【译】美国乐评网站Pitchfork评 安室奈美惠 2015年第12张原创专辑《_genic》

J-pop performer Namie Amuro is one of the best-selling artists in Japanese music history. Her 12th album, _genic, isn't quite her bid for U.S. domination, but it features contributions from PC Music producer Sophie and EDM star David Guetta and is sung in English. The album results in some of her catchiest and most direct material ever.

安室奈美惠是日本音乐史上最畅销的歌手之一。她的第12张录音室专辑《_genic》并不是以进军美国为目标，但这张有EDM之星David Guetta，PC音乐制作人Sophie操刀的专辑，并用英语演唱。这张专辑做出了她职业生涯中一些最朗朗上口，最直接的东西。

J-pop performer Namie Amuro is one of the best-selling artists in Japanese music history. She helped inspired fashion trends, paved the way for similar solo singers, and—most impressively—outlasted all of her competition, adapting to new styles that helped her stay fresh to the often-fickle Japanese casual music consumer. Beginning her career in the highly goofy group Super Monkey's, she went solo after label higher-ups singled her out, and she rose to prominence through a mix of dance numbers and ballads. Since, she's glided from R&B to poppy hip-hop.  She's an unknown entity Stateside—well, at least to those who didn't watch Toonami daily—but huge in Asia. In Japan, at least, she really has nothing left to prove.

安室奈美惠是日本音乐史上最畅销的歌手之一。她推动创造出新的时尚潮流，为同类的solo歌手铺平了道路——最令人印象深刻的是——在她职业生涯中，她不断适应新风格，让她在变化无常的日本休闲音乐消费者面前始终保持新鲜感。她以傻气十足的Super Monkey’s组合形式出道，之后公司高层让她solo出道，靠着一系列舞曲和抒情曲声名鹤起。从那时起，她转型至R&B，旋律优美的Hip-pop路线。她在美国并不为人所知——至少对那些不天天看《Toonami》的人来说是这样——但在亚洲，至少在日本，她无需向任何人证明自己。

This January, Japanese publication Business Journal reported that Amuro bought a house in Los Angeles and is preparing to take a shot at the American market. Her 13th album,_genic, is not quite that bid for American domination: It hasn't been backed by a media blitz or hyped-up collaborations. It isn't even available in the States yet, though the rest of her discography hitting iTunes hints that it eventually will be. Yet the album still implies a shift in approach. Amuro sings mostly in English, and teamed up with a couple well-known Western producers, including David Guetta.

今年1月，日本《商业杂志》(Business Journal)报道称，安室奈美惠在洛杉矶购买了一套房子，并准备进军美国市场。她的第13张专辑《_genic》并不是为了进军美国市场：因为没有任何媒体推广宣传，刻意造势这张专辑。这张专辑甚至还没有在美国上市，尽管她其他已在iTunes上架的专辑表明了这张专辑终究会上市。但这张专辑仍暗示着一种方式的转变。安室奈美惠主要用英语歌唱，与一些有名的西方制作人合作，包括David Guetta。

In recent years, she has tacked towards EDM, but where recent attempts have felt like cheap replicas,  _genic sounds more inspired and confident. "Time Has Come" sells the drama of wanting to escape "this sleeping town" via sudden tempo changes, while "Stranger" delivers a stuttering hook, adding an element of welcome unease. (At one point, EDM wonderkid Zedd, who provided a song for Amuro's last album, was rumored to be the producer behind the song "Stranger", but his name is nowhere to be found in the notes.)

近年来，她转型EDM风格，但做出来的成品像廉价的复制品，但《_genic》听感上更显灵性和自信。歌曲《Time Has Come》通过突然的节奏变化设立了想要逃离“沉睡之城”的戏剧场景。同时，歌曲《Stranger》献上一段有些结巴的hook，增添了受听众喜爱的不安感元素。（EDM神童Zedd之前为安室奈美惠上一张专辑做了首歌（《Heaven》），一度传闻他是歌曲《Stranger》的幕后制作人，但他名字没有在注释信息中出现。）

Amuro stumbles at various points, such as on "Every Woman", a well-intentioned but awkward empowerment anthem, and the love-as-schoolyard whistler "It". The album's big Guetta collaboration, relegated to the bonus track "What I Did for Love", is its most formulaic number. The other big tripping point is Amuro's decision to primarily sing in English, a choice she made three albums ago. Her English-speaking fans tend to mock her relentlessly for this, and at times she slips over pronunciation. Yet her lyrics have never been a high point even in Japanese, and on _genic she delivers her words directly and with a confidence that smooths over any small mistakes.

安室奈美惠在许多地方都失手了，比如在歌曲《Every Woman》中，一首出发点很好但很尴尬的女权颂歌，还有那首充满校园爱意的口哨曲《It》。与David Guetta的大合作歌曲《What I Did for Love》却被划为赠送曲目了，也是专辑最公式化的歌曲。另一个失手的地方便是安室奈美惠以英语演唱的决定，她在三张专辑以前做出的决定。她那些会说英语的粉丝们总是丝毫不留情面的嘲笑她这点，而且有时她会漏掉一些发音。但即使用日语，她的歌词也没什么深意，在专辑《_genic》里她自信地演唱，掩盖了那些小差错。

Then there is "B Who I Want 2 Be", one of the weirder songs to grace a major-label pop album in 2015. Many would glance at the credits and assume it stands out because of PC Music-affiliated producer Sophie. The song boasts his signature artificial fizz, but it's his decision to leave plenty of space for the singers that ends up his best move. That's because "2 B" finds Amuro dueting with singing-synthesizer avatar Hatsune Miku, though the way Vocaloid artist Mitchie M tunes her results in a song where the two singers blur into one digi-voice. There's a definite Uncanny Valley vibe, but everything clicks together just right to create a disorientingly catchy number.

还有歌曲《B Who I Want 2 Be》，这是2015年主流厂牌发行的流行专辑中最奇葩的歌曲之一。许多人会撇眼下工作人员表，猜测正是因为隶属于PC音乐的制作人Sophie，这首歌才如此突出。这首歌里面存在着他标志性的人造汽笛，但他给歌手足够发挥空间的抉择才造就了这一佳作。正式因为歌曲《B Who I Want 2 Be》里安室奈美惠与“合成器化身”初音未来的合唱，声乐艺术家Mitchie M将两位歌手的声音模糊成一个数字化的声音。歌曲存在着明晰的恐怖谷氛围，所有的尝试最终成功创造出一首迷幻且抓耳的歌曲。

Still, _genic's best moment is its most straightforward. "Golden Touch" breakbeats forward, every few seconds leading to synths that burst like fireworks over the song. It all builds to one of the most joyful choruses of Amuro's career, the sort of hook begging to be blasted by passing cars. It's song-of-the-summer material thanks to its directness, mirrored by an equally lighthearted and effective video. It's great pop because no one involved sounds like they're worrying about how to tailor her music to new audiences. If Amuro ever takes advantage of her new digs and tries to debut properly in the U.S., she should try to hold onto the simplicity of this feeling.

不过，专辑《_genic》最佳时刻却是最直截了当的。《Golden Touch》中每隔几秒出现的碎拍节奏合成器音效让歌曲如烟花般爆炸。这也标志着这成为安室奈美惠职业生涯上最令人心潮澎湃的副歌之一。这种hook像是即将被川流不息的车辆撞炸一样燃。得多亏歌曲的坦率直白，也同样轻松快乐，拍出预期效果的MV，才造就出这首“夏日之歌”。这是首很棒的流行歌曲，因为这首歌听起来 像是幕后操刀歌曲的工作人员并没有考虑过 如何让安室奈美惠的音乐贴近新听众们这个问题。如果安室奈美惠想过利用她在美国的新住宅，在美国出道大放光彩，她应该坚持保持这种简洁的感觉。