The newest entry in VAZZROCK‘s play of color Series is not as eventful as the first release, however good vocals and interesting instrumentals make it an entertaining listen.
Title: VAZZROCK play of color Series Vol.2 [be lived forwards.] Label: Tsukipro/Movic Release date: 31/05/2019 Genre: Electro-pop/Rock
Tracklist:
1 - Drama「悩める少年」 2 - Drama「迷える青年×２」 3 - WONDER LAND!! 4 - Tsukuyomi 5 - WONDER LAND!! -off vocal- 6 - Tsukuyomi -off vocal-
Track analysis:
3 – WONDER LAND!!
Synths create a dreamy soundscape for WONDER LAND!!. This instrumental is heavily oriented towards an upbeat, electronic sound as noticeable in the entertaining assortment of synths used in this instrumental. Although the verses create the perfect ambience, we feel the chorus somehow detracts from the dreamy experience those were providing. Electric guitars are also present in this song but are far from being the main focus, instead those add a bit of edge to some parts of the song instead of being a driving force like in other VAZZROCK releases.
When it comes to the vocals, this trio showcases balance and energy in a good way. This was a good collective effort to deliver a solid performance. 4/5
4 – Tsukuyomi
Tsukuyomi puts synths aside and brings to this release a pop-rock tune with some traditional touches in the vocal performance. The instrumental is rather simple, putting on the spotlight a noticeable bass line, snary drums and tasteful guitar riffs, creating a fun yet laidback soundscape for the listener to enjoy. Vocally, this group had a slight challenge that consisted in singing a pop-rock song with a traditional – enka-ish – twist. This is a fancy touch that made this song sound more refined without going all out on the traditional approach. As a whole, this is the highlight of this release. 5/5
Final rating:
The second entry in VAZZROCK‘s “play of color” series brings a new trio to the spotlight while exploring the possibilities with synths and electric guitars.
WONDER LAND!!! and Tsukuyomi are contrasting songs that, in a more drastic way than in the previous play of color entry, make it clear the member’s unique colors, closely related to their individual entries in the bi-color series, as well as their respective group’s sound. WONDER LAND!!! has an ethereal sound, for the most part, that takes the listener to a unique, sort of relaxing soundscape. Unfortunately the chorus isn’t its strongest part and ends up, in a way, of erasing that experience in favor to an upbeat, brighter sound.
Tsukuyomi sounds just about perfect in this release. This song is the one that best illustrates what we’ve mentioned above about each members’ unique colors and showcasing their groups’ unique sound. We won’t dive into it – mainly because it is more fun to find those while listen instead of having it spoiled for you – but if you are familiar with all or at least a part of VAZZROCK‘s group and individual releases you’ll notice elements unique to both bands and to each member in this song which is yet another nice touch to this entry.
There are a lot of layers to this release, and it gets more interesting as each song is closely analyzed.
On the vocal end this trio – Yusuke Kobayashi (Vazzy), Keisuke Koumoto (ROCK DOWN) and Shun Horie (Vazzy) – had everything to deliver something powerful but we feel that for the sake of the release sounding consistent, the vocals were sort of “leveled” between all members which made it impossible for anyone to shine. As a result, this was a solid group performance although, at times, strangely uneventful.
This ended up being an interesting entry in the play of color series. Not as eventful as the first entry, but still with good vocals and some hits and bits of quality throughout both songs.
VAZZROCK play of color Series Vol.2 is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
