Yep, I do realize that it is Valentine's Day but let me start with something that comes into the Neo-City Pop oeuvre since it is also Urban Contemporary Friday on KKP.
Until very recently, I hadn't heard of the duo Gryd which according to their katakana rhymes with "pride" or "plied". However from the tiny little blurb I found, Susumu Narita（成田晋）and Yasuno Kadoya（門屋泰乃）had spent a long time performing within Tokyo's live house circuit before finally releasing this lovely first album "Thinking of You" in January. Apparently, it's filled with City Soul goodness, peppered with some funk and jazz.
One track is "Hohoemi ni Kaete" (Switch to a Smile), a song that Gryd certainly doesn't skimp on in terms of length at nearly six minutes, and right from the intro, all sorts of shoutouts come to mind. I got vibes of Sugar Babe, Original Love and So Nice as well as some disco, and even George Benson near the end. As you know, I am a sucker for a battery of horns and these horns here are sublime. I'm also in love with the groove and the backup chorus. Switching to a smile should be a cinch!
I pleasantly surprised! This Neo-City Pop really does sound like it could be from the 1970's! Very high quality here!
ReplyDeleteMorning, Brian. Yeah, gonna have to keep my eyes peeled for more of Gryd!
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