Showtaro Morikubo quiets his sound in “I’m Nobody“. Country rock and rap-rock take over with polarizing outcomes.
Title: I'm Nobody Release date: 22/07/2020 Label: Lantis Genre: Rock
Tracklist:
1 - I'm Nobody 2 - PANIC KITCHEN
Track by track analysis:
1 – I’m Nobody
A slow paced, acoustic rock meets country sets a journey vibe to “I’m Nobody”. The first verse is slow and quite stripped down, with acoustic guitars leading the way.
The chorus is pretty simple, once again focusing on the groove going on in the guitars and bass. Things however change when you reach the 2nd verse.
Dynamics change and the song evolves from country rock / acoustic rock to hardrock with hints of country, with Morikubo’s heavy guitar riffs adding an exciting layer to this song.
The song counts with a massive guitar solo that takes the song from slow, uneventful territory for a couple of seconds.
On the vocal end, it is worth mentioning that Showtaro Morikubo lowered his voice tone and is growly and quite raw for this performance. It suited the song’s gruff and gritty tone and came as a surprise, as I was expecting his usually mid-tones to lead this performance.
Solid song however, too slow for comfort.
2 – PANIC KITCHEN
Heavy guitar riffs and a slow paced beat set a gritty tone to PANIC KITCHEN‘s intro. The song then evolves in the 1st verse into a groovy, bassy and stripped down rap-rock tune.
The bass line is punchy, being groovy in the rap sections and massive in the rock sections. Drums are minimalistic in the verses and pretty splashy in the chorus, adding to the gritty tone of this song.
The bridge is quite unique, going darker and lower, exuding a rather dangerous vibe that works so well with the whole instrumental and Morikubo’s edgy vocals.
Showtaro Morikubo goes for a dark, intense performance that mixes singing with rapping, a classic of his. This performance stands out as the best in the single.
Final considerations
Showtaro Morikubo goes an interesting route for “I’m Nobody”. The single is quieter than usual and for the first time, it counts with a leading track that explores country rock.
“I’m Nobody“, the song, is not that eventful aside one change in dynamics and its guitar solo. The tone and pacing are, essentially, the same throughout the song and there are no massive changes in the vocal performance – that remains steady in tone and intensity until the end of the song.
I felt like the song could have developed a bit beyond what we got. As it is, “I’m Nobody” is a good song yet far from being one that I’d hit that replay button, that is, unless I wanted to get bored quite fast.
Where this single shines is in its coupling track “PANIC KITCHEN”. The song is dark and gritty, much in line with the sound Morikubo has been known for but, at the same time, brings a groove to it that was unexpected.
At the same time, Morikubo went for a dual performance, with singing and rapping flowing seamlessly in his performance. A good nod to his old-school days.
All in all, “I’m Nobody” is a good single, a bit uneventful but still with its bright moments and with performances certainly worth of your attention.
I’m Nobody is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
