SOARA & GROWTH X Lied series vol.4 (Review)

Taishi Murata, Chiharu Sawashiro and Junta Terashima wrap up the X Lied series in a satisfying way. It seems that both groups saved the best for last.

Title: ALIVE X Lied Vol.4
Label: Tsukino-Pro
Release date: 25/08/2017
Genre: J-Pop/Rock

Tracklist:

1. With U
2. リレイズ -Reraise-
3. With U -off vocal-
4. リレイズ -Reraise- -off vocal-

Track by track analysis:

1. With U

Taishi Murata and Chiharu Sawashiro sing “With U“, a fresh pop-rock song with a memorable bassline. For those of you that are fond of bass driven songs this one will be a treat for you. From the bass to the drums, everything is bass driven. The upbeat instrumental is well paced and, aside from the instruments mentioned above, we have simple guitar riffs, adding that youthful, summery vibe to the song and minimal synths as the finishing touches. In the singing department, we need to point out that this is the first time that we can clearly listen to Murata‘s singing without any distractions. He benefits from being in a smaller lineup as well as with a simpler instrumental that leaves a lot of room to standout. Sawashiro‘s singing was melodic as usual as well as steady. Their energy made this an enjoyable experience for us. 5/5

2. リレイズ -Reraise-

“Reraise” is “With U” ‘s polar opposite. One of GROWTH‘s strengths lies in the minimal but impactful instrumentals that beg for stellar, vocal-centric performances. What we got with this song was exactly what we could expect. The instrumental is delicate with strings and dreamy synths being a driving force. We occasionally find some drums as well as guitar riffs in the background, but those are there only to enrich the instrumental rather than taking away the focus from Terashima‘s stunning performance. We’ve mentioned before just how steady and comfortable his singing is/sounds like. Terashima sure doesn’t shy away from impressing others with his vibrato and emotional take on the lyrics. We couldn’t ask for more from him. 5/5

Final rating:

It seems that both groups saved the best for last.

On SOARA‘s side we finally had the opportunity to listen to Taishi Murata and Chiharu Sawashiro. They barely have any spotlight when in a group context and although this format wasn’t what wanted for each one of them to freely showcase their singing skills, it was not overcrowded, enabling us to listen to their lovely voices. Murata tends to blend with the whole group so this was really the first time we listened to his surprisingly good singing skills. He does have a really soothing singing tone that should be on the spotlight more often. Regarding Sawashiro there’s not much that can be said, he does sing well and his singing tone is rather unique, so he didn’t have the need to standout as much as Murata had. Both did an awesome job with this song.

“With U” is an enjoyable song with a clear youthful touch – SOARA‘s trademark – that most certainly will excite the listener.

Representing GROWTH was Junta Terashima. “Reraise” wasn’t a surprising song, especially when you’re already predicting how the instrumental will sound based on previous releases, but it still sounded fresh. The almost total lack of drums and guitars put the focus on Terashima‘s vocals and we were in for a treat.

X Lied was the perfect platform to showcase the individual talents in each and every unit part of Tsukipro. We were graced with stellar performances as well as some regrettable ones. But this was necessary to make all the members known, given that most go unnoticed when their groups have powerful singers leading the way.

ALIVE “X Lied” vol.4 completes this series on a really good note.

ALIVE “X Lied” vol.4 is available for purchase on CDJAPAN for all overseas fans.

ALIVE “X Lied” Vol,4 Ren, Nozomu, Mamoru

Ren Munakata (CV: Taishi Murata), Nozomu Nanase (CV: Chiharu Sawashiro), Mamoru Fujimura (CV: Junta Terashima)