結成10周年イヤーに発表される4作目は、Nabowaが誘う〈旅〉のアルバム。野外フェスのイメージが強いバンドらしく、雄大な自然を想起させるスケールの大きな楽曲があるのはもちろん、エフェクティヴなベースが引っ張る“MACAO”は都会の雑踏、ギターとヴァイオリンのみで綴られるメランコリックな“平日のアンブレラ”は寂しげなホテルの一室と、一枚でさまざまな場面を体験できる作品になっている。また、いかにもインスト・バンドらしいジャムっぽいナンバーであっても、演奏の緩急だけではなく、効果的なミックスによってドラマ性を作り出しているのも彼らならでは。『4』というタイトルからは、〈こんな作品はこの4人じゃないと作れない〉という、この10年で培った確かな自信が感じられる。
[English Translation]
In this 4th release this year celebrating their 10th anniversary, Kyoto-based instrumental band Nabowa invites the listeners to join them in this 'travel' album. As expected from a band so well-known from their numerous appearances in outdoor music festivals, this album naturally lists up large-scaled tracks evoking the grandeur of nature, but added to those, tracks such as “Macao” portrays the urban clutter, navigating the track with an effective bass-line, or melancholic “Heijitsu no Umbrella (meaning Weekday Umbrella)” shows the view of a solitary room in a hotel describing the scene with nothing but the sounds of the guitar and violin, making the whole album a piece of work allowing the listener to ‘experience’ various situations in one go. Also unique to this four-piece is that, even though the track may be of a jam-mish nature which is so 'like-an-instrumental-band', they manage to give a drama property to the piece by skilfully adding effective mixes on top of the finely controlled pitches and strengths. The title “4” expresses their confidence established over the past 10 years, conveying the message that “it takes and has to be this ‘four’ to create such a great piece.”
