It Is What It Is

サンダーキャット待望の最新アルバム『It Is What It Is』登場!
チャイルディッシュ・ガンビーノ、タイ・ダラー・サイン、スティーヴ・レイシー、リル・Bらをフィーチャーした曲も収録。

Its been a while, but Im down til Im out and it is what it is til it aint. So preached Mac Miller on 2018s Swimming. A month after the album was released, the beloved Miller died from an accidental overdose, compelling Thundercat, bassist and co-writer on the quoted track, to cope again with loss and mortality as he made the follow-up to Drunk. Those themes coursed through much of Thundercats 2010s work -- most perceptibly on Apocalypse, recorded after the death of another close friend and collaborator, Austin Peralta -- and continue on his first LP of the 2020s, co-produced by trusty partner Flying Lotus. Thundercat is most open on Fair Chance, flanked by fellow Miller comrades Ty Dolla $ign and Lil B, grieving in downcast falsetto, So hard to get over it, Ive tried to get under it/Stuck in between, it is what it is. The albums title is repeated across the variegated yet flowing sequence, utilized as either a mantra or verbal spackle, always in tribute. Just as moving is Thundercats heart-in-throat salutation in the closing title track, briefly stated just before his bass intertwines with Pedro Martins guitar to gorgeous effect. As on the earlier Thundercat LPs, outer space and homeboy escapades, comic courtship and elusive companionship, and philosophical insights also inform the material. In the churning Innerstellar Love, featuring Kamasi Washingtons blazing saxophone, Thundercat croons Nothing is yours, nothing is mine/We all decay over time like a tragic-romantic Roy Ayers. The surreal psych-funk Badbadnotgood meeting King of the Hill, originally a Brainfeeder X highlight, falls snugly into place and functions as a cautionary flip side to the bobbing Black Qualls, a conscientious ballers anthem graced by Dayton funk demigod Steve Arrington. There are no throwaways or novelty tunes. The tender-rocking Dragonball Durag is full of humor but too thoughtfully written and endearing to be disregarded as either. How Sway is a warp-speed instrumental comprehended only by those who were raised on fusion records and Japanese video games, yet its an ideal setup for the whomping revelry tale Funny Thing. Cartoonishly puttering and seemingly off-the-dome, Miguels Happy Dance provides heartfelt solace: Dancin away the pain, its gonna be all right. That might be the paramount message here. ~ Andy Kellman

強烈なジャケットに豪華客演陣、もちろん内容の凄まじいド変態っぷりで一大出世作となった『Drunk』より3年ぶり、スリムになった体躯とは裏腹にうねりまくったベースラインと持ち味の透き通るファルセットを引っ提げ、自身とフライング・ロータスの共同プロデュースで通算4作目が完成。ハイムの3姉妹が友情出演したMVも最高の仕上がりだった先行カット"Dragonball Durag"、スティーヴ・レイシーと元スレイヴのスティーヴ・アーリントン、チャイルディッシュ・ガンビーノまで招いた"Black Qualls"などのリード曲を軸にし、ベーシストとしての才覚を発露させたスキットを随所に潜ませながらさらりと聴かせてしまう手腕は生来のバランス感覚によるものだろう。会心の一枚だ。
bounce (C)藤堂てるいえ