Kiss the Beast

2000年代を代表するロマンティック・ダンディ、音楽的才能とカリスマ性、謎めいて気取らないスタイルと遊び心によって、フランスの音楽シーンのアイコンの地位を確立したSebastien Tellierの新作!Nile Rodgers、Kid Cudi、Slayyyterがゲスト参加。

約5年8カ月ぶりとなる8作目のスタジオ・アルバム。
■仕様:デジスリーヴ、ブックレット
*予めご了承下さい:海外から取り寄せる輸入盤ですので、仕様が急遽変更となることもございます。

After extolling the virtues of genteel family life on Domesticated, Sebastien Tellier claws back some of his musics wildness on Kiss the Beast. Despite its feral title, the albums ultra-stylish expressions of the tension between humankind and nature remain tres Tellier. On the gliding title track, his embrace of animal instinct is closer to a butterfly kiss than a bear hug. While it would have been easy for him to deliver more sexily detached synth pop like "Divine" -- especially since the indie sleaze/blog house movement he helped shape was back in fashion when Kiss the Beast was released -- Tellier pushes himself out of his comfort zone. Theres a greater urgency bubbling under quintessentially slick tracks like "Copycat" and "Thrill of the Night," a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and Slayyyter that pays homage to Moroder and Cerrone with the dazzling precision of its surging strings and taut guitars. Beneath Kiss the Beasts gloss, a darker, more unsettled current suggests an artist reckoning with mortality and relevance. Tellier was 50 at the time of its release, and achingly lovely reflections such as "Naif de Cœur" and "Parfum Diamant" are among its most affecting moments. The albums shadows deepen on the Gainsbourg-like melodrama of "Mouton," where the beast in question is a sheep whose tragicomedic bleating hovers over Owen Palletts sumptuous string arrangements, threatening to ruin the song but ultimately heightening its decayed glamour. Alongside "Romantic"s orchestral disco and "Animale"s 70s pop flourishes, these moments evoke Daft Punks Random Access Memories, another album that reaffirmed electronic music isnt only for the young. At this point in his career, Tellier is established enough to do whatever he wants, so he does. "Amnesia," a collaboration with Kid Cudi that swings between shadowy guitars and symphonic bombast, doesnt sound like what fans of either artist might predict. "Loup" is even more audacious, moving from Spanish guitar and wolf howls into electro-funk hedonism, whimsical flute passages, and choral grandeur. Even when Tellier returns to the familiar on the pensive closing track "Un Dimanche en Famille," the albums friction between passion and stability lingers. Not all of Kiss the Beasts risks pay off, but by letting his creativity run wild, Tellier defies the expectations of anyone who thinks they know his music inside and out. ~ Heather Phares