and frustration. Even breaking free isnt all its cracked up to be on "The Bay," which rushes past like a sea breeze or a dream slipping out of reach. Mounts stealthy eloquence with heartache and uncertainty is a constant on Greatest Hits, uniting nervy outbursts like the toybox symphony of "Heartbreaker" from 2008s Nights Out with the deceptively dreamy smoothness of "Lately" from 2019s Metronomy Forever. Tracing Mounts increasingly revealing songwriting over the course of the collection is just as satisfying. From 2014s Love Letters, "Im Aquarius" is still a uniquely moving sketch of grasping for explanations when love isnt enough, its sorrowful orbit extending to the reverberating loneliness of "Night Owl" from 2016s Summer 08. While Greatest Hits may downplay Metronomys cheerier side, it peeks out on "Salted Caramel Ice Cream"s sugar-coated fantasies and on the enduringly brilliant "Everything Goes My Way," though Veronica Falls Roxanne Clifford sounds more like shes daring to hope things will work out than believing they will. Mounts music doesnt feel truly content until 2022s Small World, where Metronomy managed the neat trick of sounding mature but not stuffy on "Things Will Be Fine," one of the finest songs Cockney Rebel never wrote. Just how much Metronomy grew over the years while staying true to their vision becomes apparent when Greatest Hits ends with "You Could Easily Have Me" from 2006s Pip Paine (Pay the GBP5000 You Owe), a lo-fi reminder of their early days. There are a few surprising omissions, most notably Nights Outs "Radio Ladio" and Summer 08s "Hang Me Out to Dry," but more often than not, Greatest Hits is the rare best-of that lends more insight into an artists music. Paired with the 11 years of performances gathered on BBC Sessions, which includes dynamic versions of songs that didnt appear on Greatest Hits ("Not Made for Love," "She Wants") and clever reworkings of songs that did ("Corinne" and "The Look" reveal Metronomys rock chops), its an immensely enjoyable retrospective. ~ Heather Phares

現在はニンジャ・チューンに移籍し、最近はミソ・エクストラやポロ&パンとのコラボも展開している英国のエレクトロ・ポップ・ユニット。これはアルバム・デビューから20周年というタイミングでコンパイルしたベスト盤で、"The Look"や"The Bay"からの代表曲がたっぷりと楽しめる。アナログでは別で出ているライヴ音源集『BBC Sessions』もセットになった2枚組。
bounce (C)大原かおり