W return with “AFTER THE RAIN“. The single, despite its ups and downs, includes what we consider to be the unit’s best song to date.
W consist of Yoshitaka Yamaya and Takeru Kikuchi.
Title: AFTER THE RAIN Label: Lantis Release date: 13/12/2017 Genre: J-Pop
Tracklist:
01.AFTER THE RAIN 02.Reason!!（W Ver.） 03.AFTER THE RAIN -Instrumental-
Track by track analysis:
01.AFTER THE RAIN
“AFTER THE RAIN’s upbeat and uplifting vibe will strike you as soon as you press play. The instrumental packs a couple of elements that give off completely different vibes. The strings, for example, add a sweet touch to the song, on the other side we find the synths and piano that are focused on adding that upbeat vibe mentioned above. The bass gives a nice funky touch to the instrumental and the simple drum samples a danceable dimension. All these elements together make this uplifting instrumental with an underlying sweet vibe. On the vocal end we need to mention that the chorus, although far from being the best one we’ve listened from W, is incredibly addictive. The vocals fit the vibe making the performance more relatable and exciting. This is the best we’ve heard from W since their debut. 5/5
02.Reason!!（W Ver.）
W’s take on “Reason!!” is the one that has surprised us the most thus far. First things first, this unit doesn’t have a baritone in their ranks. Lacking in the bass department, W rely heavily on their high notes and tenor skills to pull off a song that, in the original version with 315STARS, has more bass than it has high notes. Taking this into consideration, and if you’re reading this without having listened to this version, imagine how it’ll sound without any bass voices on it. A bit odd you might say. Truth is, W‘s version has a completely different vibe and is exactly due to that. The vocals give a peppier and youthful air in comparison with the original version. Not our favorite take on this song but still not a bad performance. 4/5
Final rating:
“AFTER THE RAIN” has a well crafted instrumental rooted on a rich selection of instruments that immediately sparked our interest. Its sweetness as well as the pacing were definite winners for us. W incorporated their passion and youthful excitement into this song in a way we couldn’t have predicted, which by itself, was a fantastic surprise. The chorus was addictive and the verses were incredibly accessible, more on a quieter note than the rest of the song. This is an easy-listening song through and through. Most of the time the vocals were on point, although we still have some reservations regarding Kikuchi‘s high toned singing, that, at times, doesn’t sound as good as it should. Regardless, this is W‘s best song to date.
Stripped away from its bass vocals, “Reason!!!” sounded almost like a completely different tune. With Yamaya and Kikuchi on vocal duty alone, it is certain for any performance to be on a higher key than usual. It’s up for debate whether W fared well without having a reliable baritone on their lineup for this song. On our end we can only say that we’ve listened to better takes on it.
We believe that this release had potential for much more than what we were shown. Only the title track ended up impressing us. All in all, W‘s “AFTER THE RAIN” gave us one really solid sweet pop tune that we don’t mind one bit to have it on replay.
“AFTER THE RAIN” is available for purchase on CDJAPAN for all overseas fans.
