Lagrange Point and Marginal #4 ‘s Rui are featured in this polarizing entry in the Pythagoras franchise.
Title: 革命(Revolution)XX / Mr. StarrySky Label: Rejet Release date: 15/02/2017 Genre: J-Pop/J-Rock
Tracklist:
1 - 革命XX (Lagrange Point) 2 - Mr. StarrySky (Naozumi Takahashi) 3 - 革命XX (anime version) 4 - Mr. StarrySky (anime version) 5 - 革命XX (off vocal) 6 - Mr. StarrySky (off vocal)
Track by track analysis:
1 – 革命(Revolution)XX
It’s Lagrange Point’s return to the music business after a rather long time away from the spotlight. 革命(Revolution)XX brings all the big guns to the table with a powerful song that really captured the essence of their debut sound – that exciting mix of hardrock and pop that impressed everyone on a first listen.
Heavy guitar riffs lead the way being joined by the synths, bass, and drums for what is yet another exciting tune from this romantic rock duo.
The chorus is slightly different from what we’re used to from the most recent releases – it’s not as pop-driven as some of their previous releases. It’s a formula that worked incredibly well for this unit when they debuted back in 2014 and still does wonders.
It sounded like a fresh approach but it’s really them revisiting their original sound. With an instrumental as good as this one, it’s no wonder that the vocal performance is amazing. Both vocal performances were thrilling, embracing exactly the emotions needed for this song.
With both vocals on par and an instrumental piece that really put us on the edge of our seats, we can only say that this is a killer release, one of the best the unit has put out.
2 – Mr. StarrySky
We find Naozumi Takahashi tackling his first solo song in the Marginal #4 universe. Minimal synths lay the first layer of music in this acoustic-driven instrumental.
With marching drums and an acoustic guitar leading the way in the verses, Mr. StarrySky is nothing we could have expected. Yes, it’s lackluster. There’s no way around it. This song seems to capture exactly Rui’s character – a character that has been criticized by some netizens as being boring.
While we won’t say anything regarding that one thing is for certain: this song is downright boring. A lot is lacking in this song both in the instrumental and vocal execution.
This one saves itself from being the worst Marginal #4 song ever because there are no annoying synths in the background.
Final considerations
Firstly, about Lagrange Point:
Currently, Toyonaga and Okawa are exactly on par when it comes to vocal performance – something that was completely different in the early stages of this unit. Of course, we’re not taking away the merit that Toyonaga has – his vocals are indeed stellar -, but from a growth standpoint, Okawa has been making more impact than him.
From where he stood, Okawa had to catch up to Toyonaga’s top vocals. We’re talking about during their debut days in 2014. It only took him a short span before we could start noticing his improvements.
Vocally Okawa was never a bad singer – he’s a musical actor after all – but he lacked some technicality that now he can proudly showcase to everyone.
Secondly, about Rui (Naozumi Takahashi):
This song is basically mocking his skills. Nothing really happens in that song. It’s not really a ballad, it’s not a danceable tune, it’s not exciting, not emotional, just a bland, sort of pop-driven song with a bit of “cute” on it and that’s all. On our end, we need to say that for a singer as gifted as Takahashi, this is an offense of a song. He’s a powerful vocal.
One of the most technical in the seiyuu business, yet this is the song that he was told to sing. Rejet almost pulled off a “UFO” on us with this song and we almost shivered at that idea (that was bad enough we don’t need a reboot). This song also confirms that up until now, the solo songs have all been lackluster.
All in all, this was a polarized single. On one hand, we have one of the best songs released so far in 2017, on the other we have exactly the worst song of 2017 at the moment.
This only solidified Lagrange Point‘s stance as the best unit among the Marginal #4 universe units. At the same time, it proved that there’s some lack of inspiration going with MIKOTO and Daisuke Iwasaki that needs to be fixed before is too late.
革命(Revolution)XX / Mr. StarrySky is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
[…] [As previously reviewed] It’s Lagrange Point’s return to the music business after a rather long time away from the spotlight. 革命(Revolution)XX brings all the big guns to the table with a powerful song that really captured the essence of their debut sound – that exciting mix of hardrock and pop that impressed everyone on a first listen. Heavy guitar riffs lead the way being joined by the synths, bass and drums for what is yet another exciting tune from this romantic rock duo. The chorus is slightly different from what we’re used to from the most recent releases – it’s not as pop driven as some of their previous releases. It’s a formula that worked incredibly well for this unit when they debuted back in 2014 and still does wonders. It sounded like a fresh approach but it’s really them revisiting their original sound. With an instrumental as good as this one it’s no wonder that the vocal performance is amazing. Both vocal performances were thrilling, embracing exactly the emotions needed for this song. With both vocals on par and an instrumental piece that really put us on the edge of our seats, we can only say that this is a killer release, one of the best the unit has put out. 5/5 […]
[…] announcement of an anime adaptation, it was time for Lagrange Point to make their big comeback. 革命(Revolution)XX marked their comeback after almost one year away from the spotlight. This is one of the most […]