Song Review: Zico & Lilas (YOASOBI’s Ikura) – Duet

Zico has returned with a duet project, which isn’t unusual for him. Most of his recent success has been through pairings with female artists. Duet links him up him with YOASOBI’s Ikura (credited as Lilas) and straddles the line between K-pop, J-pop and global pop. In other words, it should be right within my wheelhouse!

Before talking about the song, I feel it’s necessary to discuss YOASOBI. For my money, no single artist has had a greater influence on modern J-pop than them. Sure, the industry’s many rock bands continue to dominate, but that’s always been the case. When it comes to poppier efforts, YOASOBI’s fitful, hyper-busy production style has become so ubiquitous that I hardly enjoy it anymore. I was never a huge YOASOBI fan to begin with, but now that everyone is peddling their own version of the sound it feels like J-pop as a whole has lost its sense of musical diversity.

This brings me to Duet, which is a pretty ‘down the middle’ fusing of Zico’s and YOASOBI’s core sounds. The overall style is “quirky” in a way that’s not quirky anymore because we’ve heard it so often. Zico’s flow is fast-paced and full of character. Ikura adds a similar energy, though her tone is much different. What we end up with is two dynamic characters speak-singing at a rapid pace over a lively bed of chopped percussion. It’s not my thing at all, but I’m happy if it’s yours!

Grade: C