The Rejet duo makes its comeback with a new single. Yuki Kaji and Hiro Shimono tackle an interesting release, surprising us along the way.
Single: KIRAKIRA CIDER HOLIC Label: Rejet Release date: 28/12/2016 Genre: J-Pop
Tracklist:
01. KIRAKIRA CIDER HOLIC 02. PASSION DROP 03. ミニドラマ「Magical Mystery Tour」
Track by track analysis:
01. KIRAKIRA CIDER HOLIC
“KIRAKIRA CIDER HOLIC” is a playful track in which funky guitar riffs, mid-tempo drums and brass make up for most of the bright instrumental. Synths do the final touches to the song. This is a textbook bubblegum pop track, it’s cheerful, rather simple in its composition and the vocal performance fits that idea of “cute”. And that’s exactly what keeps ticking us off – the vocal performance. While we’re okay with Kaji‘s performance, the same can’t be said from Shimono‘s performance. It’s uninspired to say the least. 3.5/5
02. PASSION DROP
Changing things around a little bit “PASSION DROP” showcases us an improved instrumental that really woke us up after the previous track. Raging guitars lead the way, being joined by the slap bass and splashy drums for what is an unusual tune from this unit. Brass and a rhodes piano join this song at later stages, enriching the instrumental piece with ease. Massive props to the guitar solo in the bridge. The vocal performance sounds a lot better on this song than what was on the previous one. This song is exciting and the vocals seem to fit best this genre than that bright bubbly pop that seems to be the group’s trademark. Another thing to point out is that the chorus is a winner for us, it’s one of the rare instances in which both Shimono and Kaji are synced and sound great at it. 4.5/5
Final rating:
SYRUP have improved a little bit since the last time we heard them. Although they still have that “cute” image about them, especially with the title track, they managed to surprise us with a more mature and daring sound with “PASSION DROP“, showing us that this duo is able of doing so much more beyond sounding “cute”. There’s still a long way until we can say that they are a good unit. As far as we can tell, the groundwork is already being done, rewarding the fans with instrumentals worth our time and slight increase in quality in the vocal performances.
KIRAKIRA CIDER HOLIC wasn’t, by no means, a fantastic release but it certainly can be the start of something interesting if the unit starts venturing towards a more interesting and mature sound.
KIRAKIRA CIDER HOLIC is available for purchase on CDJAPAN for all overseas fans.
[…] project “Forbidden Star“. They released two singles “Sweet Labyrinth” and “KIRA KIRA CIDER“. The unit is currently on […]