搬運自：微信公眾號【評論搬一堆】（在原文基礎上添加了英語原文與排版調整）

翻譯：Nina Wang

校正：Ryan-Chopin

The British trio moves beyond the tropical-house Top 40 of their debut on a theatrical, diverse sophomore album that finds frontman Olly Alexander blurring the boundaries between sacred and profane.

英國三人樂隊Yeas & Years的新專極具tropical-house風格（譯者注：一種慵懶悠閑的舞曲風），一經(jīng)發(fā)行便入榜前40名。樂隊主唱Olly Alexander的創(chuàng)作游走在宗教和世俗之間，多樣的風格與戲劇化效果更使得第二張專輯超越前作。

Images of spirituality and religion permeate the work of?Years & Years. The title of the British trio's 2015 debut album was?Communion. Those themes become even more prominent in tracks with names like “Sanctify,” “Hallelujah,” “Karma,” and “Preacher” on the sometimes bombastic, sometimes sensual follow-up,?Palo Santo. (“Palo santo,” or “holy wood,” is an incense used in indigenous Inca culture to cast away evil spirits.) In most Western theologies, dancing is the devil’s work, and the thrill of shaking your blasphemous hips while invoking the Lord predates?Madonna?by centuries. But you can see why Years & Years, in particular, connect music with religious transcendence. For an artist like the trio’s principal songwriter, the energetic Olly Alexander, who’s gone from mild-mannered frontman to fledging queer icon in just a few years, pop isn’t a frivolous pastime—it’s a sacred experience.

宗教和靈性貫穿Years & Years的音樂。2015年的首張大碟就以《Communion（圣餐）》為名，在2018年詞藻華麗、性愛交織的大作《Palo Santo》中，“Sanctify（凈化）”“Hallelujah（哈利路亞）”“Karma（羯磨）”“Preacher（傳教士）”等單曲更是彰顯了神圣的宗教主題。（“Palo santo”，即圣木，是印加土著民驅逐邪靈時用的一種熏香。）在西方神話中，舞蹈是邪惡的象征，麥當娜的性感電臀要放在幾千年前就是對神的褻瀆。而Years & Years卻熱衷于在音樂中添加宗教超越的元素，因為在樂隊的主要作曲人Olly Alexander眼中，流行樂不是輕浮的消遣，而是神圣的體驗。精力旺盛的他僅花了短短幾年就從默默無聞的樂隊隊長搖身一變成為小有名氣的同性戀偶像。

Alexander’s lyrics have always dealt with the murky, complicated side of desire, a fascination that gives physical heft to?Palo Santo’s spiritual imagery. “Sanctify,” the record’s lead single and opener, finds him mid-hookup with a man who professes to be heterosexual. “You don’t have to be straight with me/I see what’s underneath your mask,” Alexander chides, in an apt double entendre, as he asks the guy to “sanctify my body with pain.” The contrast between the quiet verses and wide-open pop chorus mimics the lovers’ conflicting emotions of shame and ecstasy. Alexander ladles on the drama with?Timberlakian?trills, his voice smooth and precise against icy synths. A welcome reinvention for Years & Years, the track departs from the tropical-house Top 40 they’re known for, moving toward a more theatrical and intense sound.

Alexander的抒情曲飽含錯綜復雜的陰暗欲望，十分抓人眼球，這給《Palo Santo》增添了不少宗教色彩。在本次新專的主打歌“Sanctify”中，Alexander坦白他在和一個自稱異性戀的男人搞曖昧。他責備對方：“You don’t have to be straight with me/I see what’s underneath your mask（你無須對我坦誠相待／我早看破了你的偽裝）”，還要求對方“sanctify my body with pain（用肉體之苦凈化我的身心）”，一語雙關，妙趣橫生。獨唱的幽靜和合唱的開闊形成鮮明對比，像極了這對沐浴愛河的小情人害羞而狂熱的矛盾心理。搭配上賈老板（賈斯汀·汀布萊克）式顫音，Alexander柔軟清晰的歌聲游走在冰冷的合成音之上。從入榜Top 40的tropical-house風格前作到曲風夸張風格鮮明的新專，Years & Years全新蛻變，華麗歸來。

Palo Santo?puts its best foot forward with “Sanctify,” and a handful of subsequent songs make for some of the most enjoyable music Years & Years have released thus far. Although it uses a somewhat predictable dancefloor-as-site-of-divine-communion metaphor, “Hallelujah” is so relentlessly upbeat that its sounds blast through the mundanity of its lyrics, reigning in the atmosphere of Ibiza beach-rave revelry just before it slides into gaudiness. With an intro lifted almost note-for-note from?Lauryn Hill’s “Everything is Everything,” “Karma” differentiates itself from typical Discover Weekly pap by taking inspiration from ’90s R&B girl groups instead of the sub-EDM vocoder pop many of Years & Years’ contemporaries peddle. At his best, Alexander exudes the youthful confidence of a kid perfecting his moonwalk in the bedroom mirror.

除了“Sanctify”這張名片，《Palo Santo》的不少歌曲悅耳程度都超越了Years & Years的歷作?！癏allelujah”中的舞池看上去像是沿襲了上張專輯《Communion》中的圣餐意象，但不同的是，這首歌毫不含糊地表達了積極向上的樂觀態(tài)度，平淡的歌詞之上激情的火花在燃燒，尤其是曲風驟變前的部分讓人感覺像在伊比沙島的沙灘慶典上狂歡?！癒arma”中Years & Years拋下EDM，跳出樂隊的風格定位，回歸90年代女性組合青睞的R&B。歌曲開頭音節(jié)幾乎是逐個迸出，靈感源于Lauryn Hill的“Everything is Everything（萬物自有規(guī)律）”，憑這一點“Karma”就從每周推薦的歌單中脫穎而出。此處Alexander散發(fā)出的年輕自信，就像一個小男孩在臥室的鏡子前苦練太空漫步時雙眼流露出的自豪。

Unfortunately, while the front half of?Palo Santo?is packed with catchy tunes and genuine surprises, the album struggles to sustain its sense of wonder—or even structure.?Communion?was a scientifically balanced record, each of its songs similar enough to the others in tone and atmosphere to sustain a consistent mood. But “Hypnotised,” a ballad with lyrics like, “Just one look at you/My heart has been hypnotised,” meanders so aimlessly that the record never recovers. Even attempts to reintroduce dancefloor fodder feel strangely out of place in its wake. “If You’re Over Me,” a peculiar choice for a second single, uses a sing-song synth line to trace a picture of redemption in the midst of a failed relationship. The songs that follow blur together like the by-the-numbers pop Years & Years so eloquently challenge on tracks like “Karma.”

遺憾的是，盡管《Palo Santo》在前半部分給我們帶來了悅耳動聽的音樂和切切實實的驚喜，但仍逃脫不了陷入混沌的命運——甚至連專輯結構都令人費解。《Communion》整體較為平衡，所有歌的音調和氣氛都極為相似，從而使專輯的風格得以保持一致。但抒情曲“Hypnotised（催眠）”的一句“Just one look at you/My heart has been hypnotised（只看了你一眼／我的心就被催眠）”就讓《Palo Santo》亂了陣腳，從此一發(fā)不可收拾，即便在接下來的歌曲中Years & Years想回到舞池的主題，每一次嘗試都顯得不合時宜?！癐f You’re Over Me”用人聲合成來講述在失戀的沉痛中尋求救贖的故事，這種操作實在讓人難以理解。接下來的歌曲像是“Karma”等Years & Years激情嘗試的系統(tǒng)流行樂，雜在一起令人眼花繚亂。

Palo Santo?is a promising sophomore album because it evolves past the sound of the band’s debut. But at its low points, the record lacks the bite to drive home the razor’s-edge duality of sacred and profane that Alexander seems to thrive on. Eventually, themes of salvation, damnation, and enraptured revelation become mired in electropop clichés that are beneath the band’s talent. At their best, Years & Years are capable of godlike sublimity. To take up permanent residence in the heavens, all they need to do is exorcise a few colorless spirits.

作為樂隊的第二張專輯，《Palo Santo》的水平遠超樂隊的處女作，可見樂隊前途無量。但可惜的是，Alexander堅持的神圣與褻瀆在這張專輯未能結合得恰到好處。最終，救贖、下地獄、上帝的神圣啟示這些主題淪落為電子流行樂的陳詞濫調，掩蓋了樂隊的天賦。若拿出最好的狀態(tài)，Years & Years能交出神一般的作品。但要想常駐天堂，還有一項必不可少的條件，那就是豐富多彩的心境。