译RC评Ariana Grande 2018年专辑《Sweetener》+2019年专辑《Thank U，Next》
翻译：Nomanlandever
原文链接：http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=ariana+grande
专辑综评
Sweetener [Republic, 2018] A-
Thank U, Next [Republic, 2019] ***
Sweetener（甜到翻） [Republic, 2018]
Since my secondhand teenpop fandom dried up well before my daughter's enthusiasms dwindled down to One Direction, I ignored Grande until a mixed phalanx of market analysts and poptimist diehards declared this 2018 album pure pop for track-and-hook people. This consensus motivated me to replicate saturation airplay my way--shelling out for the CD and sticking it in the changer until I was ready to cry uncle. A similar ploy got me nowhere with One Direction, their albums so bland I quickly forgot they existed. But Grande is pleasant in such a physically uncommon and technically astute way. Her pure, precise soprano is warm without burr or melisma, its mellow sweetness never saccharine or showy as it strolls through a front-loaded garden of sonic delights where Nicki Minaj outgrowls Missy Elliott and Pharrell Williams's inventions are more subtle yet also more thrilling than Max Martin's. And as she shares self-healing advisories like "No Tears Left to Cry," "Get Well Soon," and especially "Breathin" with all the fans who lived through her terrorized 2017 Manchester concert, you never doubt that the details of the healing are sharpened by own earned traumas. A-
在我女儿对One Direction的热情消退前，我对青少年流行巨星的花痴情感早已不复存在。所以我一直忽视Ariana Grande直到最近发现许多形形色色的市场分析师和流行音乐热衷者都一致认为这是张2018年老少皆宜的流行本色的专辑。这种共识激励了我以自己的方式收听这张专辑——花钱买CD，把它放在换碟机里，随后我便听得泪眼蒙眬。类似的专辑策略根本不是One Direction那挂艺人会尝试的，他们的专辑枯燥至极，我很快就忘记了它们的存在。但Ariana Grande状态极佳地以精湛技艺展现出她非同寻常的快乐。她纯净，精准的高音是暖心的，不带任何颤音或装饰音。嗓音的醇厚甜蜜丝毫不过火或俗气，轻而易举地就能高水准地唱出悦耳的音乐。专辑里Nicki Minaj表现压过了Missy Elliot，Pharrell Williams比Max Martin的制作更为精妙和新鲜。并且当你听到她在"No Tears Left to Cry," "Get Well Soon,"和特别是“Breathin”的歌曲中向挺过2017年曼城演唱会爆炸案的粉丝们分享自我治愈的经验时，你永远不会怀疑 治愈的历程里遍布着荆棘丛生的内在创伤。A-
Thank U, Next（谢谢你，下一位） [Republic, 2019]
Maturing from multitracked studio trickeration to straight love songs--love songs an old grouch might complain are all too superstar-specific. ("Thank U, Next," "Ghostin") ***
从狂甩花招的录制歌曲到流露真情告白情歌的成熟稳重——一些爱发牢骚的老家伙可能会抱怨这张专辑的情歌都过于巨星风范，不接地气。***
推荐曲："Thank U, Next," "Ghostin"
