Tourbillon - A tide of new Era

The second studio album of Tourbillon, a new band formed by Ryuichi Kawamura and INORAN, is called A tide of new Era. This release differs a bit from the previous one: HEAVEN was filled with soft rock songs while on the newest one, the musicians experiment with sound and use elements characteristic for other music genres combined with the unique vocals. The sound is lyrical and very powerful and suits here perfectly. Songs featured on the album remind of achievements of the mentioned artists' former group, Luna Sea, mostly because of the vocals. It lacks, however, the sharper punk elements carried by J’s bass. Instead, we have diversity of musical effects and the sound of Hiro Hayama’s keyboards.

The album seems cleanly divided into three parts. The first consists of six initial songs that are similar to those from HEAVEN. Ageha, already known from the successful single with the same title, starts this part. The interesting melody and really catchy chorus makes the song one of the most memorable on the album and comes as a really strong introduction.

Although the rest of the tracks from the first part are very melodious and fascinating, it's hard to point out the most distinguishing one. All of them are solid and polished, and they attract the listener's attention with brilliant guitar riffs and interesting accompaniment. For example, saturation stands out with intriguing drums passages, Innocence with typical rock chords and Selfish perfectly suits the style of the latest Luna Sea albums. Don't hold your feelings follows and catches the listener's attention with an excellent guitar solo played by INORAN, who creates with his guitar fading, trembling sounds. Finally, Nameless Greenness stands out with impressive singing from Ryuichi.

The second part, more lively that the previous, starts with Lost World, where clearer electronic motives can be heard. Such elements have appeared in earlier songs, but they were used only as a background for the guitar. However, Lost World is based mostly on the mentioned effects that create a diverse melodious line. I’m just a mermaid doesn't bring anything new to the album. With its sound, it reminds us of earlier songs. It distinguishes itself only by its interesting, jazzy guitar chords.

Lily and Mataku You ni follow and are a culmination of the whole album. At first, they seem a little out of place in the relation to the rest of the tracks. However, this impression later disappears and without a doubt they can be considered as two of the better songs on A tide of new Era. Lily's main melody is created by an organ over a basic background beat, with small additions from the guitar. All these elements are perfectly joined with each other by the vocalist's singing. Mataku You ni starts with classic bass riffs, after which immediately follow electronic motives. Ryuichi's digitalized voice is accompanied by a disco sounding beat and the cosmic-like sound of the keyboard. Classic guitar riffs are mixed with phrases sung by the vocalist.

After this track, the mood changes again with the third, more acoustic, orchestral part. Its aim is to calm a listener after the constant changes of rhythm through the middle of the album. Karne starts off this section; it's an entirely instrumental piece played on piano and accompanied for about a half of its duration by drums and violins. Breezy Night Journey, a melancholic ballad with an almost orchestral melody, is followed by Ame no Ribon, a romantic song played on acoustic guitar with a piano counterpart. The song's peacefulness is underlined by the lyrical vocals, which sound whispered. The album finishes with Nemuri no Mori no Kimi, a lively ballad based on organs and drums supported occasionally by guitar.

A tide of new Era is filled with very pretty, catchy melodies, and as a result it is a very pleasant album to listen to. It may be an ideal purchase for admirers of soft, rock songs and above all the vocalist's sound. The vocals make up about half the charm of Tourbillon's new release. For Luna Sea fans it allows them to imagine what direction the group could be heading if they hadn't stopped back in 2000.