Ensoulment

2024年リリース。ザ・ザ、四半世紀ぶりのスタジオ・アルバム。『Ensoulment』に収録された12曲には、愛とセックス、戦争と政治、生と死から21世紀における人間とは何かという意味まで、特徴的なトピックが含まれている。シンガーソングライターのマット・ジョンソンに、ザ・ザの長年のメンバー、ジェームス・エラー(ベース)、DC・コラード(キーボード)、アール・ハーヴィン(ドラム)、バリー・カドガン(リードギター)が加わる。以前にアルバム『インフェクテッド』(1986年)と『マインド・ボム』(1989年)に携わった共同プロデューサー兼エンジニアのウォーン・リヴシーの復帰を記念するものでもある。ゲストには、ジリアン・グローヴァー(バッキング・ボーカル)、テリー・エドワーズ(ホーン)、ソーニャ・カリングフォード(フィドル)、ダニー・カミングス(パーカッション)が参加。

Singer Matt Johnson breathes new life into The The with 2024s Ensoulment, the British groups first studio album of original material since 2000. The album arrives in the wake of a difficult period for Johnson, which included a life-threatening throat infection and subsequent surgery in 2020. While he had already returned to live performing with The The in 2018, the illness proved a kind of artistic and spiritual crucible for the singer, who hadnt written a proper rock song since abandoning the group following 2000s NakedSelf and focusing instead on soundtrack work. Ensoulment finds Johnson transformed by his near-death experience with a reignited sense of creative purpose. Adding to this sense of renewal is the presence of producer/engineer Warne Livesey, who helmed 1989s classic Mind Bomb and who co-produces here alongside Johnson. Also on board are longtime The The members guitarist Barrie Cadogan, bassist James Eller, keyboardist DC Collard, and drummer Earl Harvin. Together, they play with an artful intensity, crafting darkly textured grooves full of twangy guitar, bass, and piano to frame Johnsons firelit baritone. Its a vibe that smartly evokes Mind Bomb, showcasing Johnsons knack for biting, literate lyrics as he moves from the personal ("I Want to Wake Up with You") to the political ("Kissing the Ring of POTUS) to the philosophical ("I Hope You Remember [The Things I Cannot Forget])." Johnson sets the albums ominous yet satirical tone from the start on "Cognitive Dissent," decrying the reality-warping nature of the internet, singing "Reality curated/Every place you thought you belonged/Everything you thought you knew is wrong." Yet, its when he turns his attention upon more intimate vignettes, as he does with the romantic chance encounter on a train in "A Rainy Day in May," that he conjures a kind of sensual magic, one that brings to mind the tragic eroticism of films like Closer and Before Sunrise. He sings, "You caught my gaze, I swooned/Your eyes touched every part of my wound/The other half of my soul/Welcoming me home?." At turns incisive and deeply felt, Ensoulment is more than a welcome return for Johnson and The The. ~ Matt Collar