Month: November 2017

[Review] 11° – Minah (Girl’s Day)

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Minah has made her solo return with 11°. It has definitely been a while since we heard a solo single from the main vocalist of one of my personal favourite girl groups. The last being I Am A Woman, Too. That being said, Minah hasn’t been on the sidelines over the large gap between solo releases. Alongside her work with Girl’s Day, she has been busy acting in a number of dramas such as Beautiful Gong Shim (which also stars Nam Goong Min). 

11° is not the first ballad of the season, but it is one of the few that has me sticking around. It may because of bias, but this track has me sticking around for other reasons. The song is actually quite good. Minah’s vocals go well with the softer guitar-based instrumental and you can hear the heartbreak that she is trying to convey throughout the song in her voice. Put simply, it is extremely easy to get lost in this track and there is a soothing effect which I desperately need featuring in this song. There is something that I am not 100% keen on in this song. In the middle of the song, Minah attempts to change it up (to avoid repetitiveness and blandness) with a change in delivery. But honestly, I thought that slight change was a little too awkward sounding. It was needed but I personally didn’t think that was the particular way to go. 

The music video beautifully portrayed the meaning behind the lyrics. Essentially the song is about the immediate thoughts that go through people’s heads after a breakup. And throughout the video, you can grasp that solemn feeling that followed her and her breakup. As she cleaned the house, I assumed she felt the emptiness. The ending, when the lights went out, made her think of her ex-lover. Probably how he would have fixed it for her, but now she had to do it alone. I just thought the video went well with the song.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 10/10 
Overall Rating – 9.4/10

[Review] She’s Mine – VAV

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VAV is back with a new single, She’s Mine. To me, the group is relatively new, as I only heard of them this year and started reviewing them this year, starting with Flower (You) and ABC (Dance of the Night). But you might be surprised that they have been on stage since 2015 with Under The Moonlight.

She’s Mine is another amazing song that is going to get lost in all the competition that they will be facing. Which is definitely heartbreaking, especially since so many people will go without listening to such an excellent sounding track. Particularly, in the first few seconds, I could hear the confidence in their voices, which makes it a whole new song. But what I liked more about the song was the choruses they had going on. The first chorus (or what I like to call ‘the decoy’) was the very simple repetition, which was underwhelming and disappointing at first glance. The second chorus (the actual chorus) followed shortly after with that really bright and explosive beat. It pairs well with the first chorus and gives the entire song a whole new facelift. Vocally, even though I touched on it before, the song is rock solid, while the raps were equally as grand. Overall, the song is addictive and definitely a bop to listen to.

The music video was also quite good and it seems like VAV is the next boy group to join the confusing route that many KPOP music videos go for. It seems they are planning some heist or trying to break their friend out of that ‘up close and personal’ prison. But then I have a feeling that it is an ‘every man for their own’ type of situation in the video. In other words, I have no idea whatsoever on what is going on in the video. But it was pretty interesting to watch. Just not fond of the sound effects that ended up being played over the actual song at the end.

I actually like the choreography for this song. It was very captivating to watch and extremely fitting for the song.  The dance break was quite cool and that confidence I spoke of before was definitely seen in the performance.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

[Review] Crazy Sexy Cool – ASTRO

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November is proving to be one KPOP party with the number of confirmed comebacks for just next week alone. Kicking off the November comebacks is ASTRO, with their latest title track, Crazy Sexy Cool, and mini-album Dream Part 2. The boy group previously promoted Baby in June, serving as the main song of their Part 1 of the Dream series.

Listening to the song for the first time, I am worried that the song doesn’t have that needed impact. The start of the song is very underwhelming and slow. But the song does get better along the way, with that thumping bass during the chorus. The instrumental is quite funky, described as a nu-disco genre, but it doesn’t feel that way. I am not too sure what exactly it sounds like (it is not bad, so don’t misunderstand), I just can’t place my finger on it. There isn’t much of a hook, in my opinion, that leaves the song forgettable for the most part. The vocal and rapping work in the song is quite good and the instrumental (during the chorus) adds energy to make it sound more lively. That part just before the chorus, where they strip everything away, is pretty damn good.  To sum up, it is a pretty nice song to listen to. If there was a more decent hook, I would have enjoyed it more.

Curious boys meet Narnia? Mistaken boys believing things they are seeing in the dark? I have no idea what this video is about. They happen to see a silhouette which somehow leads them to their wardrobe, which leads them to different places. Following the silhouette, they have a few wardrobe changes along away (a perk of having a magical wardrobe?), until they realize that the silhouette was a figure of their imagination. That’s my understanding. Though those plot twists at the end make things a little more confusing. But I will admit, it was fun to watch. It was a great video, which went well with the song.

Their performance is okay. Not exactly memorable but it has that ASTRO vibe that reminds me of their past choreographies. Maybe that is because they are performing it but it feels just right for them.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating –  7/10