ユナイト (UNiTE.) - 約束 (yakusoku)

[fitear1590 2414]

UNiTE's 4th maxi-single came out recently and it's review time.

1. 約束 (yakusoku)

Another solid single, written by lead composer Shiina Mio. This is pretty much quintessential UNiTE right here: dramatic twinkly pop-rock, accentuated with technical (semi-mathy) guitar riffs. Just about everything sounds great in this song, but I will say the first chorus seems a bit disjointed from the verse before it. There's a great guitar solo in the middle. Afterwards, there's a slow piano part and I really liked those epic drums that were used, haha. What can I say? Another wonderful track that very much defines UNiTE's core sound.

9/10

2. 退廃レトリック (taihai rhetoric)

Another Shiina Mio track. Starts off with some strange bleeps and then goes into some chuggy Heartless-esque riffs. The first verse starts off very softly and some of the vocal melodies even remind me of The Kiddie's Yusa. After a while, the chuggy riffs come back again. The chorus is excellent: a great flow and Yui hits some high notes that are beauty. Afterwards, there's some nice guitar riffs and it leads into an almost "thrashy" guitar breakdown. Unexpected from UNiTE and pretty awesome. Overall, I think this is probably my favorite of their "heavy" tracks so far.

9/10

3. Love_Duck_Core_Nothing

First off, from the day the tracklist for this single was announced, I feared this song. This is by far, one of the goofiest titles I've ever seen. I had no idea what to expect. Which brings me to my next point: guitarist LiN has become the band's wildcard composer. He bears a decidedly "non-VK" style and it's even been mentioned in interviews. Plus, on the album, he was the one who composed the cheesy, but amazingly funky "BadRequest". Now, with Love_Duck_Core_Nothing, he has composed a wacky, Halloween-inspired track. It's less Candy Spooky Theater's obvious take on the "Halloween sound" and more in the style of crazy Aicle. The guitar is all over the place with a kooky lead riff and lots of technical little fills while Yui is singing. Even the bass gets a little crazy every now and then, but it's a bit buried in the mix. My main problem with the song is that the chorus is a bit too obvious. You know this is VK, so even if the rest of the song is pure craziness, the chorus is gonna be poppy. In this song, that change was a bit too much imo, but I guess it could add to the overall bipolar sound of this track, haha. I really appreciate the crazy style and ambition in the song, but the chorus (although good and catchy) was a bit of an easy way out. Still, I find myself listening to this song a LOT.

8.5/10

4. Grateful Word

Composed by vocalist Yui. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the composing finesse of the other members yet, but his songs definitely have their moments. The song starts off with generic heavy riffs, but it then leads into a nice, fresh synthy section. The verse is sweet and I really enjoy his vocals, like always. After another verse, there's an invasive rap section. I just can't get into it when they try to rap. Then, there's more Yui goodness in the chorus. After a guitar breakdown, there's a sweet little bossa nova-ish interlude. Random, but I welcome it. After the final chorus, there's some enjoyable guitar wankery that sounds like it's played by LiN. Well, "Grateful Word" is the weakest track, but there are indeed good, even great, parts. Unfortunately, the song has a few too many elements that never quite mesh together. PS: get rid of the rap, UNiTE.

7.25/10

Overall, it is probably one of their best singles, especially if I just consider the first 3 tracks. 約束 is one of their best, straight up UNiTE-pop-rock songs. 退廃レトリック is one of my favorite of their forays into "heaviness". I give Love_Duck_Core_Nothing major props for being something quite different and it mostly succeeds. Only Grateful Word suffered from ill-placed heaviness, whereas a few tracks on their last single had that imo ("AIVIE" after the chorus, "プレテンス" during the verses, "ハイスピードフェイスレスネス " with its out-of-the-blue HEAVY breakdown). A great single that, despite a minor setback in some parts of "Grateful Word", shows lots of progress. They've already announced their next single and I can't wait.

Overall: 8.5/10

(Also, I just have to mention that Shiina Mio outdid himself with the booklet design this time. The simple, but creative collage of random things (cogs, flowers, birds, etc) turned out beautifully. My avatar is right now is one of the pages from the booklet, btw.)

[Augie1995 325]

I would write a review but to be honest it would just be the same as fitear's but worded differently. Everything about his review is spot on about my feelings, Taihai rhetoric is however my new favorite UNITE song now. Give the single a 9.5/10 because of the last song which was a bit weak.