Reiji Amaha‘s entry in the 2nd season of the bi-color series – “emerald×topaz” – goes for the comfortable route.
Title: VAZZROCK bi-color series 2nd season Amaha Reiji-emerald×topaz- Label: Tsukipro/Movic Release date: 29/11/2019 Genre: Pop/Rock
Tracklist:
1 - ドラマ「背は伸ばさずに、成長しよう」 2 - ドラマ「かっこいいですね、お兄ちゃん」 3 - cRAZY night 4 - シュガーポット・ラプソディ 5 - cRAZY night -off vocal- 6 - シュガーポット・ラプソディ -off vocal-
Track by track analysis:
3 – cRAZY night
Heavy guitar riffs set the tone for this rock tune. cRAZY NIGHT is an unusual song that brings a danceable touch to what would normally be a textbook rock song.
The guitar riffs are overdriven and distorted for the most part, in some parts the song features high-tone, delayed guitar riffs, creating a unique soundscape for this track. The drums are simple and the bass almost went unnoticed if not for the bass-driven drums.
The chorus is danceable, much thanks to the unusual tempo and beat that is guiding it.
On the vocal end, Takuya Sato delivers a cool and impactful performance. He brought excitement to the chorus and showcased a lot of control during the lower-keyed parts. 5/5
4 – シュガーポット・ラプソディ
The duet track for this release takes the listener to a soundscape that shifts from the jolly circus-like melodies in the verses to the provocative cabaresque vibe in the chorus.
Sugarpot Rhapsody relies heavily on jazz instruments to make its soundscape come to life. Brass is a major part of this song’s sound, jazzy drums, Rhodes piano, an inconspicuous bass line, and guitar riffs, even if those are well blended in the background, add the final touches to this track.
On the vocal end, Takuya Sato and Yusuke Shirai share vocal duties. The duo worked well together, flowing well in the choruses, with both vocals being easy to tell apart but not too different to make the performance sound subpar.
When it comes to the solo parts both singers delivered entertaining performances. All in all, fun song that creates a unique soundscape for this franchise. 4/5
Final rating: 
Reiji Amaha‘s entry in the 2nd season of the bi-color series goes for the comfortable route.
For this entry, there was a shift from city-pop and jazz to glitchy rock and jazz-pop. This change brought a lot more power and grit to the table with cRAZY night, a song that is easily the highlight of this release.
Sugarpot Rhapsody is a solid track that completely changed the mood. Forget the industrial, glitchy sound of the previous track, this one is all over exploring Jazz and how much fun the genre can be.
It just so happens that the instrumental creates an interesting soundscape however, as entertaining as it is, the fact that the song really doesn’t hold on to the jolly jazz in the verses or the allure in the verses is something that creates an odd dynamic with this song.
Vocally there are no major highlights. Why is that? Takuya Sato has been showing since VAZZROCK was created, that he has control over his vocals, with emphasis on his lower and mid-toned register.
He can dabble with high notes but that seldom is required of him so he ends up delivering solid, however sometimes uneventful, performances. His energy is good and the power he, at times, brings to his performances is commendable though.
As an all, Reiji Amaha’s entry is a solid one. Consistency on the vocal end and energetic performances are a good greeting card.
Amaha Reiji-emerald×topaz- is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
