Daisuke Ono‘s “Endless happy world” sets on a quest to put a smile on his fans’ faces with a blend of sweet acoustic pop-rock and addictive danceable tunes, all coated with polished smooth vocals.
Title: Endless happy world
Label: Lantis
Release date: 31/01/2018
Genre: J-Pop/Rock/Disco
Tracklist:
1. Endless happy world 2. ↑↑NIGHT SAFARI 3. Endless happy world 4. ↑↑NIGHT SAFARI
Track by track analysis:
1. Endless happy world
If there’s one thing “Endless happy world” focuses on, is on sounding sweet without sounding too overwhelming. The instrumental relies on acoustic guitars, mid-tempo, hi-hat-driven drums, delicate strings and piano melodies, all blended in order to create a sweet, engaging and warm vibe. The song is well paced and tasteful, having slower sections before building up the chorus; mid-tempo, quieter sections to let the vocals take the front wheel, and a short guitar solo section that fit well with the overall instrumental’s vibe. The vocal performance was a bit of a surprise. Ono has surely improved a bit his singing, of course, in the past we’ve mentioned that he has been upping his game, but for this song we were once again caught off guard. He has a sweet, vibrato imbued tone that is a perfect fit for a song like this, simple and vocals oriented. 4.5/5
2. ↑↑NIGHT SAFARI
The vibe changes completely as we now bring to the table a danceable instrumental that mixed funk, disco and modern electronica all into a fun song. If you’re wondering if ↑↑NIGHT SAFARI is any good, all we have to say is that you need to listen to this playful song and remind yourself that this isn’t meant to be taken seriously, just pure laidack fun. Every element screaming disco has its feet in here. Oldschool synths, funky guitar riffs, brass and groovy basslines, all in an enjoyable pacing that will have you at least nodding your head along to the beat. In terms of vocal performances, OnoD has shown that he’s rather comfortable with disco music, with his vocals fitting well with the mood and beat. This might seem like something not relevant but Ono‘s english pronunciation is clearer – you’ll notice this in the chorus. Well, besides the chorus, that after a couple of listens starts be slightly repetitive, this is yet another great disco pop song to add to his repertoire. Fun, funky and smooth. 4.5/5
Final rating:
First things, first: don’t let the cover art for this release fool you.
“Endless happy world” continues a streak of great releases from Daisuke Ono. Putting enphasis on an acoustic sound for the title track ended up panning out better than expected. More than once did I find myself enjoying the melodies and laidback vibe of the song. A tasteful, simple instrumental seems to work best with Ono‘s improved smooth vocals.
“↑↑NIGHT SAFARI” could easily be labeled as one those danceable tacky songs (or guilty pleasures for some, depends on the perspective) that Ono has on his repertoire, however, this song tends to avoid most of the issues those tracks in the past had. We still find chants and some tacky lines along the way but for most part, this is a song that on its core sounds far more closer in quality to a “Supernova” or “Can’t go Back” (two high quality fun disco/dance pop songs released in 2016 and 2017 respectively) 2.0 rather than a “Delight” or “KISS KISS KISS” 2.0, which is a positive thing.
Daisuke Ono has managed to surprise a bit with his performances. For those of you that have followed our previous reviews to his releases, you’ve noticed that we have been talking about his improvements on the vocal end since “Orion no Yoru” (2016). Well, this single is no exception, as he really put his all into both songs, although ↑↑NIGHT SAFARI is more on the playful side, not requiring much technique or anything fancy to leave a good impression. One thing you can easily notice is that he’s got better sense and control over his trained vibrato. He made sure to put it to good use in several occasions on the title track. On both songs his mid-tones sounded more robust and confident than ever before. With this smooth upgrade on his vocals, it’s safe to say that any upcoming release of his will surprise us with yet more new tricks up his sleeve.
With “Endless happy world“, Daisuke Ono set out on a quest to put a smile on your face, something that he ended up accomplishing. His formula continues to bear fruits, quality, entertaining ones to boot.
“Endless happy world” is available for purchase on CDJAPAN for all overseas fans.
[…] [As previously reviewed] If there’s one thing “Endless happy world” focuses on, is on sounding sweet without sounding too overwhelming. The instrumental relies on acoustic guitars, mid-tempo, hi-hat-driven drums, delicate strings and piano melodies, all blended in order to create a sweet, engaging and warm vibe. The song is well paced and tasteful, having slower sections before building up the chorus; mid-tempo, quieter sections to let the vocals take the front wheel, and a short guitar solo section that fit well with the overall instrumental’s vibe. The vocal performance was a bit of a surprise. Ono has surely improved a bit his singing, of course, in the past we’ve mentioned that he has been upping his game, but for this song we were once again caught off guard. He has a sweet, vibrato imbued tone that is a perfect fit for a song like this, simple and vocals oriented. 4.5/5 […]