After the release of “Plus” earlier this year, Trignal wraps up the year by missing the mark for a bit with the release of “Update A Day”.
Title: Update A Day Label: Kiramune Release date: 07/12/2016 Genre: J-Pop
Tracklist:
1. Update A Day 2. 1% -ワンパーセント 3. 色づく季節
Track by track analysis:
1 – Update A Day
Bringing back their dance sound, Trignal present us with “Update A Day“, a mid-tempo dance pop tune with a rock touch on it. Blending synths, piano, synthetic drums and strong guitar riffs, this track fared better than what its preview gave away.
The instrumental doesn’t even sound awkward at all, it has a futuristic feel to it that really grabbed our attention.
This is an interesting track even if we pay closer attention to the vocal performance.
Everyone sounds great on this track, occasionally making good use of their falsetto, hitting high notes in chorus with ease, and delivering the verses equally well.
Also, we need to point out that Eguchi‘s flow in his rap parts is still on point.
2 – 1% -ワンパーセント
The big guns are all in for display right off the bat. Yes, this song kicks off with raging soloing guitars, a rare sight in the j-pop/rock scene.
“One Percent” turns out to be an exciting pop-rock tune with a rather bright chorus.
This instrumental goes the extra mile to present us with several solo guitar parts (and a thunderous full solo in the bridge), plus exceptional drum parts – that stray away from the simple beats, aiming towards irregular, more technical rhythms that really stand out in the overall instrumental. Vocally, this track is one of the best we’ve heard from Trignal.
Not because they are singing exceptionally well with falsetto or vibrato, but because they matched well with the energy from the instrumental piece and made it even greater.
There’s no way this song won’t make you want to sing along.
3 – 色づく季節
To complete this release we’re presented with the tender ballad “Irodzuku Kisetsu” (the coloring season). The instrumental is stripped down of any “noise” or unnecessary elements, making the vocals stand out with the help of the acoustic guitars, piano, and strings quartet.
This song isn’t as sad and overly emotional as some of their previous ballads have been.
It has a trace of hope and brightness in it, making the listener smile throughout it. Can we call it a “feel good” ballad?
Either way, this song is beautiful without going over the top and even without going full-out emotional for a good result.
Final considerations
There are exciting songs in this release. “Update A Day” is a mid-tempo, dance-pop track that strays away from the excessive use of cheesy synths and fast tempos that most pop acts insist on using, instead bringing out an interesting image for this group in a slower dance track.
The synths are still a part of the composition but not a major hindrance for the listener. “One Percent” is a mild pop-rock track with a major focus put on the instrumental (major props to the drummer, the performance is beyond impressive).
On the other side, we have “Irodzuku Kisetsu“, a sweet slow tempo ballad with a little bit of brightness on it.
Vocally, the group continues to improve. this time around surprising us with interesting performances, hitting high notes as a group (a first for them), and sounding good at it.
We also have the trademark rap from Eguchi that we’ve grown accustomed to. His flow keeps on improving as well.
As a whole “Update A Day” is a solid release, not their best to date, but certainly, one that doesn’t deserve to be overlooked.
“Update A Day” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.
