The Show

一世を風靡したワン・ダイレクションのメンバーとして人気のナイル・ホーラン。最新シングル「ヘヴン」を含む約3年振りのニュー・アルバムが完成。

Three years and a pandemic between releases, Niall Horan turns the heartbreak around on his vibrant, matured The Show. His third full-length, the quick ten-track burst finds the former One Directioner in a period of positive growth, leaving his twenties behind and grounding himself in a more comfortable space where he can play with genres and have some fun. The mood is set on the irresistible opener "Heaven," a bright, life-affirming anthem that nods to the Beach Boys with the repeated "God only knows" and that groups trademark sunny vocal harmonies. Meanwhile, "Meltdown" and "Save My Life" amp up the energy with breezy choruses and 80s pop/rock vibrancy thats not too far off from his former bandmates Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinsons contemporaneous output. Digging in deeper, he contemplates the passage of time and its effects on love on the tender "Never Grow Up" and dips into Tame Impala psych-groove on "If You Leave Me." Later, he slows things down with the acoustic guitar-and-harmonica "You Could Start a Cult," a sweet ode to a love that could sway the masses, and the piano-and-strings ballad "Science." The centerpiece title track is a sweeping showcase that builds atop swelling, orchestral drama, reaching a grand apex on the bridge, where Horan hits the most shiver-inducing vocal heights yet heard on one of his solo efforts. With each subsequent album, Horan just gets better and better. The Show is his most immediate and engaging set to date, endlessly listenable and full of heart and charm. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

通算3作目のオリジナル作は、ワン・ダイレクション時代にも組んだジョン・ライアンをはじめ、ジョエル・リトル(テイラー・スウィフト、ロード)らをプロデューサーに起用。シンセを多用した80年代風のアレンジが印象的で、いままで以上にメロウで力強い内容に仕上がっている。ソウルフルで少し余裕のある歌い方も含め、より大人になった彼の音楽が楽しめます。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二