Kurosaki Maon feat. TRUSTRICK - DEAD OR LIE

Collaboration singles seem to be all the rage in J-pop this year. Everyone from Utada Hikaru and Shiina Ringo on down seem to have been getting in on the action. Anison singer Kurosaki Maon has already been involved in a collaboration single in 2016, duetting with KOTOKO as part of ALTIMA. For this, her second such release of the year, she's been teamed with duo TRUSTRICK to record DEAD OR LIE, the opening theme for the latest season of the "Danganronpa” franchise’s spin-off anime series.

DEAD OR LIE was composed by UROBOROS keyboardist Kurose Keisuke, and his influence can be felt from the get-go in the form of the violin-drenched intro. Though officially a collaboration between Kurosaki and TRUSTRICK, it may have been more apt for Universal to market this as a duet between Maon and Kanda Sayaka, because Billy’s guitar work is all but drowned out by Kurose’s violins. The only real look-in the guy gets is a fleeting solo before the bridge.

Brand new, Standing wings, the accompanying B-side, is about as different from the A-side as two songs can be. Sung solo by Kurosaki, it’s a competent piece of electropop composed by Takase Kazuya, who previously co-wrote most of the songs Maon recorded for 2014 anime series “Tokyo Ravens”. Compared to the singer’s previous B-sides, it’s certainly above-average, but unless DEAD OR LIE has also piqued your interest, it’s hardly a compelling reason to invest in the single.