Boycott Heaven

Funのボーカリストとして多くの人に知られているNate Ruessと幼馴染のSam MeansによるThe Formatが2度目の活動再開、約20年ぶりとなるサード・アルバムをリリースする!プロデューサーはグラミー賞受賞プロデューサーのBrendan O'Brien。

2006年7月に自主レーベルからリリースしたセカンド・アルバム、『Dog Problems』以来約20年ぶりとなるサード・アルバム。セッション・ドラマーとしても大活躍の中のMatt Chamberlain (David Bowie、Bob Dylan等)、グラミー賞受賞プロデューサーのBrendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam、Bruce Springsteen、The Killers等)を迎えて制作された。90年代後半アリゾナで暮らしていた10代の頃に夢中になったオルタナティブロック、グランジ、ポップパンクのサウンドを思い起こさせるサウンドだ。
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Singer Nate Ruess reunites with his pre-fun. group the Format for a pathos-soaked third album that arrives 20 years after their last. Before joining forces with Jack Antonoff in fun., Ruess helmed the Format with fellow Arizona native, multi-instrumentalist Jack Means. They released two albums in 2003s Interventions + Lullabies and 2006s Dog Problems, garnering a cult fan base in the process before breaking up (or at least going on extended hiatus) in 2008. Ruess would go on to greater fame and chart success, first with fun. and then as a solo artist. Meanwhile, Means recorded the soundtrack for The Sinking of the Santa Isabel, as well as several of singles, along with co-writing some songs with Ruess for fun.. Here, they dig into the emo-meets-indie pop sound they championed on their first two albums, but one colored by age and experience. The first thing that hits you with Boycott Heaven is Ruess voice, a sweet lemondrop tenor that drips with a 2000s nostalgia. Its a warm sonic embrace that grounds the whole album. Even with fun., Ruess had a knack for building to a grand crescendo, an emotional pop apotheosis that he and Means return to throughout the album. From the swirling 60s-esque psych-pop of "Not Gold at the Top" to the 90s alt-rock-intimations of "Depressed" and the sparkling title track near the end of the album, Ruess and Means bring all of their influences together, evoking the cinematic punk grandeur of bands like the Pixies and Weezer, while retaining their own distinctive sound. Ruess is anything but ironic, championing big earnest emotions and melodies that almost get stuck in your head from the first note. All of this is at play on Boycott Heaven -- an album that feels tailor made for longtime fans entering middle-age with as much anxiety and ennui for the state of the world as they did for themselves back in their teens and twenties. Its a vibe he conjures on "Holy Roller," a 70s power pop anthem in the Cheap Trick tradition that takes aim at the kind of conservative religious dogma that favors thoughts and prayers in favor of personal responsibility and empathy toward others. He sings, "Holy roller, dont go wasting all your time/Praying for a sign/Im burning out faster than a candle in the night/Ill be gone before sunrise." Theres no creative burn-out on Boycott Heaven as Ruess and Means offer an inspired third album that feels like two old friends reconnecting and finding that they have even more in common than before. ~ Matt Collar