Argonavis and GYROAXIA showcase their passion and resolve through the emotional joint single “Kitto bokura wa/Hibana Chiru”.
Title: きっと僕らは/火花散ル Label: Bushiroad Music Release date: 17/11/2021 Genre: Pop-rock/Jazz/Ska/Rock
Tracklist:
1 - きっと僕らは (Argonavis) 2 - 火花散ル (GYROAXIA) 3 - Root of Love (Argonavis) 4 - AMBIGUOUS (GYROAXIA)
Track by track analysis:
1 – きっと僕らは
Upbeat piano melodies and bright strings melodies welcome you to “Kitto Bokura wa”. The verses are fast-paced, with riveting drums leading the way as a reverberating bassline and intense guitar riffs help craft this hopeful and inspiring soundscape.
The chorus stands out as the best part of this song, cranking up the tension while being incredibly catchy.
The bridge quiets things down in the instrumental, putting the focus on the vocals by Masahiro Ito while the whole band provided backing vocals as chants that will certainly make for an awesome section when this song is performed live.
After the bridge, the guitar work is awesome. The guitars scream in a fancy fashion, adding an extra bit of energy and excitement to this song. And the outro has a really cool solo there as well.
Solid start to this joint single.
2 – 火花散ル
GYROAXIA brings the groovy “Hibana Chiru” to the spotlight.
One thing that will instantly stand out to you is that the band is, for a change, with a groovy, ska-inspired sound instead of their passionate punk-rock sound.
This change in tone reflects the story going on in the lyrics, with the drums marching into that story, recalling it while looking to the future with excitement. As such, the verses follow a unique rhythm, standing out for their intensity, putting you on the edge of your seat.
The chorus is catchy and simple, carrying a lot of emotion in Jin Ogasawara’s slightly raspy vocals.
Something I absolutely love about this song is its bridge. The guitar solo is insanely technical – without shredding – and goes on for quite some time, once again putting emphasis on memories and the resolve that Nayuta (the vocal) has.
3 – Root of Love
Argonavis is back with another song, changing things around in this release.
“Root of love” embraces a funky, emotional sound with jazz influences. The guitars are playful, the drums bring in brushes to add flair to the ride, the bassline is punchy yet elegant and the piano further enhances that classy feeling you get as soon as the song kicks off.
The guitar work for this song is what instantly drew me into this song. It is melancholic, decade – in a way – and extremely technical with its blues-inspired playing style. There are plenty of fancy riffs going on in this song that add me wishing for me. And that overdriven, melodic solo? Pure bliss.
Another instrument that stood out to me was the piano. The work is off the charts, with arpeggios going on in the background in some sections, and for the most part, it is the piano that sets the decadent tone to this song, something I absolutely love.
On vocals, Masahiro Ito goes for an emotional performance that demands a lot of technique and control on his end. He surely delivers that in what is now, my favorite performance by him + the best song by Argonavis.
4 – AMBIGUOUS
Wrapping up this release is GYROAXIA’s “AMBIGUOUS”. If you were missing the band’s intense punk-rock sound, they surely deliver that to you in this tune.
The song kicks off with dark, distant guitar riffs, slowly building up into an aggressive rock tune that brings crazy guitar work to the spotlight. The verses are introspective, pitch-black, in a way nodding to late 90s grunge rock.
Guitar riffs are as low as the bassline, hitting you harder than usual. The drums are slow-paced in the verses however those go bonkers in the pre-chorus, bringing a lot of technicality and groove to this song. The double-bass work is off the charts, easily something that stands out.
On the vocal end, Jin Ogasawara delivers a powerful performance mixing raw singing with rapping, with those transitions being seamless.
Final considerations
Now this was quite the fun release, wasn’t it?
Argonavis and GYROAXIA teamed up to release “Kitto Bokura wa / Hibana Chiru” and what fans got was a whole lot of feelings with a fantastic set of songs by both bands.
I’ve said a couple of times that I love GYROAXIA’s aggressive rock sound. However, I’ve never been quite a big fan of Argonavis’ playful pop-rock sound. This is, of course, a matter of personal taste, not of the quality of their music.
And that brings me to the quality of the music. Argonavis impressed me with their 2 songs.
“Kitto Bokura wa” is as high-throttle it can get. It is a really fun song to listen to, almost like an energy booster. Somehow I can imagine this song being a hit with the fans in a live setting.
Then, “Root of Love” completely won me over. Now, that’s a sound I love: jazz. And Argonavis pulled off the elegance of jazz with a stunning performance. Once again, the guitar and piano work in this song is off the charts.
So yeah, while I’m still not the biggest fan of upbeat pop-rock – in general -, Argonavis’ songs had me going and certainly made me curious to check more stuff from them.
Now, on the other is GYROAXIA. I’d already previously reviewed “Hibana Chiru” for the Review Advent Calendar videos on THTFHQ’s YouTube channel and I remember enjoying the song but not quite finding it as enjoyable as their “heavier” material. That remains the same.
While I enjoyed this trip to ska music and recognize that there is an emotional story at its core – I do not follow the story, but thanks to the kind GYROAXIA fans that told me a bit more about it on YouTube, I now am aware of the basics -, still the song (sound-wise) did not click with me as much as I would have wanted.
That’s why “AMBIGUOUS” stands out to me as GYROAXIA’s best song in this joint single. Once again, it’s a personal preference. I can imagine core fans of the band will find “Hibana Chiru” to be the best song. Either way, both are good songs so you can pick and choose and you’ll always get an awesome tune to listen to.
All in all, “Kitto Bokura wa/Hibana Chiru” is a rock-solid single filled with emotional tunes, shredding performances, and even jazz music to add a pinch of elegance to it.
“Kitto Bokura wa / Hibana Chiru” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
“Kitto Bokura wa / Hibana Chiru” is available for streaming on Spotify.
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