Growth "Promessa" (Review) – The Hand That Feeds HQ

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Growth‘s Kensuke Yaegashi and Ryota Sakuraba take the listener back to medieval times with their second entry in the RE:START series, “Promessa“.

Growth‘s Kensuke Yaegashi (Yoshitaka Yamaya) and Ryota Sakuraba (Daiki Yamashita) team up for this release. Its theme is “escape” (逃避行).

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Title: ALIVE RE:START series vol.2 Kensuke&Ryota
Label: Tsukipro/Movic
Release date: 31/08/2018
Genre: Folk/Pop

Tracklist:

1 - Promessa
2 - Promessa (off vocal)

Track analysis:

1 – Promessa

For their second entry in the RE:START series, Growth take on a picturesque approach. “Promessa” (Portuguese word for “Promise”) stands out with its rich and fast paced instrumental that mixes a variety of elements from Irish, Portuguese and Spanish music. Usually, Growth incorporate traditional Irish instrumentalization in their songs to give a unique fantasy dimension to their songs. This time around however, it seems that this song isn’t just loaning one or two elements inspired by it, it went all out with its rustic sound. The instrumental counts with rustic accordion melodies, commonly found in Portuguese folk music (that is heavily influenced by Celtic music), Spanish inspired guitar playing and a characteristical Irish touch in what seems to be a bodhrán-inspired beat. Acoustic guitars, drums (complementing the bodhrán) and a playful violin melody, add the finishing touches to this soundscape, one that is set to take the listener on a trip to medieval times. As a result, this song can’t help but to give off a medieval tavern of folk festival vibe. This folk sound might be too exquisite for some to take in but, with a couple of listens, if not on a very first listen, you’ll find yourself singing along and enjoying this colorful tune.

Daiki Yamashita and Yoshitaka Yamaya teamed up for this performance, and this match-up ended up being more interesting that initially predicted. Yamashita and Yamaya are, commonly, the high note belters within Growth (even if all members can tackle high notes with ease). However, when it comes to vocal prowess, Yamashita always stands out. Now, when it was mentioned that their performance was interesting it was because: Yamaya was on equally footing for this performance, their harmonies sounded so great to the ears, individual parts were incredibly strong for both and, most of all, there were no differences in quality between both performances. The quality on the vocal end is really high for this performance, even with both performing on a lower register than usual.

All in all, “Promessa” is a unique addition to this RE:START series and another fantastic entry by Growth.