翻譯：Nomanlandever

Pilloried in the press for her every misfortune, Lily Allen scrutinizes her public persona on an album that dilutes staggering sincerity with uninspired beats.

她人生的每一不如意時刻都慘遭媒體嘲弄，Lily Allen在這張專輯中審視自己的公眾形象，平淡無奇的節(jié)奏沖淡了她驚人的坦誠。

In the four years since?Lily Allen?released?Sheezus, her ill-received attempt at pop-culture satire, the English star has been pilloried for her every misfortune. She’s been targeted for her?drinking habits, endured a?very public?breakup, and—most despicably—gotten?blamed for the stillbirth?of what would have been her only son. Tracking every sensational headline associated with Allen would require a secondary hard drive, as her public profile has always been shaped by tabloid interpretations of her private life. On her new LP,?No Shame, the singer scrutinizes that persona from the perspectives of internet trolls and family members, as well as through her own self-deprecating gaze.

在Lily Allen發(fā)行了她嘗試對流行文化的諷刺卻風(fēng)評不佳的專輯《Sheezus》后的四年間，這位英國明星人生的每一不如意時刻都慘遭媒體嘲弄，因酗酒問題被抨擊，忍受一段眾目睽睽下的分手，然而——最下流的是——為本可能成為他獨生子的男嬰流產(chǎn)而受到指責(zé)。如果要追蹤與Lily Allen有關(guān)的聳人聽聞的頭條新聞，電腦得多裝一個硬盤，因為她的公眾形象一直是由花邊新聞對她私生活的解讀塑造的。在她的新專輯《No Shame》中，這位歌手從鍵盤俠和家庭成員的角度，以及她自己自嘲的視角審視了自己的形象。

Thematically, Allen’s approach is more nuanced and genuine here than in the?celeb-baiting bangers?of?Sheezus, but thin production bleeds much of the record dry, often draining the color from its impassioned material. The album’s least interesting songs sound like prefab pop, assembled and packaged for any available vocalist. The?P2J-produced “Higher,” with its spare finger snaps and bonfire guitar, recalls a?Justin Bieber single; Allen’s two-dimensional vocal drifts just above the mix like a paper plane losing altitude. “Your Choice” and “Lost My Mind” suffer from a similar overfamiliarity, both featuring the same rhythmic snapping and whispered lyrics. The issue isn’t that these songs are transparently bad but that they bear no trace of Allen’s personality. On each one, her point of view is buried by the unimaginative whims of her producers.

主題上，Lily比那些在《Sheezus》名人混戰(zhàn)的那些人的探索得更為細(xì)致真實，但薄弱的制作讓專輯大部分內(nèi)容顯得枯燥無味，往往讓妙趣橫生的素材黯然失色。這張專輯中最無趣的歌曲聽起來就像預(yù)先組裝好的流行歌曲，為所有歌手量身打造。由P2J制作的歌曲《Higher》，多余的響指聲和篝火吉他聲讓人想起Justin Bieber的一首歌；Lily Allen缺乏深度的歌聲在混音上漂浮，如同高度下降中的紙飛機(jī)?！禮our Choice》和《Lost My Mind》也有類似的非常熟悉之處，們都有同樣的響指節(jié)奏和低吟的歌詞。問題不在于這些歌曲顯而易見的差，而在于它們絲毫沒有Lily Allen的個人風(fēng)范。兩首歌中，她的個人想表達(dá)的內(nèi)容都被制作人毫無想象力的心血來潮的念頭掩蓋。

Fortunately, she resurfaces on “Waste” and “Trigger Bang,” two doses of perfect pop that could have appeared on Allen’s exceptional 2006 debut?Alright, Still. The latter has some of the most varied production on?No Shame?(thanks to?Sheezus?collaborator?Fryars). Its downtempo snares, moody synths, and frolicking piano make for a lovely bit of bubblegum that doesn’t lose its flavor as you chew; Allen is bolstered, not bogged down by the beat. She sounds courageous, reflecting on her gregarious party days, and making the decision to step away from them for the sake of sanity. Opener “Come On Then” is another highlight, addressing how Allen is perceived by the press and her lumpen haters. “Yeah, I’m a bad mother, I’m a bad wife/You saw it on the socials, you read it online,” she coos over a frantic drum machine. Her tone is subtly barbed but vulnerable, a duality she conveys well.

幸運的是，她在《Waste》和《Trigger Bang》中再展身手，這兩首完美的流行歌曲都可以作為Lily Allen的2006年出色的處女作《Alright, Still》的后續(xù)單曲。后者在《No Shame》中擁有一些最豐富的制作(多虧《Sheezus》的合作伙伴Fryars)。它的慢節(jié)奏的陷阱，情緒化的合成器，和嬉戲的鋼琴做出了一點泡泡糖的可愛感，卻不會在咀嚼中失去韻味；Lily Allen在節(jié)奏中得到升華，而不是被拉跨。她聽起來很勇敢，回想起她的社交聚會日子，并決定離開他們，以保持理智。開場曲《Come On Then》是專輯另一亮點，講述了媒體和她的討厭者是如何看待艾倫的，表達(dá)了Lily Allen是如何被媒體和下賤的黑子們是如何看待的。“Yeah, I’m a bad mother, I’m a bad wife/You saw it on the socials, you read it online,” 在瘋狂的鼓聲擊動中輕聲說道。她的語氣帶有微妙的諷刺意味，但又很脆弱，她很好地表達(dá)出這種雙重性。

That vulnerability is the record's greatest asset, and Allen communicates it most effectively in the mid-album triptych “Family Man,” “apples,” and “Three”—ballads that find her wandering the rubble of her marriage and slumping under the weight of parenthood. “Family Man,” produced by?Mark Ronson, showcases her most powerful vocal delivery, as she implores her partner to stay while reminding him of her irreparable flaws. Fashioned from even greater despair, “apples” is the bedridden acceptance of failure that follows the pleading. In her shrinking falsetto, Allen lists off milestones of a defunct relationship as if she’s flipping through her wedding album with a handle of vodka in hand.

這種脆弱是專輯中最大的財富，Lily Allen在專輯中段的三聯(lián)曲《Family Man》、《apples》和《Three》中最有效地傳達(dá)了這一點——這些抒情曲使她在婚姻的廢墟中徘徊，在為人父母的重壓下消沉。由Mark Ronson制作的《Family Man》展現(xiàn)了她最有力的聲音，她懇求伴侶留下來，同時也提醒他她自身不可彌補的缺陷?！禷pples》是由更大的絕望塑造而成的，它是在懇求之后對失敗的習(xí)以為常的接納。在她不斷削減的假聲中，Lily Allen列出了一段關(guān)系結(jié)束的里程碑，就像她手里拿著伏特加翻看她的婚禮相冊一樣。

“Three” is?No Shame’s most affecting song. Over sparse barroom piano, Allen laments being left by a loved one. Its opening measures could be sung from the point of view of a pining wife or a desperate husband, but the perspective shifts when she confesses, “This afternoon I made a papier-maché fish, mum/I made it just for you/Please don’t go/Stay here with me/It’s not my fault, I’m only three.” It’s a staggering moment, one that communicates the yearning of a child, the guilt of a parent, and the societal pressure to be a perfect mother, all in a couple of concise lines.

《Three》是專輯《No Shame》里最動情的歌。在酒吧里稀稀落落的鋼琴旁，艾倫悲嘆著親人的離去。這首歌的開頭可以從一個憔悴的妻子或絕望的丈夫的視角來唱，但當(dāng)她坦白道:“This afternoon I made a papier-maché fish, mum/I made it just for you/Please don’t go/Stay here with me/It’s not my fault, I’m only three.”?這是一個驚人的時刻，它傳達(dá)了一個孩子的渴望，一個父母的內(nèi)疚，以及社會壓力，以成為一個完美的母親，這一切都糅合在幾行精簡的歌詞中。

If?Sheezus?was Allen at her most ironic, Allen’s new album marks a return to sincerity—and its assessments of motherhood, failing relationships, and infamy are penetrating. Sadly, these potent themes are often diluted by antiseptic production. The press may love to pile on Lily, but it isn’t her persona that undermines?No Shame. Blame it on the beat.

如果說《Sheezus》是Lily Allen最具諷刺意味的一面，那么Lily Allen的新專輯標(biāo)志著一種真摯的回歸——它對母性、失敗的關(guān)系和聲名狼藉的評價是透徹之極的?？杀氖?，這些強有力的主題經(jīng)常被過分單調(diào)的制作沖淡。媒體可能喜歡夸張化Lily Allen，但問題不是她的形象削弱了《No Shame》。要怪就怪節(jié)奏。