SOARA’s Morihito and Growth’s Kensuke unlikely partnership for “ALIVE Neo X Lied 2” ends up delivering a high octane pop-rock tune to energize you.
Title: ALIVE「Neo X Lied」Series vol.2 Release date: 26/11/2021 Label: Movic Genre: Pop-rock
Tracklist:
１ - ドラマ「世話焼きさんの焼き肉大会」 ２ - ドラマ「まだ見ぬ名曲に」 ３ - Re:venger ４ - Re:venger -off vocal-
Track analysis:
3 – Re:venger
Exciting and fast-paced electric guitars and bassy drums take over in “Re:venger”.
As those guitars trail their way from the intro to the verses, in the background you can notice a somber choir, much in the style that you can find in Growth’s songs. That’s an interesting addition to this song, as the composition tries to balance SOARA and Growth trademark elements.
The verses are upbeat, with an intense pop-rock sound leading the way, guitar riffs blasting their way through the instrumental, splashy drums adding a heartbeat to this song, bassline pounding, and the synths completing SOARA’s trademark sound.
The chorus, once again, makes sure that it brings out Growth’s epic lyrical sound, and with that, the choir you heard in the verses is back in the last part of the chorus.
After listening to this song a couple of times, it feels like there is no balance between both. The SOARA elements in the song basically took over it whereas Growth’s “touch” can only be found in a simple choir addition to the song that is not a feature but a brief accent. Interesting because this song is, composed from Growth’s perspective.
I was expecting the bridge would welcome a beautiful, lyrical, and even fantastical sound – something that could have taken this song a step forward -, but the song continued with its rock sound without taking a breather.
If I had to point out something I didn’t appreciate about this song, it would be that.
On vocals, listeners find Morihito (CV: Yuki Ono) and Kensuke (CV: Yoshitaka Yamaya).
I didn’t know what to expect of this duo besides the fact that Yuki Ono can dabble in baritone and tenor range (even bass if required) whereas Yoshitaka Yamaya is more limited in his vocal range as a singer, only able to perform at a higher key (he is a tenor).
Well, what we all get in this song is quite the exciting performance with a genuinely good balance between the vocals. Morihito’s mid-tones and Kensuke’s high tones blended for a high octane performance that will either drain you or serve as the perfect energy booster for you.
All in all, Morihito and Kensuke’s entry in ALIVE’s “Neo X Lied” CD series is a solid one however, this song is all about SOARA’s sound, only giving a footnote to Growth which, taking into account other Neo X Lied entries in the TSUKIPRO franchise that try to incorporate elements from both groups – and do so flawlessly -, lead to this song to be lackluster in comparison.
ALIVE「Neo X Lied」Series vol.2 is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
