Hiro Shimono is back with a second single. “ONE CHANCE” brings back the edgy rock sound that marked his debut single. So if you’re up for more heavy guitar riffs, mesmerizing basslines as well as pouncing, exciting drumming, and you fancy Shimono‘s singing, then make sure to check this single.
Album: ONE CHANCE Label: Pony Canyon Release date: 31/08/2016 Genre: Rock/ Alternative Rock
Tracklist:
01.ONE CHANCE 02.beyond... 03.ONE CHANCE（Instrumental） 04.beyond...（Instrumental）
Track by track analysis:
01. ONE CHANCE
Ethereal guitar riffs give way to thunderous, energy driven instrumental piece. If you’re in for some exciting, headbanging raw rock tune with crafty bass playing, powerful splashy drums and thrilling guitar solos, then this is certainly the song for you. This instrumental alone is of top quality in our books. We need to point out some things regarding the vocal performance. Shimono sounds incredibly well in this track, fitting not only with the fast paced instrumental but also with the fact that it requires a stronger, solid vocal approach to avoid sharpening notes. Although he had some instances in which his tone got a little bit higher than what would actually sound better in those specific parts of the chorus, he still managed to hold his own and come by with a solid performance, not of the same quality as the instrumental, but close. 4/5
02. beyond…
“beyond…” is a mid-tempo alternative rock tune that brings heavy guitar riffs together with strings and soothing pads in the background, changing things around a little bit in comparison with the previous tracks’ aggressiveness. Once again the instrumental is of top tier quality, grabbing the listeners’ attention right at the first riff. Vocally Shimono has some struggles with hitting his high notes – often sounding off key. Also for an instrumental piece this powerful, the vocal performance is lacking the same punch ultimately being overshadowed by it. 4/5
Final rating:
While we only have good things to say about the isntrumentals for this release, we also have mixed feelings about this single as a whole because of the vocal performance. Shimono still struggles to hit high notes and has a tendency to sharpen notes which makes him sound off key at key moments in both songs. Still, he’s improving, a lot in comparison with the last release, even more if you compare his current self with the one singing his character songs in the past (especially his Utapri stuff). Time will tell if Shimono can improve his singing and really be able to manage to deliver a solid, befitting performance for these kind of fast paced, aggressive rock songs. Right now we can only say that instrumentals alone, this single is gold (clean 5 out of 5). Vocally, it lacks a lot and need more work put into it (3 out of 5).
“ONE CHANCE” is available for purchase on CDJAPAN for all overseas fans.
