Unpopular Music

テネシー州ナッシュビルの熱気あふれるルーツ・ロック・シーンから登場したシンガーソングライターTristen。本作にはWilcoのパット・サンソーン、ヴァネッサ・カールトン、ベッカ・マンカリ、エリン・レイ、ナタリー・プラスといった豪華な顔ぶれが参加。待望のツアー復帰も予定されており、ロビン・ヒッチコック、Television、エズラ・ファーマン、The Mountain Goatsらとステージを共にしてきたキャリアがさらに続いていきます。

Tristen Gaspadarek has released four albums of impeccably made, tuneful guitar pop, netting her a devoted fan base and the respect of her peers without achieving breakout success. This is the recipe of a cult artist, one whose music remains consistently individualistic, meeting the high bar of her own standards, while remaining allergic to mainstream attention. At some point you just lean into it. Tristens fifth album is titled Unpopular Music, and while it ought to be heard by many, it will at the very least be appreciated by those who consider her a woefully underrated singer/songwriter. Recorded at her Nashville home studio alongside husband and co-producer Buddy Hughen, Unpopular Music is warm, punchy, and abundant with the abstract lyricism and quirky, but vulnerable takes that are her hallmark. Tracks like "Skin of Our Teeth" and "Mona Lisa" are sweetly hummable, but barbed with enough hooks to snare even the most cautious. This is how Tristen draws you in, by feeding you a perfect melody, then twisting it so you have to lean in and really listen to what shes talking about. While many of the tracks are taut and rhythmic, she can lay back, too. The dreamy "Rose and Thorn" is a deceptive little ballad with heaps of mystique and "Selkie Woman" is one of the prettiest songs shes released. It would be ironic if the cheekily meta Unpopular Music became Tristens breakthrough, though it is certainly good enough to do so. ~ Timothy Monger