Flow Critical Lucidity

What Thurston Moore brought to Sonic Youth was, in part, a mysterious fogged-window view of the world, along with a poetic mysticism informed by heroes as far back as the Beat Generation but also tapping into the inextinguishable spirit of punk. Moores solo albums zero in on these attributes, as he uses detuned guitars, dreamlike sonic meditations, and unfettered noise to make contact with a particular spirit world of his own divination. Flow Critical Lucidity is the ninth proper solo album from Moore, and its seven songs tie together all his strengths with subtlety and a quiet, almost ritualistic power. In the past, Moore has collaborated with writer/poet Radieux Radio on various efforts, and here Radio pens the lyrics for the entirety of the album. This pairing is highly complementary, as Radios counterculture referencing and ether-combing descriptions of otherworldly scenes are of a similar mind as Moores have been in the past. The whispering tension of opening track "New in Town" places hand-drum rhythms and twinkling guitar dissonance alongside lyrics that capture a feeling of youthful excitement when a new face enters a small, closely knit scene. Drawn-out, moody tracks like "Hypnogram" and "Sans Limites" (the latter of which features a brief guest vocal spot from Stereolabs Laetitia Sadier) are great examples of the slow-burning and eerie style Moore has perfected over the years, with long stretches that reach and hover but never quite resolve, leaving the same impression as waking from a fitful dream. My Bloody Valentines Deb Googe plays bass throughout the album, and Negativland member Jon Leidecker contributes electronics, sometimes creating a spiral of bubbling uneasiness (as with the foreboding prepared-guitar clouds of "We Get High") and other times converging into far more straightforward grooves (as on the Can-informed, rubber-ball bounce of "Rewilding"). Moore doesnt do much to change his established sound on Flow Critical Lucidity, but the substantial contributions from both Radio and his band allow for the entire crew to go deeper and linger longer in both moments of no wave clatter and the heavy, transcendent bliss that Moore has made his calling card. By the time the finer details of closing track "The Diver" sink in (subsonic noise synth frequencies, muted and hypnotic drums, underwater guitar harmonics, and controlled muttering vocals), its time to play the entire record over again and sit for another cycle in the beautiful, otherworldly loneliness it creates. ~ Fred Thomas

前々作以来の歌ものとなるソロ9作目はマイブラのデビー・グッギ(ベース)の参加も話題。ギターが轟音で鳴るのは、ゴシック風の"We Get High"のみ。他は単音リフやフリーキーなリード・フレーズを重ね、リラックスした歌と共に淡い音像を作り出している。全7曲中もっともテンションの高い"Hypnogram"がテレヴィジョンを連想させるところもムーアならでは。
bounce (C)山口智男