Hmmm... it always irks me when bands start an album with a couple of the weakest tracks on the release (provided it is not in fact a "concept" album). That is what happens here, it is not until the third track that these chaps, all very young musicians, start to cook. Frogflavor was formed around the rock fusion bass talent of Hiroyuki Sekine, a marvelous player whose chops include prog, rock, fusion jazz and slap happy funky fills. Issei Takami (guitar) and Toru Kubota (drums) add their considerable technical skill to this power trio fusion format.
There are some standout moments here on tracks like "Expresso" and "The Second Man" for instance, that recall the glorious sound of bands like Brand X, Isotope and Tribal Tech. Those moments are too few and too far between though obviously suffering somewhat from weak overall compositional skill and Issei's overuse of a myriad of effects in search of a "sound". That having been said, these are young men and I am sure they are already working hard on new material that can better showcase their technical prowess. I also think cover art and color more in line with the band's musical style might be in order.
Track Listing
1. Frog Time
2. 0-320
3. Expresso
4. Miss Sunny
5. Funky Machine
6. Midnight Of Metropolis
7. The Last Stream
8. Five
9. Changeable
10. D-Freak
11. The Second Man
12. 50:50
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