HOUND ROAR crank up the speed in their pleasing brand of jazz-funk, delivering an electrifying performance in “Reincarnation“.
HOUND ROAR is a rock band fronted by HIBIKI (CV: Toshiyuki Toyonaga), with guitarist SHOMA (CV: Ryohei Kimura), bassist TOYA (CV: Hikaru Midorikawa), keyboardist SHION (CV: Yuichiro Umehara), and drummer SOGO (CV: Takashi Kondo).
Title: Reincarnation Label: TEAM Entertainment Inc. Release date: 28/07/2021 Genre: Funk-Rock / Acid-jazz
Tracklist:
1 - Reincarnation
Track analysis:
1 – Reincarnation
A fade-in acoustic guitar melody opens the curtains to “Reincarnation“, song with a completely different intensity to the band’s previous songs.
The verses are comfortably paced however, the fun comes with the chorus. It is fast-paced, bringing forth an intense and extremely punchy jazz-rock sound.
But fear not, the tone to the whole track is still loungy and pretty groovy, the kind of music that will make you want to either sit back and relax to the good vibes or hit the dancefloor to enjoy the track.
This track has quite a unique structure, with the verses actually making space for an awesome section in which the bassline goes bonkers, bringing out all the groove and more. Since it arrives way earlier than the bridge does – in which there’s a neat, albeit brief, guitar solo – so it’s best to call it an intermission or solo section.
In that intermission, there are also Latin-style acoustic guitar riffs used as flourishes to this track, something that I believe is a nice, subtle touch to this track. And although but a small detail, the drums fill in the big section is pure bliss for jazz fans, with the drums playing around with your notions of tempo and beats.
Wah-wah guitar riffs, elegant piano + rhodes melodies, bass for days, and jazz drums going bonkers as they put chaos to the spotlight. This is HOUND ROAR in its best.
On the vocal end, Toshiyuki Toyonaga is overflowing with energy. He’s singing at a faster pace than the song itself something that is already an indication that you’re in for an entertaining time.
He adds a lot of raw energy to the already electrifying instrumental that we all have in hand. But there’s more to his performance. In the verses, he goes for a classy performance filled with groove and emotion. In a way, that’s the only time in which he actually tones down the speed in his performance, giving you a bit of breathing space.
But when he cranks up the intensity, battling it out with the instrumental? That’s when things are really fun.
It is also worth noting that Toyonaga this time around brought a couple of ad-libs and riffing to his performance, something that raises the overall quality of his performance.
When everything is said and done, HOUND ROAR wasn’t shy about showcasing its versatility on all fronts and doing so while being incredibly confident and charismatic.
That’s another top-tier performance from the jazz-funk band.
