All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade (Alt. Cover)

The Libertinesが9年ぶり4作目となるニュー・アルバム『All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade』のリリースを発表し、そのリードトラックとなる「Run, Run, Run」を公開した。
ニューアルバムでバンドはパンキッシュでアナーキーなサウンドの中に常に潜んでいた洗練されたソングライティングを堂々と表現し、歌詞はこれまでとは異なり、現代的な問題(ヨーロッパでの戦争、環境破壊、ブレグジットなど)により直接的な表現に傾倒している。
ジャケット別絵柄仕様

The Libertines 2015 comeback album Anthems for Doomed Youth seemed like it might be a one-off, but nine years later, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade proves theyre as dedicated to making new music as they are to touring. Like Anthems, their fourth album is considerably cleaner and sometimes safer-sounding than the raffish Up the Bracket and The Libertines, although the band uses this polish skillfully on "Night of the Hunter," a vignette of antihero glamor thats equal parts spaghetti western, film noir, and Swan Lake. Theres also a little more fire in the performances this time around, especially on the Clash-y punk of "Oh Shit" and on "Run Run Run," the entertainingly self-aware echo of their glory days that kicks off the album. Carl Barat, Peter Doherty, and company spend as much time riffing on their status as rock & roll survivors on Esplanade as they did mythologizing their elegantly wasted twenties two decades prior, but Dohertys fascination with mortality takes on a more philosophical patina with "Songs They Never Play on the Radio"s wry midlife angst. A mature perspective can still be rebellious -- as the years go by, the list of things to protest grows longer -- and All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade is frequently most engaging when the band reflects on the changing world around them. "Merry Old England," a cutting portrait of the attitudes that greet refugees and immigrants, is one of the albums highlights, as is "Shiver"s driving look at the irrelevance of traditions. Unfortunately, these powerful moments lose some of their impact next to the lazy satire of songs like "Mustang." While the Libertines still havent fully seized the opportunity to define what they could be as veterans instead of upstarts, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade still sounds more like the product of a working band than Anthems for Doomed Youth did, and offers enough good and great moments to keep fans believing. ~ Heather Phares

2014年の再結成以降、断続的な活動を続ける彼らの9年ぶりとなる4作目。ピート・ドハーティとカール・バラーがジャマイカでデモを作り、その後イギリスにあるバンドのホーム・スタジオで録音したという本作は、人間的にも落ち着き、安定した関係性を築き上げられている4人ならではのスマートな好盤だ。拳を振り上げながらの大合唱が目に浮かぶ"Run Run Run"、レゲエ・パートを挿む"Be Young"、場末の酒場が似合いそうなジャズ・ブルース"Baron's Claw"などソングライティングに溢れる人間味は不変なうえで、とにかくプロダクションが整理されていて聴きやすい。素直に喜ぼう。これは傑作だ。
bounce (C)田中亮太