SolidS “Adonis” (Review)

November 3, 2018

SolidS resume their participation in the SQ RE:START series. Adonis is new territory for SolidS. It is haunting, ethereal, slow paced and minimalistic. It’s a highlight in the RE:START series.

Title: SQ RE:START series vol.2 Rikka&Dai
Label: Tsukipro/Movic
Release date: 26/10/2018
Genre: Pop

Tracklist:

1 - Adonis
2 - Adonis -off vocal-

Track analysis:

1 – Adonis

SolidS‘ approach their second entry in the RE:START series (theme: liquor) in a rather unusual way. This group, known for their passionate and powerful performances, finds itself in new territory for Adonis. Drama, urgency and delicacy. A certain dark and melancholic undertone. While listening to this song, it’s impossible not to notice just how much emotional depth this song has. This instrumental’s depth doesn’t resemble anything released so far in their career. A note that this instrumental counts only with a bass, synths, drums and a piano. This slow paced instrumental is in a league of its own, trailing new territory yet still nodding at familiar elements. Adonis has a textbook drum & bass beat. This is a nice nod to the group’s debut days – in which drum & bass melodies and beats played a major role in shaping their sound – and, at the same time, a fancy and simplistic way of matching the haunting piano melody leading the way for this song. Atmospheric synths add an airy touch to this song. The lyrics and the haunting piano melody add a dark and melancholic undertone to this instrumental. There’s more to this rich and intricate instrumental than what meets the ear.

Rikka (Natsuki Hanae) and Dai (Yuichiro Umehara) are on vocal duty for this song. This duo, that previously impressed with their performance of Shall we Dance? (released in 2015) is once again paired up, however much has changed about them in the past few years, changes that were responsible from making this performance not only impressive but also memorable. Over the years, Umehara has undergone a lot of changes and improvements in the vocal department. Originally the weakest singer in SolidS, Umehara has improved so much that it’s almost unreal just how different his vocal performances are. It’s like night and day. In the past year he’s shown a confidence and unique flair that make his performances something you don’t want to miss. Even with the health issues he’s faced this year, his singing is still in top form. He’s shown consistency, power and confidence, and doesn’t shy away from using his skillset to the fullest. For this song he brought vibrato, falsetto, powerful low notes and showed that he is the perfect balance to Hanae‘s powerful high register. Hanae continues to show his vocal prowess with another mesmerizing performance with stunning high notes and falsetto as greeting cards. It was a display of the insane control over his high register. As a duo, they covered all bases and don’t have flaws (their harmonies are a highlight).

All in all, Adonis is a dark, melancholic song with an ethereal instrumental and haunting performances. A one-of-a-kind addition to SolidS‘ repertoire and certainly one of the songs that stands out the most – for its uniqueness and quality – in the RE:START series.