KAIRI arrives to sweep you off your feet with an emotional performance in the powerful rock anthem “Don’t back down”.
Tokyo Color Sonic is the name of the mixed-media franchise created by sprout and counting with character designs by the popular illustrator Ryo Fujiwara.
This franchise counts with an 8 character cast, with characters split into 4 different “buddy” units of singer + songwriter.
Tokyo Color Sonic counts with drama + music in its CDs. To know more about this project, make sure to check THTFHQ’s quick guide to it.
Team 4 features Kairi Kurahashi (CV: Shunsuke Takeuchi) and Kagura Takatsuki (CV: Takuya Eguchi).
Review
Title: Tokyo Color Sonic!! Unit.4 KAIRI×KAGURA Label: sprout/COLORATION Release date: 29/10/2021 Genre: Rock
Tracklist:
1 - Don't back down
Track analysis:
1 – Don’t back down
A distant piano melody and a simple beat set the stage for the emotional performance that awaits you in “Don’t back down”.
That sound builds up in tension towards the verses, with power chords on the electric guitar overwhelming you on a first listen. However, the verses are simple, leaving the “talking” to the vocals.
A piano melody delicately paints the dreamy, far and wide soundscape as Shunsuke Takeuchi carefully tackles this part.
Tension builds up fairly fast to the chorus, exploding in emotion with the guitars going low and loud, the drums shifting from samples to live ones, and the bassline adding a heartbeat to this track. Together, these instruments splatter the soundscape in all kinds of color as Takeuchi screams his lungs out in an emotive performance that puts his technique to test.
This chorus is easily the best in the solo tracks in this CD series.
It is dramatic, overflowing emotion and the simplicity of the composition is more than enough, actually, it is perfect to make chills run down your spine as Shunsuke Takeuchi then powers his way through the song with an interesting mix of vocal tones (tapping into his massive vocal range).
Baritone and faux bass in the verses, and then hinting – however not tapping into – tenor range with those higher notes (not high notes, but higher in tone in comparison with the others within the song) shining in the chorus.
Additionally, Takeuchi brought vibrato and tackled tricky legato sections with ease. If that was not enough, in the bridge he goes for an effortlessly head voice part.
Nice to see what this franchise can do when the mixing is finally sorted out (After units 1 and 2, and even the debut song “begin on buddy” were met with suboptimal mixing that didn’t flatter the vocals).
This is quite exciting to find from a composition standpoint and, as a listener, enjoyable because you now have clear vocals and equally clear instrumental that doesn’t need to take over the song and suffocate the vocals. Perfect mixing made this song shine. It was intense but clear at all times.
Short and sweet (perhaps even bittersweet), KAIRI’s “Don’t back down” is an impressive entry in the TOKYO COLOR SONIC!! franchise and easily the best entry in this unit CD series.
Tokyo Color Sonic!! Unit.4 KAIRI×KAGURA is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
“Tokyo Color Sonic!! Unit.4 KAIRI×KAGURA” is available for streaming on Spotify.
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