翻譯：少俠尼克（b站id）

審譯：thesweetescape

Decades into their career, this J-pop superstar continues to evolve—both musically and personally. BADモード reads like a friend’s gentle reminder that we’re always coming into our own.

入行幾十年來，這位J-pop超級巨星的音樂和個人狀態(tài)都在不斷成長?！禕ADモード 》就像是朋友的善意提醒，我們總是會回歸自我。

The path to understanding one’s identity is circuitous and without clear instructions—a never-ending process. That’s been obvious for Japanese American singer Hikaru Utada from the beginning. After their work as Cubic U proved a commercial failure, they dropped the stage name and swapped covers of the Carpenters and Burt Bacharach for something closer to their heart: R&B. Their debut album under their own name, 1999’s First Love, broke records and remains the best-selling album by a Japanese artist in Japan. In the decades since, they’ve explored various strains of dance pop, gone on a years-long hiatus, had a son, and written songs about grieving following their mother’s death. Despite all this, their latest album, BADモード (“BAD MODE”), is another reinvention, filled with moments of growth and reflection. Largely ditching the live instrumentation of their last two records for electronics and mellower pop, it favors an atmosphere of wisened, down-home warmth. Its most animating force is subtle: the knowledge that aging is an unceasing expansion and crystallization of self. Utada, who has been irrefutable J-pop royalty for more than 20 years, is still feeling themselves out, and BADモード’s depictions of love and reality—so suffused with relatable emotions—read like a friend’s gentle reminder that we’re always coming into our own.

自我認知之路是曲折且沒有明確指示的——一個永無止境的過程。這對于日裔美籍歌手宇多田光的職業(yè)生涯來說，從出道初期就顯著無比。在以Cubic U的藝名出道未取得商業(yè)成功后，她便放棄了這個藝名，棄掉Carpenters 和 Burt Bacharach的翻唱曲（指首專《Precious》中的歌曲“Close To You” )，做了更貼合她內(nèi)心的東西：R&B。她署以本名在1999年發(fā)行的首張專輯《First Love》打破多項記錄，仍舊是本土日本藝人的最暢銷專輯。至此幾十年間，她探索各類流行舞曲，隱退數(shù)年專注育子，并寫下一系列關于母親去世的悲情歌曲。盡管如此，她的最新專輯《BADモード》（“BAD MODE”）是自我的再次重塑，充滿了成長和反思的時刻。很大程度上拋棄了前兩張成熟的現(xiàn)場式編曲，轉(zhuǎn)而追求電子和溫婉流行曲風，營造出一種更溫馨質(zhì)樸的氛圍。專輯生機盎然且細致入微：衰老是自我的不斷擴展和認知的不斷結(jié)晶。20多年來，宇多田光作為無可辯駁的J-pop皇室成員，依舊在探索自我，而《BADモード 》對愛情和現(xiàn)實生活的描繪——扣人心弦——真實的就像是朋友的善意提醒，我們總是會回歸自我。

Last year, Utada detailed their frustrations with English honorifics, signing their name Mys. Utada—short for Mystery Utada—to avoid titles that reductively identify people via sex or marital status. A week later they came out as non-binary. “I’d never come across someone who related to what I would say about how I feel about my body or gender,” they recently told Zane Lowe. “It was like a gift—the knowledge of knowing.”

去年，宇多田光表示了她對英語中敬稱（Mr、Mrs、Ms）的不滿，簽下了她的名字-?Mys Utada。（Mystery Utada 的縮寫） - 避免通過性別或婚姻狀況了解別人的人稱。一周后，她說自己屬于非二元性別。?“我從沒遇到過誰 能理解我對自己身體和性別的感受?！?她在近期與Zane?Lowe的采訪中說道，“如同一份禮物——知曉的智慧。”

BADモード doesn’t explicitly tackle gender, but it does extend?a loving arm to provide a similar gift of resonating comfort. On the title track, Utada aims for disco-leaning city pop, but instead of the genre’s lively?verve, there’s a muted energy fitting their thoughtful, genial concern: Their friend is depressed and they’ll do anything to help. “Here’s a diazepam we can each take half of,” they sing in a softly chipper tone, bright horns following in tow. On the earliest display of Utada’s brilliance, 1998’s “Automatic,” they spoke of a blessed serenity: being around somebody who cares for you. They model that same affection here; despite fear and difficulty, Utada sings with compassionate insistence, “When you feel low and alone, you’d better let me know.”?

專輯《BADモード 》并未深入討論性別問題，但確如同充滿愛意的雙臂，為聽眾提供情感共鳴的慰藉。在專輯同名曲中，Utada試圖做出迪斯科風情十足的城市流行音樂，但與這種曲風的活潑韻律不同，歌曲暗中涌動著一種深思熟慮且貼近人心的能量：她的朋友很沮喪，她會全力以赴幫助。（歌詞）?“Here’s a diazepam we can each take half of,” （“這片地西泮（抗焦慮藥物），我們可以一起分享”）她以輕柔清脆的語調(diào)唱著，明亮的管弦樂緊隨其后。在最早展現(xiàn)Utada才華的1998年歌曲“Automatic”中，她提到一種幸福的靜謐：與關心你的人待在一起。 在本專中她流露出同樣的情愫；盡管生活充滿不安和困難，宇多田光仍抱以同情心堅韌地唱道：（歌詞）“When you feel low and alone, you’d better let me know.” （當你感到低落和孤獨時，一定要和我說）。

Utada’s objectives on these 10 tracks are clear: they want to love and be loved in completely invigorating ways. Sometimes that’s through friendship, as in “BADモード.” Sometimes it’s through a romantic partner, like on “One Last Kiss,” where their affection is so boundless that every reverberating synth affirms love’s infinitude. Sometimes it’s with someone who transcends descriptors, as on “Time,” a song originally called “Temozolomide,” after the chemotherapy drug their best friend was taking. Utada talks of confiding in someone close to them, and in a manner that isn’t possible with family members or their boyfriend, but things become confusing. They’d kissed before, and then some, but Utada wistfully confesses, “We don’t fit in this mold of romantic love.” There’s desperation and regret over this relationship, one thwarted by relationship norms and hierarchies, and every full-bodied declaration conveys fiery passion. Their missed opportunity—this irreversibility of time—is devastating.

專輯10首歌曲中宇多田光目的明確：她想完全活著地去愛和被愛。有時是通過友誼，如歌曲“BADモード”。有時是通過浪漫的伴侶，比如在歌曲“One Last Kiss”中，她的感情不加約束，每一激蕩的合成音效都加劇這愛的永恒。有時是通過不可言喻的好友，例如歌曲“Time”，一首最初名為“Temozolomide”（替莫唑胺膠囊）的歌曲，歌名取自她最親密摯友服用的化療藥品。宇多田光在這首歌中談到他們向另一位與他們關系很親近的人傾訴，卻是以一種不能向家人或男友傾訴的方式，但事情變得令人困惑。他們兩人以前接吻過，后來也接吻過，但宇多田若有所思地承認，（歌詞）?“We don’t fit in this mold of?romantic?love.” （我們不適合這種浪漫的愛情模式）。歌曲中帶有在這份關系中的絕望和遺憾，被倫理規(guī)范和等級制度阻撓，每段熱血的宣言都傳達著熾熱的激情。她錯失的機會——這種時間的不可逆轉(zhuǎn)性——是毀滅性的。

That Utada sings in both English and Japanese is crucial to these stories’ power. They were born in New York City and have lived between the U.S., Japan, and the UK, but this album is the first to fully reflect their bilingual reality. “Find Love,” which is sung entirely in English, is a throwback vocal-house anthem partly indebted to Glenn Underground’s “May Datroit.” It’s subdued but emotive, and words roll off Utada’s tongue to deliver stream-of-consciousness cries for love and self-care. The clarity of each lyric makes the varied moods palpable, recalling the striking bluntness of Simone’s “My Family Depends on Me”; it understands the dancefloor as a site of pleasure, pain, and vulnerability.

Utada的英日雙語演繹對敘述好這些故事至關重要。?她出生在紐約，生活輾轉(zhuǎn)于美國、日本和英國間，但這是她第一張全面反映她雙語成長環(huán)境的專輯。完全用英語演唱的歌曲“Find Love”是復古的人聲浩室大作，部分靈感來自Glenn Underground 的歌曲“May Datroit”。歌曲輕柔但情感充盈，Utada娓娓道來，意識流地呼吁愛和關愛自我。多變的情緒在條理清晰的歌詞間顯得觸手可及，讓人聯(lián)想到Simole的歌曲“My Family Depends On Me”中的直率；歌曲將舞池視作交融快樂、痛苦和脆弱的場所。

Still, the prevailing mood across BADモード is downcast, and Utada’s most convincing portrait of everyday anhedonia is “気分じゃないの (Not in the Mood),” where they detail observations made at a café: colorful furniture, thumb-wrestling kids, a homeless woman selling poetry. Attempts at casual lyricism had been a sticking point in Utada’s past—“Keep Trying’” was too didactic, while “The Workout” overexplained the poignancy of meeting a born-again Christian. But Utada’s too distressed to force any message here, much to the song’s benefit; bleary atmospherics prevail, carried by a slow downtempo beat. To highlight their listlessness, the English-language chorus riffs on the nursery rhyme “Rain Rain Go Away.” It can seem hackneyed in its portrayal of adult depression, of yearning for a simpler time, but the maneuver is redeemed in the final passage: Utada’s son arrives to sing in a playful, carefree register reminiscent of the late Fishmans singer Shinji Sato. For a moment, the future seems bright, and the lightness of childhood joy is closer than previously imagined.

不過，專輯《BADモード》的情感氛圍還是沮喪的，歌曲“気分じゃないの (Not in the Mood)”是宇多田光對持續(xù)性低落的最有力表述。歌曲中，他們細致觀察了一間咖啡館：五彩斑斕的家具、玩拇指摔跤游戲的孩子、兜售詩歌的流浪女子。在宇多田光的舊作中，過于散亂的抒情歌詞一直是歌曲短處——《Keep Tryin’》過于說教、《The Workout》則抱怨得太多。而在這首歌曲中，宇多田光在極度低落的狀態(tài)下無法傳遞出任何遒勁的歌詞，反而成就了這首歌：朦朧的音樂氛圍里流淌著舒緩節(jié)奏。為了突出歌曲的倦怠感，英語副歌重復著童謠“Rain Rain Go Away”的片段。歌曲對成年人憂郁的描繪，對簡單時光的向往，可能有些陳腐，但結(jié)尾的樂段拯救了這首歌：宇多田光的兒子以一種頑皮、天真爛漫的姿態(tài)加入演唱，讓人回想起晚期的Fishmans樂隊主唱佐藤伸治。此刻，未來似乎光芒萬丈，兒時快樂的生活似乎不僅限于回憶。

BADモード’s title refers to feeling despondent, and nine consecutive tracks of emotional turmoil can be punishing. It’s cathartic, then, for it to end with the Floating Points co-production “Somewhere Near Marseilles ーマルセイユ辺りー,” a lively Balearic house epic with acid squelches, hand percussion, and an irresistible depiction of romance. “Say I’m not the only one,” Utada repeats, avoidant and anxious of deep commitment. But the song’s too sunny, the groove too seductive; before long, Utada’s all in on this love, their voice manipulated into effervescent coos and embedded into the track’s rhythmic framework. It really captures the spirit of the city: the dynamic energy of the Old Port, the hypnotic swell of the Mediterranean, the towering grandeur of the Notre-Dame de la Garde. Inspiration can’t help but strike in a locale this rich in beauty, so across 12 minutes Utada conjures up a similarly expansive space overflowing with possibility. In their case, it’s newfound eagerness, flirty gestures, and absolute contentment—genuine breakthroughs for an album in constant search of transformative intimacy. Underlining all this is BADモード’s prevailing message: If you want to grow, your love needs to be fearless.

專輯名《BADモード》指沮喪的感受，而連著聽九首紊亂思緒的歌的確非常痛苦。因此為了宣泄情緒，由Floating Points參與制作的收尾曲“Somewhere Near Marseilles —マルセイユ辺り—”是一首Balearic house風的杰作，迷幻的吱喳聲、手鼓和令聽眾嘆為觀止的浪漫歌詞?！癝ay I’m not the only one.”宇多田光重復道，對至誠誓言的逃避和焦慮。但歌曲實在過于陽光燦爛，節(jié)奏太誘人了，沒多久，宇多田光就全身心陷入愛情，他們的歌聲變?yōu)榫穸稊\的哼唱，融入到歌曲的大節(jié)奏中。這首歌濃縮了馬賽的城市精神：老港的活力、地中海沉睡的波濤、圣母加德大教堂的宏偉。身處如此美麗的城市，自然會靈感泉涌，因此宇多田光僅花十二分鐘便創(chuàng)造出一個和馬賽同樣充滿無限可能的音樂空間——全新的態(tài)度、挑逗的姿態(tài)，和絕對的充實——對于一張不斷追求新型親密關系的專輯來說，這是真正的突破。這一切正是《BADモード》想要傳達的信息：如果你想成長，就要大膽去愛。

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