My thoughts on “tokyo tragedy” the first single from TOKYO Tefutefu.

 
Release Date: June 30th 2021

Tracklist

1. tokyo tragedy
2. blind paranoid faith

I feel like I always say this, but it really has been a rather weird couple of months in codomomental land. Several members of the agency’s various groups have departed for one reason or another, and a lot of them have ended up showing up again in projects that some might consider to be a lot less “glamorous” if you will. Kinda makes you wonder what must be going on in the background to have this keep happening honestly, but then again it could all just be one big unfortunate coincidence.

TOKYO Tefutefu seem to have been getting quite the push since their debut last year. Despite me not really getting what is so special about them just yet it’s clear that codomomental must have some big plans for this group as they’re getting a ton of music, promotion and all of that fun stuff. A hard juggling act considering all of the other projects on the go right now but if you’re a Tefutefu fan then the good times have really been rolling of late.

“tokyo tragedy” is the group’s first physical single release after a couple of digital offering and of course their album “impure” that came out a couple of months ago. Kinda funny to say “first single” all things considered but it is actually true I guess. Because of that I’m sort of expecting that emotional Rock sort of vibe with a bit of piano/keyboard thrown into the mix if I’m being totally honest. It’s a key part of the group’s sound so it would make sense if it was what they went with for their first single release. All that’s left to do now is find out whether I’m right or not, right?

Off to a fairly predictable start then on the single’s title track “tokyo tragedy”, which does indeed sound a whole lot like a Piano Rock number. There’s definitely a bit of an Alternative slant on things though which comes by way of a heavy slathering of distortion and some mildly chaotic drumming. It all sort of disappears when the verses begin however and what we’re left with is a rather empty instrumental featuring mainly some pretty flat drumming. It’s not the worst but the sullen tone of the vocals doesn’t really help matters too much either and it just isn’t really where I thought things were heading given the start we got off to. They do build things back up somewhat for the choruses but those are unfortunately plagued by that unpleasant high vocal pitch that has featured on several Tefutefu tracks to date and at least for me it doesn’t get any more enjoyable the more I hear it. I don’t get it but I suppose if this is one of the group’s main gimmicks then at least it’s memorable…for mostly the wrong reasons. Thankfully the track does pick up some steam as we get deeper into it and it did end up where I figured it would in the end, we just took the scenic route in getting there. Yeah, if you like Tefutefu already then you’ll probably have a decent enough time with this one but it still does have a lot of the more unappealing aspects of the group’s sound going on too.

It’s kinda funny, “blind paranoid faith” is something I could say to describe a lot of Idol fans I know, codomomental or otherwise, and here it is as the title of this single’s b-side. Harsh vocals and a heavy Industrial synth vibe weren’t what I was expecting this one to open with but hey, it was a nice surprise and not a direction I would have considered for Tefutefu based on their previous musical efforts. The rapped vocals sound pretty much like what you could have heard from Kaqriyo Terror Architect back in the good old days so there’s even an element of nostalgia at play here too. Somehow they also manage to get some piano in there as well so I have to admire the dedication to that theme, and it doesn’t even sound all that out of place either which might seem a bit hard to believe if you haven’t given the track a spin yet. The choruses are even great, which just goes to show what this group can actually do if you give them a chance to sing normally. Great melodies, catchy hooks and really tied in well with the piano that they had going on. Again, there’s like maybe a vague idea of older Zenbu Kimi no Sei da going on during these parts but at this point I’m not really that upset about it given what the alternative might have been. Still feels a bit “throw it at the wall and see what sticks” to me in a way but that said it’s probably my favorite Tefutefu track to date so make of that what you will.

A bit of an odd single then this one. The title track played out pretty much how I expected it to for the most part so hard to really be to disappointed with its shortcomings as I should have seen them coming. The b-side is a much more interesting proposition as far as I’m concerned but the question does have to be asked just how much it counts considering it’s pulling in a lot of help from codomomental’s various other properties. A mixed bag then is about as fair as I can be I think.

Tefutefu seem to still be getting quite the push from codomomental currently and it makes sense as they’re still kinda new and you have to give them a fair chance at things. There’s a lot of stuff I really don’t think works that well musically but I’m not behind the production desk calling the shots so my opinion on stuff like that is totally irrelevant. I just tell you guys if I liked the end product or not and currently this group, much like a lot of recent codomomental output, are still very much a shoulder shrug for me for the most part. Flashes of brilliance but not quite able to recapture that early magic.