Nana Tosei’s first single, Melos yo / Boku mo Ganbaru, is far from being perfect but that does not take away its entertainment value.
Nana Tosei consists on Gakuto Kajiwara, Hiroaki Taniguchi, Atsushi Taniguchi, Mizuki Chiba, Kaishin Aida, Seiya Konishi and Kousuke Asuma.
The unit is part of REALIVE!～Teito Kagurabutai～, smartphone (android and iOS) rhythm game produced by GMO LIVE GAMES launched on 27/01/2020.
Title: Meros yo / Boku mo Ganbaru
Label: TOWER RECORDS
Release date: 29/01/2020
Genre: Pop-Rock / Electronica
Tracklist:
1 - メロスよ
2 - 僕も頑張る
3 - メロスよ（Instrumental）
4 - 僕も頑張る（Instrumental）
Track analysis:
1 – メロスよ (Meros yo)
Nana Tosei kick off this single with an exciting pop-rock tune in Melos yo. The instrumental mixes elements from rock and pop, adding it a layer of fun with timely bestsellers and strings. Although this is a formula that lacks a novel element, Nana Tosei makes it sound exciting and easy to listen.
On the vocal end, Nana Tosei focuses their performance on their mid-tones, and makes up for any lack of individual quality by delivering a solid group performance that will make the listener sing along to them.
2 – 僕も頑張る (Boku mo Ganbaru)
Boku mo Ganbaru introduces a simpler sound relying primarily on synths and sampled drums to create an almost ethereal instrumental. Its simplicity could have made a strong case for this song however, it did not pan out exactly how it should have.
The lead synth – most commonly found blasting in the chorus – ends up taking away part of the quality in the track, making it sound like a sloppy take on early 10s pop music.
Vocally, the group does their best to deliver a solid performance but it ends up being eclipsed by that looping high-pitched synth. It had the makings of a solid minimalistic pop song, a pity that that potential was lost midway through.
Final considerations
Nana Tosei’s first single, Melos yo / Boku mo Ganbaru, is not the best debut single but it is still quite entertaining.
Their sound is a hybrid of pop, rock, and electronica however with a bigger focus on making rock elements – such as the electric guitars – stand out. This is clearly an improvement over the casual bright pop-rock sound that we can commonly find within various idol projects in Japan. It is still generic however, the favor given to rock gives it a slightly different flavor.
Melos yo takes the crown as the best song in this release, being a simple and easy-listening tune meant for everyone to enjoy. The vocals are energetic and the members seem to work well as a group. There are some inconsistencies on the vocal end but those never overshadow the overall good feeling this song exudes.
Boku mo Ganburu unfortunately sounded too dated and the synth work is just atrocious. A bit of that looping synth perhaps used as an accent or fill would be better than what we got, with it leading the way in the chorus.
Once, I could overlook it. There are always elements bound to tick us off when listening to music that we end up growing familiar with or fond of. However, three times? That’s too much to deal with and the song starts to be unbearable to listen to. A pity because it had the potential to be a solid minimalistic pop track.
All in all, Melos yo / Boku mo Ganbaru is a solid debut release with a youthful and entertaining sound that will delight fans of upbeat pop-rock tunes.
Meros yo / Boku mo Ganbaru is available for streaming on Spotify.
