HOUND ROAR’s “fragile” delivers a beautifully crafted song with delicate strings, an emotional performance, and warm, jazzy undertones that will melt you.
Title: DIG-ROCK -BREAK TIME 3rd Season- Type:HR
Label: TEAM Entertainment Inc.
Release date: 12/06/2024
Genre: Acid-jazz
Tracklist:
1 - fragile
Track analysis:
1 – fragile
Delicate strings and a melancholic slow-paced piano melody open the doors to “fragile” song that strays slightly away from HOUND ROAR’s usual sound.
The quiet intro leads the way into one of the most beautiful instrumentals HOUND ROAR has delivered so far. The swelling strings heighten the tension, and the bassline is prominent and deep, carefully taking you through the delicate soundscape you’re now in.
When the chorus kicks in, acoustic guitars, legato strings, shuffle, jazz-style drums, and the sweet bassline create a warm, beautiful soundscape that will, on a first listen, make you gasp in awe.
For me, this chorus feels so good with the added stylish piano melody going a bit on an improvising route. It’s the kind of song in which you just want to close your eyes while listening to it and… immerse yourself in it.
When it comes to the bridge, be prepared to be blown away by how mesmerizing it is. The acoustic guitar goes solo for this part, leading the way in those high notes, as the legato strings set the scene for you.
The bass and the piano add more depth to this part – with the piano being particularly impressive with those filler runs in the background (on your right ear).
Toshiyuki Toyonaga’s steady, emotional vocals elevate this song to an entirely new level.
This is not a crazy technical performance this time around but one that requires Toyonaga to go a bit lower than usual, sounding warmer and breathier than usual. That helps this performance – and the song as a whole – sounds dreamy in a way.
As a whole, HOUND ROAR’s “fragile” is the type of song you want to listen to time and time again and you won’t even notice it is looping in the background. The combination of acoustic guitars, legato strings, shuffle, jazz-style drums, and a captivating bassline in the chorus creates a breathtaking and immersive soundscape.
It has the band’s trademark stylish jazz vibes creating a loungy sound but at the same time, the song is so emotional, which strays quite a lot from the band’s register, yet feels so right for them.
What is DIG-ROCK?
DIG-ROCK is a 2D rock music franchise created by TEAM Entertainment in 2019. The franchise branches out from the drama CD series, MintLip. This is a mixed media project that incorporates music with drama CDs.
DIG-ROCK counts with 3 rock bands of different backgrounds and sound: RUBIA Leopard (Makoto Furukawa on vocals), Impish Crow (Yuma Uchida on vocals), and HOUND ROAR (Toshiyuki Toyonaga on vocals).
Go more in-depth about DIG-ROCK in our exclusive feature (Written and video) about it.
“fragile” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
