SJV-SC – Crossing – 3.5/5
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In case anyone had missed it, ‘Touhou’ re-arrangements has been of interest to me of late, but the sheer magnitude of what it has to offer coupled with the lack of any relevant information means it has remained hidden from view. I usually consider myself something of an audiophile for the fact that when I discover a new genre or style I tend to binge on it before parasitically moving on but I’m still coming to terms with the fact that an entire world of music encompassing multiple genres has evaded my watchful eye for so long, and once again I’m demonstrated Doujin’s versatility with this EP of Jazz Fusion re-arrangements, slapping on a healthy portion of funk as well.
Its unusual the manner I can recognise the melodies being performed with perfect clarity, but the manner the various instruments will dive in to take the lead rhythm whilst the rest meander around them feels as though the piece has been refreshed and renewed; not simply copied but understood and amended for their own purposes. Between the slap bass, piano, synths, saxophone, jazz guitars and drum beats, there is more than enough packed into this release to keep me entertained, boisterously performed with intersecting lines sweeping across one another adding to the lead instrument without clouding it. The bass constantly works on adding funky beats to the constant meandering guitars, frequently interchanging with jazzy piano’s and synths to lend variety, but there’s almost too much.
Now I’m not saying it ever feels dissonant, the tracks complement each other well but it certainly feels incomplete; it’s as though they had an hour long album planned but then tried to compress it into 19 minutes; like “The Godfather” if it was told to compress everything into an hours run time. There’s no room for them to explore and go nuts, it’s all fairly rooted and unable to meander on a tangent as there simply isn’t the time. It’s fun, bouncy and funky but does little terribly original. It is the manner the layers intersect as the piece progresses that see this release shine, and it’s simply a shame they didn’t expand on that further.
Highlights: Track Two
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