Dai Murase’s “Drippy Dance” impresses with a playful pop-rock sound, and plenty of emotion in the vocals – complementing a steady and skillful performance by Yuichiro Umehara.
Titled あの頃の僕らは My Dear Days. (Ano Koro no Bokura wa My Dear Days.), the new CD series has all members of SQ (SolidS and QUELL) and ALIVE (SOARA and Growth) revisiting their old selves.
Title: Drippy Dance
Release date: 27/01/2023
Label: Movic
Genre: Pop-rock
Tracklist:
1 - Drippy Dance 2 - Drippy Dance -off vocal-
Track analysis:
1 – Drippy Dance
SolidS’s Dai (CV: Yuichiro Umehara) takes the deal in “Drippy Dance“, song that starts with a tone dial on the phone before open the doors for a groovy pop-rock tune.
A punchy bassline and bassy drums serve as the backdrop for the electric guitar licks and melody guide you through this song.
There is a playful tone to this song, especially coming for the bouncy beat and reverbing guitars. At the same, there’s a slightly seductive vibe underneath coming from Umehara’s vocals.
And when that chorus arrives, you know he means business.
The intensity in this instrumental is noticeable and the emotions are on his sleeve as the performance goes. The drums go hard, the guitars and bass explode and you’re left almost with the feeling that it’s raining down on you.
That torrent of emotions in the composition culminates in a stunning falsetto phrase by Yuichiro Umehara.
The way he goes for that and how the chorus pleasingly wraps up is something that brings me back and back for me.
The bridge gives an opportunity for Yuichiro Umehara to go for ad-libs before taking the lead with powerful vocals and yet again going for falsetto (and flawlessly pulling it off).
Muffled vocals and instruments quiet things down before exploding once again into a final chorus.
Now, this is one of the grooviest songs in the Ano Koro no Bokura wa CD series and I’m all in for it! Especially coming from Dai – who’s a bit on the quieter, more show-not-tell, vibe, it was nice to listen to such a straightforward and groovy song.
With this CD series being all about each member revisiting their old past, seeing how much they grew and where they want to take themselves next, I can’t help but to bring this to the conversation: Yuichiro Umehara had the biggest glow up in the Tsukipro franchise.
When he joined SolidS he wasn’t a particularly gifted singer and lacked a lot in his control and even emotional range. But as time passed, Yuichiro Umehara gradually started to show improvements as a singer.
It was around 2018 – 2019 that he was already sounding in complete control of his vocals and now he has a comfort behind the mic that he lacked when he joined the group. If past performances – like in “Oto no LOOP” or “Adonis” – weren’t enough to show you what he could do without a big group behind him, I feel this song will convert you.
What he pulled off in this song – the multiple instances of falsetto and even long notes – are things he didn’t have the skill to pull off back in 2015. But right now, those are powerful tools he’s added to his skillset, making him a singer worth looking for and an important quality upgrade for SolidS as a whole (yet again, the group that has changed and evolved the most since the start).
Umehara has grown a lot as a singer and now boasts a powerful baritone voice that makes an impact, has a lot of emotion and is steady throughout.
This is one of the most awesome things coming from this series (genuinely noticing that, not only the characters improved their skills and matured as artists but also the seiyuu voicing them went through the same journey).
This is yet another reason why I’m loving reviewing all CDs in the Ano Koro no Bokura wa CD series. The parallels are awesome, growth is actually noticeable and every single artist has their unique colors and style. This showcase of growth is rare in 2D music.
With playful guitar and bass work, powerful drums and a lot of emotion on the vocals – on top of a steady, powerful and technical performance by Yuichiro Umehara -, Dai Murase’s “Drippy Dance” is a must listen.
“Drippy Dance” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
