Month: January 2017

[Review] Bing Bing – AOA

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged 2 Comments

AOA has made their return to the stage with their first album, Angel’s Knock. Their first album includes two title tracks: Bing Bing (the one being reviewed) and Excuse Me (will be released later). This is their first Korean comeback since Good Luck, released back in May last year.  Since then, Youkyung (drummer) left the group and the girls released a Japanese album as well.

Bing Bing is like an upgraded version of Like A Cat, released back in 2013. The chorus gave me those feels and sound similar enough to make their previous song pop into my head. There is that sensual feeling to it. Bing Bing is, however, more retro sounding and attempts to appeal to that genre of pop music. But it doesn’t hit the right targets. Instead, I think the has a messy element to it. The first part of Chanmi’s rap was pretty good, then they repeated it. Then they chopped her part up and made it choppy and jagged. Jimin’s vocals throughout were okay. That whininess that I used to complain about is back. I don’t know about her long note in the bridge. A part of me thinks it is interesting, while the other part thinks just doesn’t work at all. It sounds like those long sounding monotone “beeps” you would imitate when you are younger to act as if you are swearing or cursing. There isn’t anything in the song that makes it appealing or makes me want to return to replay the song. The vocals are okay and there isn’t anything else worth talking about.

The video is okay. I like the magical element and how everything seemed to shot on the one or two sets that appeared in the video. Like magic in general, I question the validity of the magic tricks. But then again, thanks to the power of editing and CGI nowadays, we have the Bing Bing music video. The video is quite simple and the girls went for a very sensual but classy look at the same time. Everything looks retro, fitting the song quite nicely. But like the song, it just lacks the appeal and isn’t memorable as you would expect it to be. But if you are a fan of the girls of AOA and their sexier side, do check out both Bing Bing and Excuse Me.

The dance makes sense. “It’s dizzy. Bing Bing. In My Head. Bing Bing“. And then they do motions around the head as if they had a headache or dizzy because of a guy. The dance itself looked quite cool overall. I know it is only the start of the year, but it sets the standard high. The girls themselves looked spectacular performing this song.

Rating – 5.5/10

 

 

[Review] FxxK It – Big Bang

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

Big Bang has made their long awaited comeback with their latest album, M.A.D.E. The album consists of all the song released in 2015, such as Loser and Bae Bae (just to name a few), along with 3 new tracks. This is their final release as a 5-member group as T.O.P will be enlisting in the near future. This is the review for just FxxK It. A review for Last Dance was released earlier, which you can access by clicking here.

Compared to Last Dance, I don’t fancy this song as much. However, I still like it. There were a few things that did leave me a little bored with this song. The song fits the party setting quite nicely and has certain parts have a nice kick to it, giving the song a pumping feel. While the rest of the world continues to praise G-Dragon’s rap, I think of the opposite. I don’t have a problem with his rapping. It is just his part feel a little empty. I am a guy who enjoys listening to vocals more than rapping. But we all know how epic GD’s rapping can be (you would have to be in denial if that is the case). So I was a little disappointed. T.O.P’s fitted perfectly with the song.  However, Taeyang’s and Daesung’s part built up quite nicely to the chorus (and in my opinion, did the song a huge favour). The chorus was quite simple but still catchy, like all Big Bang’s choruses. Singing along to it every time it plays. Seungri was left with the bridge and he did an amazing job. My other disappointment with the song (as a whole) felt a little repetitive. It was more prominent here than other songs because I felt it most at my two favourite parts (Daesung and Taeyang’s). But besides all of that it is still a solid party song when you just want to go and have a good time.

Many people are comparing the music video to We Like 2 Party and I do agree with this. Just everything looks more planned out and staged. This music video gives a nice contrast to Last Dance and shows the more typical side to Big Bang that we are used to. Which is the crazy and fun side, like they made a disco into a club within seconds. Just moments before, they were peddling down a market on a 5 seater bike, with a bunch of shop keepers (mainly old folks) standing around awkwardly. Besides that, there really isn’t much to say. I am not disappointed with the video in any way. Everything matched the song and lyrics of the song.

Rating – 7.5/10

[Review] Last Dance – Big Bang

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

Big Bang has made their long awaited comeback with their latest album, M.A.D.E. The album consists of all the song released in 2015, such as Loser and Bae Bae (just to name a few), along with 3 new tracks. This is their final release as a 5-member group as T.O.P will be enlisting in the near future. This is the review for just Last Dance. A review for FxxK It will be released very soon.

Despite being released in December, this song leaves a long last impression on you. First time listening to the song, I was blown away. And now it is a song that I am wanting to listen to every time I plug my headphones in. Big Bang has a few excellent ballads up their sleeve, but there is something a little extra with this one that makes it one of their best. I think it might be the circumstance (impending military enlistments) that the band finds themselves in, which gives the song a more emotional and powerful feel. The vocals in this song are superb. Every member takes part in the song vocally, ending with a small yet deep sounding rap sequence by T.O.P. I personally think this would have to be one of their best songs (vocally) ever. The song has a very nice, soft piano instrumental as well. It added to that emotional side that I mentioned earlier and also gave the song a nice swaying effect, which I love. To me, there are no flaws in the song. Nothing is missing, overdone or underwhelming. Everything feels just right with this track.

The music video is visually stunning. Per usual, YG Entertainment did their thing when it comes to music videos. The video fits the song perfectly. You will be surprised how smashing everything and giving the sets a post-apocalyptic feel goes hand in hand with most ballads from a YG point of view (Check out Love Song by Big Bang for reference). I love the cinematography in this video. Everything is shot on an angle and I think it gives a nice effect to the video. G-Dragon’s reunion with his girlfriend for that one last dance at the ending during T.O.P’s rap sequence is quite haunting. But still really something that adds to the video. Someone should just change Taeyang’s hair for crying out loud. I am not a big fan of dreadlocks (refer to any review with someone who has dreadlocks).

Rating – 10/10