Buono! - Zassou no Uta review

So, Buono, my favourite group in H!P, has a new single coming out, a year after the quite awesome Our Songs. The name of the new song is Zassou no Uta, meaning simply "Weed Song". Weed as in an invasive plant species, not a drug.

So, I'll start simply.

This song is shit.

Not often I say that about Buono, so yes. A true rarity.

Some brief complaints are that the song is boring. The guitars are boring. The bass is boring. The drums are boring. The vocal melodies are boring. Overall I'd give it roughly 4/10.

Now I'm going to go a bit more in depth. For this bit you'll need to have either some musical knowledge or just trust that I know what the hell I'm talking about.




The song is in the key of E Major. Not my favourite scale, to be honest. The E Major scale has 4 sharps in it. The scale therefore consists of the following notes:
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII.
E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#.

So, the song starts with a bass riff. Quite simple really, quavers in a pattern of EEBBAAEE. In progression this means it's I V IV I.

Bland. Over the top of the bass riff, starting near the end of the 2nd bar, is an E5 chord. That's a power chord. But a very high one.

Anyway, then we get the "Intro" proper. This is probably the best part of the song. The chord progression here is I III IV. E, G#, A, in other words. The second half of the second bar is left blank, for the vocals to shine through. The final repetition throws in a bit of a twist by filling the gap with a AAG#A-G# bit.

Vocally, they're still good, but the melodies aren't amazing.

Then we come to the verse. This is, actually, the worst part of the song.

The chord progression is I V VI IV. E, B, C#, A. For those of you who don't know, it's the most overused chord progression in pop music history. Watch this video for proof. It's now so overused I cannot stand it. This song is no different. The verse is just a complete failure.

The pre-chorus isn't bad. The guitar does something interesting, at least. The chord progression continues on the bass. C#, B, A, G#. VI, V, IV, III.

The chorus is completely underwhelming. The vocal melody goes:

E F# G# G#, E F# G# G#, E F# G# G#, E F# G# G#, E F# G# G#, E F# G# G#, G# G# A A G# G# F# E G# F#.

Yes, that is what it looks like. Six straight repetitions of I II III III.

Bass is interesting in the chorus. Guitar boring. Drums boring.

The chord progression on the instruments, if you wanted to know:

E D# C# B A G# F# B. I VII VI V IV III II V. Goes down an octave then pulls a fourth up. Boring.

After that we're treated to a complete rehash, without the Pussy drums in the first part of the verse. I mean that entirely literally. Pussy (rather srs NSFW).

A little interlude has been added between the intro and the verse. It's not bad. The verse has been slightly altered. Still the same chord progression (E, B, C#, A), but the E has been moved down an octave. E3 instead of E4.

Prechorus and chorus stay the same.

The solo is, frankly, shit. The chord progression under it is F# F# A G#. The solo itself lacks anything technical, fun, or even melodic. Then we get the typical "buildup chorus" up into the final chorus. The final chorus adds nothing new.

Then we get the intro again, then it ends. The III-I cadence is pretty boring.

Throughout the whole song, no riffs. How can it be Buono without riffs? An all-chord song is always dull.

It's also too slow. There's not enough energy. E Major songs have to be ridiculously happy and fast, otherwise they have a tendency to fall flat.

So yes. That's why Zassou no Uta is boring.

4/10