Beauty Behind The Madness (10th Anniversary Edition)＜限定盤/Transparent Vinyl＞

All bets regarding Abel Tesfaye's career arc were off once Trilogy, material previously released at no (financial) cost to the listener, went platinum. For a period after that, it seemed like the singer had peaked just short of pop-star status. His eager congregation pushed Kiss Land, the proper debut, to number two in the U.S., yet none of its singles, not even the one that featured Drake, reached the Hot 100. "Love Me Harder," a duet with labelmate Ariana Grande released in 2014, proved to be a masterstroke. It put Tesfaye in the Top Ten for the first time and began a streak of similarly effective singles that preceded -- and are included on -- Beauty Behind the Madness. "Earned It," a ballad recorded for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, showed that he could adapt to a traditional pop backdrop. That cut a path for "The Hills," in which Tesfaye alleviated his "day one" base with a typically degenerate slow jam, co-produced by Illangelo, that affirmed "When I'm fucked up, that's the real me" while taking the toxic narrative a step further with lines like "Drugs started feelin' like it's decaf." And then "Can't Feel My Face," a sleek slice of retro-modern disco-funk produced by Max Martin and Ali Payami, landed in June 2015. An obvious pop move, it worked -- it went to number one in the U.S. and several other territories. Tesfaye skillfully delivered his biggest hooks as he sang about dependency in that part-anguished, part-euphoric fashion derived from Michael Jackson. Like its advance singles, the rest of Beauty Behind the Madness is R&B and pop as drug-den paella: chemical and sexual abasement, self-loathing, and self-absorbed belligerence over narcotized sludge and less expected moves that peak with the wholly sweet "As You Are" and crest with a big-band diversion on "Losers." Collaborations with Kanye West, Ed Sheeran, and Lana Del Rey add star power; the last of that pack contributes to a moment where Tesfaye turns another corner by acknowledging a dead end through the fog, "addicted to a life that's so empty and so cold." The commercial strides are obvious. The creative advancements are less apparent, but they're in there. ~ Andy Kellman

R&Bチャートを制した『Kiss Land』から2年を経ての2作目。アンビエントR&Bサウンドが頭打ちになりつつあるなか、"Earned It"と"The Hills"の連続ヒットによる〈潮目の変化〉は確実に感じていたが、MJオマージュの決定打といえる大傑作"Can't Feel My Face"が風穴を空けるような格好となって劇的に音楽的選択肢が広がった。カニエ・ウェスト制作の"Tell Your Friends"(ソウル・ドッグ"Can't Stop Loving You"の実質的なリメイク)に象徴される、この解放感。エド・シーランを迎えたアーバン・ブルース"Dark Times"、ラナ・デル・レイとのデカダンス共演"Prisoner"など、注目のデュエットも上々の仕上がりだ。まだまだ伸びしろがあることを予感させる、理想的なセカンド・ステップ。
bounce (C)高橋芳朗