Yuuki 「勇気」
betcover!!
release date: 2025
genre: rock/ jazz rock
written by Chance Aguilar
[review-body]
Listening to Yuuki is a great reminder on what Jazz is really about. When we first think of Jazz, we think of slow songs with a saxophone serenading over a bunch of 7 chords. But there’s more to Jazz than that. Jazz can be fast and upbeat, it can be slow and grungy, it can be chaotic and sporadic. And Yuuki shows us all of that, with some infusion of rock, and more with a just a light handful of tracks.
Some of the first tracks start us of off with some swing, and these cats know how to swing. Take a listen to “Miko no Konsato” and “Go Go Sutimu”. We have the bass locking down its bassline keeping the rhythm grooving and giving room for the drums stress testing the toms to help us keep pace for our dancing. The intensity of the pace is great. My attention was being held the whole time. It paints like an old school Jazz club scene, like all the tables and chairs have been pushed to the walls to create a dance floor for everyone to dance. Right until Bedcover!! breaks out the trusty ol’ electric guitar and breaks into a nasty guitar solo in “Go Go Sutimu”. Then we get into more of that rock aspect. It’s tracks like these that make me want to see the band live. Because I just know that they could go completely off the rails in the live performances. I can already envision them and crowd being hyped up on all the energy.
Yuuki is not all just fast paced swing and rock guitar solos. A quick look into “Samarando” and “Yaen” gives us two types of chaos.
“Samarando” is calmed chaos, or more so like the end result of chaos. Having to live with the consequences of irreversible decisions. The track serves as a take on a few stages of grief. With the first quarter of the track sounding like denial. The disarray of the instruments playing slightly sporadic. And as the track plays on, you hear a man talking to himself as he works his way through. The horns and reeds swell into introduction, as we reach what sounds like bargaining. A looking for a way out. And for the finale, acceptance. We find our rhythm. Our coping mechanism to function and carry on. There’s a heaviness to the ending as the piano plays its rhythm.
“Yaen” acts as the beginning of this chaotic event. It starts out somber with a touch of dread as we head into an unknown situation. And as the snare’s military cadence begins, followed by the bass and piano, it gives off a familiar tone that I could only properly describe as “Neon Genesis-esque”: it gives me familiarity to the scenes when angels arrive and the wars for humanity start. It’s a boding madness and sounds like an organized chaos. The marching drums forcing us forward as we push through the madness and we push through radical sequences of the sax to finally get to the resolve. As a whole, these two tracks give us a look into the process of comprehending the madness that come from chaos.
Yuuki serves as a reminder to us that Jazz isn’t just what our first thoughts on it are. Jazz can groove, it can emulate the world, it can be chaotic, it can be dreading. This type of music has a smaller following than the more common genres. So I feel like its harder to appeal to a masses. While a lot of listeners can respect the art and talent that goes into the music, those that really can appreciate it to its full value are more likely going to be Jazz enthusiast or musicians. I, surprising even myself, fall into the former category. As a musician myself, Jazz was never my forte; however, there are plenty of pieces that I love and respect. While a few tracks from Yuuki standout to me, I would say that this album belongs more so to the Jazz enthusiasts out there that can give it the proper ears that this art truly deserves.
- highlights -
Mii-ko no Konsaato 「ミー子のコンサート」
Samaarando 「サマーランド」
Yaen 「野猿」
track list:
Wasureru Onna 「忘れる女」
Mii-ko no Konsaato 「ミー子のコンサート」
Gou Gou Suchiimu 「ゴーゴースチーム」
Samaarando 「サマーランド」
Yaen 「野猿」
Sutei Wizu Mii 「ステイウィズミー」
Ginga Gouruden Boui 「銀河ゴールデンボーイ」
