Review | RUBIA Leopard “Answer”

RUBIA Leopard make a confident debut with the post-grunge tune, Answer.

Title: DIG-ROCK RUBIA Leopard Vol.1
Label: TEAM Entertainment Inc.
Release date: 25/09/2019
Genre: Post-Grunge/Rock

Tracklist:

01 絶好調のロックバンド [drama]
02 気の合うメンバー [drama]
03 刺激的で退屈な日常 [drama]
04 ささやかな不協和音 [drama]
05 最高のステージ [drama]
06 Answer 
07 とうぶん、やめられそうにない [drama]

Track analysis:

6 – Answer

RUBIA Leopard make an electrifying debut with Answer.

The track kicks off with a quiet and distant melody that leads the way into the whole rock band, slow paced and ominous sound.

The verses focus on creating an edgy but not overcrowded platform for the vocals to shine, giving priority to the emotions overflowing from Furukawa’s vocals as opposed to the pain and melancholy that comes from this post-grunge rock tune. 

Things change a bit around when we hit the chorus. The instrumentalization for this part of the song stands out from the rest, as a crunchy bass line, shredding guitar riffs and splashy drums take a place at center stage. This is a powerful and textbook build up done in a 90s fashion.

Makoto Furukawa fronts RUBIA Leopard with a charisma and confidence that it is as if he has always been a frontman. When it comes to technique, Furukawa more often than not is off the charts. For this song, it was no different.

His growly vibrato enhances the melancholy in this rock tune and the rawness that he brings – both in emotions and vocal delivery – make this performance sound even more powerful.

Top marks for RUBIA Leopard that makes one hell of an amazing debut. 

DIG-ROCK branches out from the drama CD series MintLip. This is a mixed media project that incorporates music with drama CDs. To get to know more about this project please refer to THIS article.

RUBIA Leopard is a popular rock band fronted by AKANE (CV: Makoto Furukawa), with guitarist KURONO (CV: Kaito Ishikawa), bassist MASHIRO (CV: Takuya Sato) and drummer HAIJI (CV: Natsuki Hanae).

DIG-ROCK RUBIA Leopard Vol.1 is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.

DIG-ROCK RUBIA Leopard Vol.1

Drama CD (Makoto Furukawa, Kaito Ishikawa, Takuya Sato, et al.)