Kensuke’s “Cosmo*Locomotor” boasts an intriguing concept; however, a busy chorus and uninspired performance prevent it from shining brighter.
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: Cosmo*Locomotor
Release date: 27/01/2023
Label: Movic
Genre: Acoustic pop-rock
Tracklist:
1 - Cosmo*Locomotor 2 - Cosmo*Locomotor -off vocal-
Track analysis:
1 – Cosmo*Locomotor
Kensuke Yaegashi (CV: Yoshitaka Yamaya) brings a semi-acoustic pop-rock tune with an ethereal vibe in “Cosmo*Locomotor”.
After a busy intro, the song quiets down, letting atmospheric synths set a wide soundscape while the drums are like a steam train’s motor keeping pace on the track. Acoustic guitars and delicate piano melodies add a gentle tone to this song.
Slowly, the song builds up tension to the chorus, bringing electric guitars into the mix – replacing the acoustic guitars -, taking the listener to the chorus.
The chorus has a tone I was not expecting, especially seeing as everything in the verses was hinting at the song going – potentially – into a more acoustic sound.
However, the drums bring a danceable beat to the forefront, once again giving that imagery of a steam train picking up the pacing.
After listening to this song a couple of times, I can’t shake off the feeling that the chorus sounds a bit busier than usual for a song coming from Growth – or a group’s member. I wasn’t really feeling the various, almost dissonant – rhythms into play in this part, taking a bit of my enjoyment away from it.
The bridge brings a muffled guitar solo, sharing the stage with the shuffling drums and the piano melodies playing in the background.
Things quiet down in the second part of the bridge, building up to the final chorus. In this part, the song makes the best of its dreamy undertone. The piano melodies are bright and echo in the background as the atmospheric synths take you to a limitless soundscape.
As soon as the electric guitars join in, you’re smoothly taken to the final chorus, one that is followed by an outro in which the piano work shines through.
As far as the vocals go, this is one of the strongest and most consistent performances by Yoshitaka Yamaya in the TSUKIPRO franchise. It wasn’t groundbreaking but with an instrumental like this, the song wasn’t really demanding anything of the sort from him.
What he does in “Cosmo*Locomotor” is a good show in my books. I’m particularly happy about how he held his own during the performance.
This time around he’s not supporting anyone but himself, which is rare in the Tsukipro franchise, but he did so with confidence even if the performance lacked a bit of emotional range in my opinion.
Then again, that feeling of lack of emotional range that I get from this song may be a joint “instrumental not really clicking with me” + Yamaya’s performance lacking a bit of power there.
It may be a bit different for you, so I really recommend you check it for yourself and form your opinion about it.
As it is, “Cosmo*Locomotor” has an interesting concept – with the imagery of a steam train being quite present throughout – but has a bit of a busy chorus and an uninspired performance that may take a bit of the excitement out of this performance.
“Cosmo*Locomotor” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
