Energy (5th Anniversary Edition)＜Zoetrope Vinyl＞

UK ハウス、ガレージ、ヒップホップ、ワールドミュージックの影響を受け、よりリズミカルでパーカッションに重点を置いたサウンドへシフトした3rdアルバム。
Kelis, Channel Tres, slowthai, Mick Jenkins, Fatoumata Diawara, Blick Bassy, Kehlani, Syd,Commonらがゲスト参加。
初のZoetrope1LP盤として発売。
Drew TetzがデザインしたZoetropeは、オリジナルアルバムのアートワークから着想を得て、水や雲といった地球の要素を用いて、まるで生きているかのような動きを表現しています。

Guy and Howard Lawrence seemed neither truly idle nor underexposed between the 2015 and 2020 arrivals of Caracal and Energy, their second and third Disclosure LPs. Among numerous Disclosure singles and EPs and commissioned work done separately and together, the brothers earned their fourth and fifth Grammy nominations with the Fatoumata Diawara-fronted Ultimatum and as producers of Khalids Talk -- the latter a Top Ten hit in the U.K. and U.S. They finished work on Energy by the end of 2019, issued the prelude Ecstasy EP the following February, and within a 24-hour period the next month announced and canceled a tour. The COVID-19 pandemic also prompted Disclosure to delay the release of Energy until that August, as venues remained closed and the possibility of coordinating gigs with a new album became increasingly slim. Energys first track, springy, spangly, and resembling early-aughts Basement Jaxx, is coincidentally apt for the circumstances, with Kelis demanding distance and enthusing about dancing in solitude. Its finale, featuring Common -- essentially playing the role his father has filled on his own albums -- is suited for the times in a more general sense, entailing a megamix of positive poetic aphorisms over the Lawrences rippling drums. That these two songs and the rest take the shape of a coherent and concise LP is a feat in itself, given that it constitutes roughly six-percent of what the Lawrences created during their Los Angeles and London recording sessions. The producers averted artistic option paralysis by favoring the tracks that required the least amount of labor, and their selections neatly snap together. There are two clear-cut highlights. The loping and gleaming Lavender, a meeting with brash Channel Tres, and the atmospheric garage scuttler Who Knew?, featuring Mick Jenkins in wholehearted singer mode, have enough homing power to illuminate Club Lonely. ~ Andy Kellman

フル・アルバムとしては5年ぶりとなった3作目。その間にはグウェン・マクレーやシックとのコラボ、フレンドリー・ファイアズやカリード、クロイ×ハリーのプロデュースなどの幅広い仕事をこなしてきた彼らだが、ここでは増やしてきた持ち札を一気に切ってきた印象だ。ケリスがかます冒頭曲やマリのファトゥマタ・ジャワラと再合体したトライバルな"Duha(Mali Mali)"をはじめ、アミーネとスロウタイを迎えたヒップ・ハウス風の"My High"、ミック・ジェンキンスが歌う直球ガラージ"Who Knew?"などが並び、インタールードやコモンの終曲、カリードとのボートラも含め、全体の印象はいつも以上にどこかソウルフル。ケラーニとシドが艶やかに聴かせるストレートなR&Bの"Birthday"がなかでも最高すぎる。
bounce (C)轟ひろみ