Bland, uninspired instrumentals and forgettable performances make Naosuke Oyama‘s 2nd entry in the bi-color series tank.
Title: 大山直助-citrine×morganite-
Label: Tsukipro/Movic
Release date: 28/02/2020
Genre: Pop-rock
Tracklist:
1 - ドラマ「コンビ結成！楽しいお部屋を作りましょう☆」
2 - ドラマ「楽しいお部屋に必要なもの」
3 - iza!!! (Naosuke Oyama (CV: Tsubasa Sasa))
4 - MY LOVIN' (Naosuke Oyama (CV: Tsubasa Sasa) and Ruka Nadumi (Keisuke Komoto))
5 - iza!!! -off vocal-
6 - MY LOVIN' -off vocal-
Track by track analysis:
3 – iza!!!
Raging guitar riffs and hard-hitting drums are at the core of iza!!. The mid-tempo beat, textbook rock guitar riffs and solid bass work, make this a rather unique song by Naosume Oyama’s standards. The bridge features a drums solo, with double-bass pedals creating a unique, albeit a brief solo. Aside from this, the song is pretty simple and uneventful in itself.
On the vocal end, Tsubasa Sasa comfortably tackles this performance. He shows consistency and control, two things that definitely helped him deliver a solid performance.
4 – MY LOVIN’
MY LOVIN’ is a rather unique addition to this single. This song mixes Latin percussion with jazz, disco and even has some Christmas-y vibes on it. On paper it is a rather messy track and live… it lacks the consistency to achieve anything memorable. Jazz makes its way in the drumming and rhodes piano accents. Disco elements can be found in the old-school, synthetic drums beat and guitar work. Christmas-y elements are found in the bells playing in the background. The verses have a playful tone but the chorus that messes everything up, as it gets crowded with a whole lot of instruments and ideas that do not work well at all.
On the vocal end, Tsubasa Sasa and Keisuke Koumoto team up to deliver a rather bland performance. While both have pretty solid entries in VAZZROCK bi-color series, teamed up they do not work well. Maybe it was the song – that crowds the listener with a whole lot to process that, when time comes for the vocals, you are already tired -, or simply the way the vocals did not work at all, truth is the performance is forgettable.
Final considerations
We are the nearing the completion of VAZZROCK‘s 2nd bi-color series. While it has had its fair share of great moments and surprising performances, we’ve also found some unexpected weak releases or songs within it.
Unfortunately, Naosume Oyama – responsible for one of the best releases in the 1st season of the bi-color series – was far from being as exciting and consistent as back then.
His solo track, iza!! Is a textbook rock track that you could have revived from any pop-rock or powerpop outfit in the late 90s. While the song does not have any issues, it lacks relevant transitions, a chorus that stands out from the verses, something that gives it a soul. It is a rock track however, a bland one with only one or two highlights on it.
MY LOVIN’ sounds confusing on paper and, although its get a little bit easier to digest when listening to it, the sheer amount of instruments in the chorus and the multiple concepts going on in the chorus are rather cumbersome, making the song sound like it has no idea where it is going.
On the vocal end it is unfortunate that Movic didn’t ask more from Tsubasa Sasa – that, by now, every VAZZROCK fan already knows he can deliver – and, instead played too safely, making his performances turn into forgettable feats.
The duet track was filled with issues and the vocal end suffered as a result. The duo Sasa-Koumoto did not work well at all.
In the end, I expected more from this release, taking into account that Naosuke Oyama’s previous entry had been pretty much flawless. citrine×morganite however is a passable entry in the bi-color series.
Oyama Naosuke-citrine×morganite- is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
