Kids Table

ネブラスカ州オマハを拠点に30年近くにわたり活動するCONOR OBERST率いるUSインディー・ロック・レジェンドBRIGHT EYES。

新作EP『KIDS TABLE』は、2024年作『FIVE DICE, ALL THREES』と同じ録音セッションから生まれた楽曲を中心にまとめられた作品で、独立した世界を持ちながらも『FIVE DICE, ALL THREES』の姉妹作とも言える内容です。タイトルやジャケットはボードゲームをモチーフにしており、青春の記憶や日常の小さな冒険が描かれています。

EPには"KIDS TABLE"と"DYSLEXIC PALINDROME"にHURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFFのALYNDA SEGARRAが参加。ツアーでの共演を経た絶妙なハーモニーが、EP全体に新鮮な彩りを加えています。また、"1ST WORLD BLUES"はSO SO GLOSのALEX ORANGE DRINKとの共作で、オフビートのリズムとギャング・ヴォーカルが耳に残る、現代アメリカのリアルを描いたスリリングなスカ・サウンドを展開します。文化的リファレンスも散りばめられており、"VICTORY CITY"ではSALMAN RUSHDIE、JOE STRUMMER、CANDACE BERGEN、"SHAKESPEARE IN A NUTSHELL"ではSHAKESPEARE、GUY FAWKES、ボードゲーム『CLUE』のMRS. PEACOCKなど、ユーモアと知性が同居する詞世界も魅力。

そしてこのEPのハイライトは、LUCINDA WILLIAMSの1980年の名曲"SHARP CUTTING WINGS (SONG FOR A POET)"のカヴァーです。OBERSTは2024年の声のトラブルから回復した際、最初に歌いたかったというこの曲は、切なさと希望を同時に織り込みながらEP全体に光を差し込み、崩れゆくアメリカンドリームや家族の食卓での影の中に、小さな希望の光を灯します。

On the heels of their 2024 full-length Five Dice, All Threes, Bright Eyes try several different applications of their emotionally driven songwriting on the eight-song EP Kids Table. Centered as always around Conor Obersts dense lyrical landscapes, this release touches on some of the bands best-loved styles while also swimming into unexpected waters. Songs like the title track and the folky strumming of "Cairns (When Your Heart Belongs to Everyone)" have the same maxed-out arrangements as some of Bright Eyes most celebrated work, with layers of organ, percussion, vocal harmonies, and even some spooky samples. These songs feel in line with a lot of the bands previous work, but the sunny ska instrumental of "1st World Blues" throws a curveball. Obersts lyrics here are among some of his more outlandish, with lines as wild as "I was talking crazy down at Old Navy, I was feeling despondent at Hot Topic" juxtaposed with shuffling percussion and happy horn sections. Its one of the weirder experiments on the EP, and it fades quickly into a faithful and stripped-down cover of Lucinda Williams "Sharp Cutting Wings (Song to a Poet)" that sounds like it was recorded in green room between sound check and the show, complete with glasses clinking in the background. The centerpiece of Kids Table is the song "Dyslexic Palindrome." Its an expertly produced piece of orchestral melancholy, with glistening piano, swells of pedal steel guitar, and guest vocals from Hurray for the Riff Raffs Alynda Segarra featured prominently. While the rest of the EP feels like a fun collection of odds and ends, this track is inspired on the level of the best Bright Eyes album material, and sounds like the most time and consideration went into its creation. Die-hard fans will be the ones that appreciate Kids Table the most, as the songs offer Oberst and company a space to explore lyrical tangents and experimental production ideas that might not make the final cut on an official album. These unusual moves are exactly what make this EP so interesting, though, and offer a welcome expansion of the groups established sound. ~ Fred Thomas