Growth urgently takes you to a world of fantasy and adventure with their new song “Eisei no Sylvis”.
Growth consists of Shunichi Toki (leader), Yoshitaka Yamaya, Daiki Yamashita, and Junta Terashima.
Title: TSUKIPRO THE ANIMATION 2 vol.2 Label: Tsukipro/Movic Release date: 24/12/2021 Genre: Pop / Lyrical pop
Tracklist:
1 - 僕を誘う声 (QUELL) 2 - 衛星のシルヴィス (Growth) 3 - 僕を誘う声 -off vocal- 4 - 衛星のシルヴィス -off vocal-
Track analysis (only Growth’s Eisei no Sylvis was reviewed):
2 – 衛星のシルヴィス
A delicate piano melody opens the curtains to this adventurous song.
“Eisei no Sylvis” has a sense of exploration and epic adventure in its instrumental, although its fast-paced intro doesn’t immediately showcase that.
The intro carries over from that delicate piano melody into a fast drums part with a punchy bassline on top. It’s nothing groundbreaking but its simplicity is more than enough to set the stage for what awaits you in the verses.
Harp melodies lead the way as the main strings instrument in this song and around it are dramatic staccato cellos, a big choir with legato in some sections, and what seems to be an instrument akin to the bagpipe is well in the background.
Tension builds up to the chorus, with bells serving as an accent towards the pre-chorus but it is really the harp that grabs your hand and takes you to the chorus. It’s not often that you have the harp as a lead instrument in orchestral music, much less in pop music and even less in 2D music – regardless of the genre -, thus finding it being the leading force instead of the cello is a pleasant surprise.
I believe the choice for the harp instead of the cello was due to how delicate and dreamlike it sounds in contrast to the rest of the instrumental.
If the cello was leading the way, the song would sound dramatic instead of brimming with the excitement of going on an adventure. So, that’s a stylistic approach in the composition to better flesh out the theme and tone of the song. Since this is a rare thing, “Eisei no Sylvis” instantly stood out for me.
Well, the chorus carries over from all that tension in the verses – there is plenty and you really only need to put the icing on top of it -, however only heightening it just enough to have excitement at its core and, in a way to sound a tad bit epic in its delivery.
On the vocal end, Growth’s members are all-in for powerful performance with some urgency underneath, matching the intensity of the cellos in the background. However, do not expect a lyrical performance like the ones that the group is well-known for. This performance is a bit more “relaxed” in comparison, fairly easy in comparison with those performances (still incredibly technical).
The vocals are split in this song, creating a soundscape in which you want to pay equal attention to what is going on on your left and right ears.
Shunichi Toki and Junta Terashima are on your left, being the anchors for this performance whereas Daiki Yamashita and Yoshitaka Yamaya lead the way with their mix of mid and high tones. At center stage is the choir, which is an interesting detail in the mixing.
All in all, “Eisei no Sylvis” captures the excitement of going on an epic journey in a fairly unique way.
It is worth mentioning that many of Growth’s songs do have an “adventure” or “epic fantasy” tone to them – it is their style, after all – so there was a risk that they could recycle elements from previous songs or the song would end up sounding fairly similar to previous ones. However, “Eisei no Sylvis” sounds incredibly refreshing yet in the same tone that is characteristical of Growth.
Really nice entry, a tad easy-listening in comparison with previous songs, making it a good entry point for newcomers that want to lose themselves in the fantasy worlds behind Growth’s music.
TSUKIPRO the animation 2 vol.2 is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
