“Yo – Lively and dazzling light” is a great entry to explore if you’re interested in TOBARI’s unique and exciting approaches to music.
TOBARI is a rock duo comprised of Shio Amagi (CV: Yoshiki Nakajima) and Kuroi Hashiba (CV: Tetsuei Sumiya). The duo often teams up with TSUKIPRO’s group, infint0 as pioniX.
Review
Title: Yo - Lively and dazzling light Label: Sunpro/Movic Release date: 30/09/2022 Genre: Rockabily/Rock
Tracklist:
1 - ドラマ「日向の匂いの音楽家」 2 - ドラマ「Lively and dazzling light」 3 - 天城士欧ソロ曲「極祭色」 4 - ユニット曲「limitbreak」 5 - 極祭色 off vocal 6 - limitbreak off vocal
Track by track analysis:
3 – 極祭色 (Gokusaishiki)
Guitars storm their way through this song alongside a punchy bassline and groovy drums.
Despite the technicality going on in the guitars – that gives the appearance of this song being insanely fast – this song rides on a comfortable tempo in the verses.
However, alongside the punchy bassline and playful drums you will find relentless, fast-paced vocals by Yoshiki Nakajima.
His energy levels never go down in this song, keeping up the excitement throughout.
The verses have some interesting details to them, welcoming different elements to itself as the song progresses
The first part is usually done with the bassline on the spotlight however as you get closer to the chorus, the drums take over, driving the song forward.
In the background, synths make their entrance in the 2nd part of the verses while the first part has shakuhachi details in the background.
The chorus goes full throttle, building up into something really addictive and liberating. The influences in the concept – a traditional Japanese festival – shine in the part, making it appealing to the listener.
Worth noting the traditional Japanese elements in the instrumental with the shamisen making its entrance into the song, being a driving force in the chorus alongside the electric guitar riffs.
And on yet another interesting note, the song’s outro wraps up with a bass solo, fading away alongside the vocals, leaving the listener wanting more.
4 – limitbreak
Wrapping up this single is a new song by TOBARI.
“limitbreak” arrives with a rockabilly sound is the first time to them. The piano is jolly, the acoustic guitars playful and the drums build up the anticipation for the fun awaiting you in the danceable chorus.
The verses have those trademark stabs in the instrumental, teasing the listener for the full instrumental. I do love this a whole lot and I feel like it perfectly captures that 50s bar vibe.
And if you thought the verses were fun, wait until you listen to this chorus. Fun, engaging, and bouncy at all times, the chorus shines with its fancy instrumental in which a Rhodes piano and an electric piano face off.
As far as the vocals go, I will say I was so immersed in the instrumental on my first listen that I completely forgot to pay attention to those. This also goes to show that the instrumental easily stole the show.
On a second listen, my focus was on the vocals and I felt the song getting an extra punch of fun into it as Yoshiki Nakajima and Tetsuei Sumiya take turns in their groovy performance.
When “limitbreak” wraps up, I had a massive smile on my face having experienced something new coming from TOBARI (as well as an awesome rockabilly throwback).
Final considerations
TOBARI concludes its participation in the IN/YO CD series with “Lively and dazzling light”.
With Shio Amagi (CV: Yoshiki Nakajima) leading the way, the single kicks off with “Gokusaishiki“, a song that is embedded in the spirit of a traditional Japanese festival, bringing that fun to the table with a ridiculously groovy song.
Yes, the bassline is insane for that song, and a big reason why it stands out to me. Still, I didn’t give it full marks because, when comparing to all songs in the previous release – Black with high purity -, this song felt like it didn’t even come close quality-wise.
It is still worth noting that each member of TOBARI tackled the In/Yo concept in contrasting ways so it was bound to happen (one of the CDs stands out more than the other).
Still, when it comes to this song, it is worth mentioning that traditional Japanese instrumentalization is always a pleasant surprise to find in 2D music. Adding the shakuhachi and shamisen was more than enough to bring the concept to life as well as making sure it was a blast to listen to.
Yoshiki Nakajima’s speed and clarity in this performance are impressive. Even when the song quieted down, there he was performing full-throttle. Much of the excitement I got from listening to this song came from his performance.
Now, stealing the show was “limitbreak“. I was not expecting to find a rockabilly song in this CD much less on TOBARI’s repertoire and yet… here we are basking about it, aren’t we?
I love this kind of “curve balls” the composers throw at their fans, making groups unpredictable but still sounding like themselves throughout.
This song is a blast to listen to, having one of the most entertaining instrumentals the group has created so far.
The vocals didn’t stand out as much as I expected but then again, it may have been only me getting a bit starstruck at the instrumental that I completely forgot about the vocals.
All in all, TOBARI wraps this series of CDs quite strongly but is more than obvious that despite all the new elements and approaches to their music in this CD, “Black with high purity” ended up being the best entry in the In/Yo CD series.
If you are a fan of TOBARI or even if you are looking for innovative/refreshing approaches to idol music, “Lively and dazzling light” is an awesome entry to check out and have a blast with.
TOBARI’s “Yo – Lively and dazzling light” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
“Yo – Lively and dazzling light” is available for streaming on Spotify.
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