TRD’s “Strangers” is a massive upgrade over the duo’s debut mini-album, showing more consistency and quality on all ends.
TRD consist of Takayuki Kondo and Daisuke Ono.
Title: Strangers Label: Pony Canyon Release date: 04/11/2021 Genre: EDM / Pop / Funk
Tracklist:
1 - Strangers 2 - Clock Hands 3 - Strangers （Instrumental) 4 - Clock Hands（Instrumental） 5 - Strangers (TVedit) [ANIME EDITION ONLY]
Track by track analysis:
1 – Strangers
Hyped-up synths lead the way for “Strangers” however if you are expecting that to be how the song will sound like, you’re in for a surprise.
The verses bring jazz, funk, and pop influences to the mix, with those being used in the most ingenious of ways. Jazz is used as a fancy pre-chorus for this tune.
The chorus has funky wah-wah guitar riffs, a simple bassy beat, a punchy bassline, and big synths in the background. Listening to this song feels almost too nostalgic, especially if you’ve followed T.M.Revolution’s work from the late 90s and early 00s.
The vocals are intense but just like the instrumental itself, there is a perfect place for everything in here.
Daisuke Ono is performing in his clean baritone range whereas Takayuki Kondo taps into his higher range, creating a fancy contrast between both vocals. The harmonies, high notes, and fancy head voice yet again impressed.
In the end, you get an addictive dance tune to have on replay to no end.
2 – Clock Hands
Closing this single you have “Clock Hands“, song that embraces a cool citypop-inspired sound.
Funky guitar riffs lead the way alongside bassy and poly synths. There are synths runs that bring that 80s pop vibe to the spotlight.
A jaunty piano melody leads the way in the verses with legato string hits playing the background for extra depth and drama.
The beat is bassy and the bassline is as punchy as you can get, channeling strong funk vibes to this song.
When the chorus kicks in, you’re sucked into the groovy sound and catchy lyrics.
As far as the vocals go, the duo went for a groovy, perfectly harmonious performance that brought the best out of both. This results in a smooth performance that grabbed my attention from start to finish.
Final considerations
Now, this is what I’m talking about when it comes to this duo! TRD can deliver flawless performances and “Strangers” (the single) is the perfect example of that.
This time around there was less focus on rapping and hip-hop influences and more on EDM and funk and what we get in this release is a set of energetic songs with basslines that will make you want more and more.
These songs play around with several influences to deliver the addictive sound you find here.
“Clock Hands” stands out as the best song in this release, song that makes the best of the group’s versatility on the vocal end and natural groovy performances. This is the kind of song that I believe has the potential to be replayed to no end and not get tiring no matter how much time passes.
“Strangers” is all about its high tension energy levels that will instantly suck you in thanks to that massive synth lead, as well as Ono and Kondo’s vocals.
All in all, TRD’s “Strangers” is a massive upgrade over the duo’s debut mini-album, showing more consistency and quality on all ends.
“Strangers” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
“Strangers” is available for streaming on Spotify.
Do not support piracy. Remember to support TRD by streaming via official outlets.
