Pitchfork 乐评翻译｜Sophcore EP - Moses Sumney
Amid the rich textures and hushed production of this playful, soulful six-song EP, the San Bernardino native radiates sensuality—and fun.
在这张充满丰富质感和细腻制作的六首歌EP中，这位来自圣贝纳迪诺的音乐人展现出性感与趣味的独特魅力。
When Moses Sumney sings, “I am not a woman, I am not a man” in something close to his speaking voice on “Hey Girl,” I thought, Right on. He is himself and his artistic forebears too—namely, the Prince who offered a similar affirmation in “I Would Die 4 U” Then the kicker: “I am an amoeba.” The San Bernardino native of Ghanaian parents sings over squishy, squirrelly tracks whose post-Maxwell R&B foundations accommodate damaged rock rifflets and modest gospel overtones; you might imagine him practicing vocal runs in the bedroom before church. The six-song EP Sophcore—a curriculum vitae outlining his robust laryngeal resources—recaps Sumney’s achievements and sets up what audiences might expect from a new full-length statement. It’s a tease in the best sense.
当 Moses Sumney 在《Hey Girl》中用接近说话的声音唱出“I am not a woman, I am not a man（我不是女人，我不是男人）。”时，我心想，没错。他不仅在做自己，还在致敬他的艺术前辈，尤其是 Prince 曾在《I Would Die 4 U》中表达过类似的宣言。然后出现了意想不到的一句：“I am an amoeba（我是一只变形虫）。”这位来自圣贝纳迪诺、加纳裔父母的音乐人，在充满弹性和怪异的曲调上演唱，这些曲调在后 Maxwell 风格的 R&B 基础上，融入了破碎的摇滚乐的片段和淡淡的福音色彩。你几乎可以想象他在去教堂前在卧室里练习声乐的情景。这张六首歌的 EP《Sophcore》——是一份展示他强大声乐天赋的简历，既回顾了 Sumney 的成就，也暗示了听众可以期待他即将发布的完整专辑。这是一次最好的吊胃口。
Four years ago, on his breakthrough album, grae, Sumney expressed the yearnings of a soul sonic force who loved being, as he sang on one of its most powerful tracks, “neither/nor.” That album’s “Virile,” a collaboration with industrial rock act Yvette, regarded masculinity as a land worth invading with a conquering army. To master such whisper-to-a-scream dynamics requires a sense of self that eschews bluster but is plenty assured.
四年前，Sumney 在他突破性的专辑《grae》中，表达了一种灵魂深处的渴望，正如他在其中一首最具力量的歌曲《neither/nor》中唱到的那样。这张专辑中的《Virile》，是他与工业摇滚乐队 Yvette 的合作，将男性气概视为一片值得征服的领域。要驾驭这种从低语到呐喊的动态变化，需要一种避开虚张声势但又自信满满的自我意识。
A collaboration with Portland producer Graham Jonson, who goes by quickly, quickly, yields Sophcore’s prettiest and liveliest moments. “Gold Coast” begins as a sensual, puttering thing indebted to Bjork’s Vespertine. Sumney’s chalky falsetto complements and works against the plucked guitars, distorted multi-tracked vocals, and synths; his impressionistic lyrics (“Talk in tongues, testify/Sunrise skin, color of clay”) say no thanksto coherence, bless them. A symphony of gurgles and music-box melodies cushions “I’m Better (I’m Bad),” in which Sumney recreates with louche delight a dialogue between himself and a feminized object of desire.
与波特兰制作人 Graham Jonson（艺名 quickly, quickly）的合作，为《Sophcore》带来了最美丽和最生动的时刻。专辑中的《Gold Coast》以一种受 Bjork的《Vespertine》影响的感性节奏开场。Sumney 粉白的假声与吉他拨弦、失真的多轨人声和合成器相互交织，同时又形成对比；他那富有意象的歌词（“Talk in tongues, testify / Sunrise skin, color of clay（用灵语交谈，作见证 / 日出的肌肤，像陶土的颜色）”）刻意放弃了连贯性，反而展现出独特的魅力。在《I’m Better (I’m Bad)》中，Sumney 用一种带着放纵愉悦的语气重现了他与女性化的欲望对象之间的对话，柔和的音乐盒的旋律与水流声的交响为其增添了一层迷人的氛围。
Over Sophcore’s recombinant grooves, Sumney radiates a sense of fun. Confidence in his vocal talents doesn’t congeal into self-regard. Turns out he’s right: Trills and melisma suit arrangements that swell and contract like protoplasmic organisms. The finger-snapping rhythm track on the closing “Love’s Refrain” is almost an afterthought, a metronome to remind Sumney that his fascinations remain earthbound despite the stratospheric vantage point of his vowel experiments. “I was in my world, you were in yours too,” he coos, “so let’s refrain.” From what—independence or romance? Duetting with himself into infinity, he deepens the enigmas.
在《Sophcore》充满变化的节奏中，Sumney 散发出一种轻松愉悦的气息。他对自己声乐的才能的自信并未转化为自负。事实证明，他的直觉是对的：颤音和转音完美契合那些如原生质般膨胀和收缩的编曲。闭幕曲《Love’s Refrain》的指弹节奏轨迹几乎像是事后添加的，仅仅作为一个节拍器，提醒 Sumney 尽管他对元音的实验已达到令人难以企及的高度，但他的迷恋依然扎根于现实。“I was in my world, you were in yours too（我在我的世界，你也在你的世界里）”，他柔声吟唱，“so let’s refrain（所以让我们克制）。”克制什么——是独立还是浪漫？在与自己无尽地对唱中，他进一步加深了其中的谜团。
原文链接：https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/moses-sumney-sophcore-ep/
