pioniX‘s “Yama Nemuru” arrives as an anti-climatic ending to what had been, up until this release, a flawless SEASONS CD series.
infinit0 consists of Rei Sukigawa (CV: Hinata Tadokoro) and Roa Mikaze (CV: Mizuki Chiba). The duo is signed with the fictional label, Tsukipro.
TOBARI is a rock duo comprised of Shio Amagi (CV: Yoshiki Nakajima) and Kuroi Hashiba (CV: Tetsuei Sumiya). The duo is signed to the fictional label, SUNPRO (home to the pop-rock duo, ZIX).
As pioniX, they participated in the Neo X Lied series in 2020 – early 2021, counting with 4 outstanding entries. In 2021, the group tackled the “Seasons” CD series.
Title: pioniX Seasons 山眠る Release date: 25/02/2022 Label: Movic Genre: Pop-rock
Tracklist:
1 - No winter lasts forever. 2 - ドラマ「山眠る」：前 3 - ドラマ「山眠る」：後 4 - No winter lasts forever. -off vocal-
Track analysis:
1 – No winter lasts forever.
Bright piano melodies paint a snow-covered soundscape in which beauty and nostalgia coexist. In “No winter lasts forever.”, fans can expect a simple rock sound with a pop twist in the vocals.
Snary drums coexist with big bright piano melodies and the warmth of acoustic guitars. On top of those is a punchy bassline, making the instrumental pop to the listener.
The verses are simple, leaving the stage open for the vocals to stand out. At least for the 1st half of the chorus, you have peace and beauty, with the song getting increasingly busy in the 2nd half of the verse leading to the chorus.
That dynamic repeats itself within the song, conferring it that contrast of the beauty of a cold winter day and that empty vibe of snowy days. This imagery stays with you throughout the song the chorus is equally simple, leaving the emotions to the vocals instead of the instrumental.
And, of course, pioniX can deliver an emotional performance with complete harmony between all 4 vocals. The individual parts are focused on smooth mid-tones, conferring a gentle twist to the overall performance. When it comes to the group performances, you can expect pioniX to work both in pairs in the bridge and then in unison in the chorus.
While this song is enjoyable and certainly a gentle approach to the concept of “winter”, I feel like this is, actually, the weakest entry in the SEASONS CD series.
Simplicity is good but the pop-rock sound the group has going in this song pales a bit in comparison with the big, innovative compositions in previous entries in this CD series. Of course, this is just my personal opinion based on the high expectations that the previous entries in the SEASONS CD series set for me.
When “No winter lasts forever.” wraps up, you’re left with the feeling that something is missing, that there may be something extra to wrap up this CD series neatly. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen, and “Yama Nemuru” arrives as an anti-climatic ending to what was, up until this release, a flawless CD series.
pioniX Seasons “Yama Nemuru” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
“Yama Nemuru” is available for streaming on Spotify.
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