Month: October 2020

[Review] Twilight – WEi

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Also kicking off the week alongside SF9 (and a few other releases) is a newcomer. Making their debut today with Twilight and the mini-album Identity: First Sight is WEi. This is a six-member male group under OUI Entertainment. The lineup is quite remarkable as most member have previously debuted already in some capacity. The six members are: Jang Dae Hyun (current soloist and former member of Rainz), Kim Dong Han (current soloist and former member of JBJ), Kim Yo Han (current soloist and former member of X1), Yoo Yong Ha (former member of 1THE9), Kang Seok Hwa and Kim Jun Seo (former member of 1THE9). Each member also hails from either Produce 101 series, YG’s MIXNINE and MBC’s Under Nineteen. Quite an extensive resume and definitely something worth getting excited for.

Not sure about you but I had expected something with more heft or load for their debut track. I just feel that the song underwhelms at first impression, when it should of had a greater impact as you would want for the debut track. I am a little hesitant to say that the song is lackluster overall at this stage, considering that I do have a feeling that the song might end up catching on down the road (more on that in a second). Aside from first impressions, Twilight does manage to showcase potential behind this new group. I did think the vocals were solid (the ‘tu dududu‘ are probably my favourite parts) and the rapping provided some much needed oomph to the song. However, I do think the vocals could have been enhanced with some punchier lines and much stronger melodies. For the playful pop instrumental, the lightness of the song is both a flaw and a strength. I have already mentioned the flaw caused by the lightness (i.e. my opening sentiment of the song). However, the lightness does make the song feel comfortable and pleasant on the ears. That inkling of Twilight potentially growing on me presents itself through the whistles that form part of the instrumentation. I am unsure why they would have such an effect, but it is something that I personally have been going back for. The heavy thumping is also a strong point, providing some of that heft I wanted more of. The acoustic guitars in the bridge were quite nice and helped clear the board to make the final chorus a little more dramatic. Overall, Twilight is a decent debut track. There are some concerns that I have, but who knows if they will even be a thing after more replays of Twilight.

Aside from adopting the typical choreography and closeup formula, the music video features pretty cool set designs that really lifts up the quality of the video. But other than adding a level of coolness to the video, there really isn’t much else to the music video. To say that they help make the music video more captivating will be a reach. There was one standout setting for me. It went to that one particular setting they used twice – a twilight style of lighting and a night-time style of lighting. The difference between them is night and day (pun intended) and each brings a different dynamic. However, I am not sure if it is a rooftop of a building or a stage within a studio.

I noticed during their showcase that some members were holding onto their belts/hand their hands in their pockets, whilst others didn’t. I don’t think that was due to any injuries, as all arms were used in some capacity throughout the performance. It might just have been a consistency issue, which should be rectified to make the performance look slightly more polished. But other than that, it was a good routine. It went intense at the right moments, but quickly reverted back to something that feels more fitting for the rest of the song. I particularly like how much energy they put into their final chorus, which was the best part for me.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10

[Review] Shine Together – SF9

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The week before and the week after Chuseok (a national holiday in South Korea) are extremely loaded with comebacks. We have already bid farewell to the week before, with many comebacks and debuts that I am still trying to catch up on. But KPOP isn’t going to wait around for that. Kicking off the week after is SF9 with the release of Shine Together. It is the title track of the group’s second special single album, Special History Book, which was released today to celebrate their fourth anniversary together as a group and with their fans, FANTASY. This is also the group’s latest comeback after Summer Breeze.

Shine Together is a touching song, where the members express their gratitude to their fans who have been with them for the past four years. If you are expecting a dance track of some kind (and that is what SF9’s title tracks have mainly been) or striking in some manner, Shine Together won’t be fulfilling as the song is more of a mid-tempo ballad. Though, I would think they might get away with a slow paced routine. But if you are looking for a song that showcases their vocal abilities, then Shine Together is the right song for you. They express their emotions quite well, making the song feel warm and inviting to the listener. To fit in, the rappers go with a somewhat soft approach. There was some heft when it comes to Zuho’s rap sequence in the bridge, but this helps build a climax to the song. But I like that they managed to retain some speed, which helps pushes the song along. For the instrumental, it is very atmospheric. It doesn’t feel like your typical pop ballad approach. Instead, the piano and other instrumentation come together to cohesive work with the vocals and rapping to be a warm track that I am sure fans and listeners will find lovely and warm. It is your optimal instrumental for a song of gratitude and happy memories. If I were to be harsh for SF9 and their fans regarding this song (and I don’t want to, given the touching context behind it), I do find that Shine Together is lacking a strong melody. It is a bit wishy-washy during the chorus and I would have liked something with a little more catchiness to make the song more memorable. That being said, I don’t think that is the purpose of the song and Shine Together is fine as it is.

There are a lot of references to SF9 prior today including posters of a few of their previous comebacks, snippets of their concert (which features their fans), their debut mini-album, fan letters, amongst other items. Other than that, we see the members record Shine Together in their makeshift studio and reflect as a group by watching their concert video. It is very endearing and I am sure fans will really like the video. I particularly like how Zuho and Rowoon remade their symbol with polaroids, sticky notes of messages and their fan letters. Definitely meaningful and fitting for their anniversary celebration. I also like how the music video feels fitting for the fall season, which Korea is currently in. At the very end, we see the credits roll by. But instead of credits, I believe we see the names of each member of their fanclub, making it extra special as the music video does mention that it was made in conjunction with the fans.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

[Double Review] Refresh + I Believe – Zico & Kang Daniel / Bae Jin Young & Kim Yo Han

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For the first time ever, I am putting together two songs by two different sets of artists into a double review format. For today’s double review, I will be focusing on Zico and Kang Daniel’s collaboration, Refresh, and Bae Jin Young and Kim Yo Han’s collaboration, I Believe. The reason why I am group these two songs together is because they form part of the 2020 Pepsi and Starship collaboration, which has been occurring lately. Refresh was released back in April of this year for the For The Love of Korea part of the collaboration, while I Believe was released two weeks ago as part of the Heritage Project part of the collaboration. The four artists join a long list of other popular KPOP artists who have participated in the Pepsi and Starship collaboration, including Eunha and Ravi, Ong Seong Woo, and Hongbin and Hyungwon.

Not only does Refresh features the likes of both Zico and Kang Daniel, the song is also co-produced by Steve Aoki. That in itself means that this is a pretty star-studded lineup for a two and half minute song. Both Kang Daniel and Zico sings during the verses, with Zico adding some raps to the song later on in the second verse. These parts were decent, but they don’t really scream out Zico or Kang Daniel in any way. The pre-chorus hook was pretty decent as it gives the song some life and memorability, before dropping a half squeaky and half screechy type of synth in the chorus. Not really the most likeable synth out there, but it has its charm. The saving grace of Refresh is the heavy thumping bass. It probably shows how easily you can satisfy me, but the thumping really added momentum to Refresh for me and accented the right parts at the right times for me.

I Believe is actually a remake of a ballad OST by Shin Seung Hoon, which was released for My Sassy Girl (who remembers this movie?). Bae Jin Young and Kim Yo Han’s version gives it a trendy and fun retro spin, featuring a heavy amount of 80s synthesizer in its instrumental. I have no issues with this style as the instrumental brought a smile to me. They keep the melody from the original and also incorporate some raps, which genuinely surprised me. The song ended up being quite memorable and catchy for me, thanks to the collaborative nature of all the song’s elements. Aside from all the positivity that I am writing about the song (and the positivity that the song brings), I have nothing else to say about the song (and this is a good thing).

For Refresh, the theme was loving Korea (i.e. it was the ‘For The Love of Korea’ project) and there was a lot of traditional influence in the music video. The production value for Refresh was extremely high based on the visual effects that were utilised. I think it was a very suitable music video for Refresh, given the concept of the project and the appearance of both Zico and Kang Daniel in the video. I also liked their outfits and the product placement of Pepsi felt light and suitable. Kang Daniel makes a second appearance in the Pepsi and Starship collaboration project at the start and end of the I Believe music video. While we hear a bit of the Refresh instrumental, Kang Daniel starts a game on an old arcade that segueways into the main body of the music video that features the actual artists of the song. As for Bae Jin Young and Kim Yo Han, the video depicts them having fun whilst alone. I like how they incorporated the 90s filter of a circular frame and the white-washed lighting that many might remember from 90s KPOP music videos. Even their fashion looks like it could have been from that era (though some of it has been modernise to fit the current 20s). I also noticed that both videos acknowledged current events, with a little nod to face masks and elbowing in place of a hug or high-five.

Both songs are quite danceable. However, only I Believe has a proper choreography routine. Based on the music video, it looks pretty good but isn’t anything impressive. The pair do put in a lot of effort for an one off performance and that really lifts the look of the choreography by a lot.

Refresh – Zico & Kang Daniel
Song – 8/10
Music Video – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

I Believe – Bae Jin Young (CIX) & Kim Yo Han (WEi)
Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10

[Double Review] Plant + Whale – Sejeong (Gugudan)

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While I am catching up on more recent reviews (barely even scratched the surface of that list), I am also keeping in mind some of the older releases which I haven’t reviewed yet. One song that falls into this ‘older’ category and has been continually emerging on my playlist at the moment is Kim Sejeong’s latest single, Whale. It was released mid-August and follows the release of Plant. That one was released 2 months prior in July of this year. Both songs haven’t been reviewed yet, so I am going to do it one go in this double review format.

Plant is a ballad, an expected starting point for the solo career of the main vocalist of any group, not just Gugudan. It is a features a pleasant orchestral instrumental, which can be broken down into nice strings and soothing piano. It is extremely slow paced, so it isn’t my preferred type of ballad. But it was still a good one, nonetheless. An interesting observation is that it never climaxes, despite it does do some building to reach that orchestral touch. Another interesting observation is that the song feels relatively short despite doing for almost four minutes. But all of that is okay as Sejeong captivates us with her vocals. They are beautiful and really helps elevate the ballad into an elegant piece.

Whale opts for a little more upbeatness but remains very light for the entirety of the track. But it incorporates a more pop aligned instrumental, which features some nice acoustic guitar and mid-tempo percussion. It reminds me of a number of songs, such as Jeong Eunji’s recent solo comeback, AWay, and AKMU’s Dinosaur. As a result, it feels typical. One good thing about the track is nice Kim Sejeong sounds in the song. I really like the entire bridge of the song, which features a short yet sweet high flutey note at the very end (and the entire sequence is in English). Unfortunately, the song doesn’t earn a 10/10 from me though. When it was first released, it was easily forgettable due to its lightness and typical nature. That bars the song from getting the highest ranking as that thought does linger to this day (and I quite like/recognise it now everytime it pops up on my phone/playlist).

The slow pace of the music video for Plant compliments the slowness of the song. I quite liked that. As for the meaning of the video, I pinched the following interpretation from a YouTube comment (courtesy of kyu). Essentially, Sejeong is lonely in this world. The plastic bags she encounters throughout the video (i.e. the plastic bags in her mobile home, the plastic bags that are floating about while she was in the car and the plastic bag art display in the abandoned warehouse that she dances around) represents the negative thoughts, perceptions and words that she has to deal with. The plant that she grows in her mobile home is essentially the only thing not in a plastic bag and represents positivity in her life, hence why she is smiling at the end. For Whale, there isn’t really a music video. Instead there is a ‘live clip’ that acts as a music video. It is an okay video, focusing on Sejeong and her singing. I would have liked if her company put a bit of money towards a music video, as Whale deserves something with a little more substance. The live clip was pretty unfocused and had this yellow hue hazy filter which dulled the experience for me.

Plant
Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

Whale
Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

[Album Review] Love Synonym #1: Right For Me (1st Mini Album) – Wonho

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As per the Sunday schedule, it is time for another album review. And the focus on today’s album review is Love Synonym #1: Right For Me a.k.a. Wonho’s debut mini-album. Featured on this album are both the Korean and English versions of the title track, Open Mind, and the pre-release single, Losing You. To avoid duplication, I will only be including the reviews of those respective songs once and only consider one version of them each for the overall album rating score that I give at the end of the album review. But for the other songs on the mini-album, continue reading onwards!

Love Synonym #1: Right For Me Album Cover

1. Open Mind (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Open Mind. (9/10)

2. I Just – Blissful is how I would describe I Just. It is a very stunning song that demands your attention. It is a rather simple song, as the instrumental doesn’t go further than its pop ballad direction. Nor does the song incorporate any complex melodies or vocals, opting to repeat the same smooth sailing melody that is brought to your ear’s courtesy of Wonho’s oozing vocals. Its simplicity and repetitiveness shouldn’t be seen as a flaw though. It is still a wholesome track that I couldn’t stop replaying. I particularly loved the ‘Oh I’ hook, which made the song very memorable for me. (10/10)

3. Lost In Paradise – I found Lost In Paradise to be a generic track. I do admit that the preceding track did set the bar high and those expectations just wasn’t not met. There were some good moments, such as his solid vocals, catchy lyrics and falsetto approach leading into the chorus. But the instrumental really dragged down the track for me. It was one of those ‘heard before’ instrumental that didn’t excite me. For some uniqueness points, there was the repetitive high pitch squeaky synths that felt ‘one of a kind’. But they were an odd touch to the song. (6/10)

4. Losing You (Pre-release Track) – Click here to read the review for Losing You. (10/10)

5. Interlude: Runaway – The interlude steers the album in a completely different direction. It is largely an instrumental piece, thus I won’t be including it in my final review score. Following three tracks, Runaway steps into a more intense and upbeat domain of music, similar to how Wonho set up the album with the title track and what I expected more of on the album. However, I question its purpose. There is only one new track following this one (the English version of the title track and Losing You features right). But it is a good introduction and segue way into the next track.

6. With You – With You steps back into the upbeat domain of music, as suggested by the preceding interlude. There were moments in With You that reminded me of the level of aesthetic usually reserved for Taemin. And these were really strong moments that I really enjoyed. However, the song manages to stray away from the Taemin mindset when the beat drops, opting for something a little harder than what I associate with Taemin and more so with Wonho. His vocals are extremely nice and follow the same pattern as suggested by the music. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come off as iconic as the title track or I Just. But it still a good song, nonetheless. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.6/10

Love Synonym #1: Right For Me Teaser Image

[Weekly Chart] 1st Week of October 2020

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Today, I am going to get the Weekly KPOP Charts post for this past week out early so I can focus more on the reviews that I had planned to write. A few of them are coming next week (starting Monday), so keep your eyes peeled for those. With that being said, there is a bit to get through (i.e. big jumps and Top 5 breakdown) today in this post, so let’s get moving along.

This past week has been a bit of an odd one. With the limited amount of releases (I only recorded two new chart entries this week), I ended up listening to a lot of songs that I didn’t listen to much in the previous weeks. Hence there were a lot of big jumps in the charts this week (that is, more than 30 positions). MAMAMOO’s Wanna Be Myself experienced the biggest jump this week by 54 positions. Other big jumps include Kim Sejeong’s Whale, ATEEZ’s THANXX, D1CE’s One Summer, ONEWE’s Parting, CHECKMATE’s DRUM and Bae Jin Young and Kim Yo Han’s I Believe.

For the Top 5 breakdown, we have Stray Kids’ Back Door sitting firmly in the top position for the third week in a row. They are followed by TREASURE’s I Love You, which sits in the second position for the second week in a row. Rising into the top 5 from out of the last week’s Top 30 is CHECKMATE’s DRUM, which I reviewed earlier in the week. The Boyz’s The Stealer also rises into the Top 5, though it didn’t jump as much from last week. EVERGLOW’s La Di Da drops down one position into the fifth position this week, thus completing the Top 5 this week. For more of the charts, scroll down below.

  27th Sep – 3rd Oct 2020
Title Artist Status
1 Back Door Stray Kids (=)
2 I LOVE YOU TREASURE (=)
3 DRUM CHECKMATE (▲ 33)
4 The Stealer The Boyz (▲ 2)
5 La Di Da EVERGLOW (▼ 1)
6 Crinimal Taemin (SHINee) (▲ 5)
7 MADE FOR TWO VAV (▲ 18)
8 Flame CRAVITY (▲ 9)
9 Goblin (Favorite Boy) A.C.E (▲ 25)
10 Bon Voyage YooA (Oh My Girl) (▲ 3)
11 WANNA BE MYSELF Mamamoo (▲ 54)
12 Shoot The Moon BDC (▲ 28)
13 Who U Are Kang Daniel (▲ 5)
14 Whale Kim Sejeong (Gugudan) (▲ 51)
15 I Miss You B.O.Y (▲ 18)
16 One Summer D1CE (▲ 42)
17 RIDE KNK (▼ 5)
18 One (Monster & Infinity) SuperM (▲ 1)
19 Bad Idea MOONBIN & SANHA (ASTRO) (▼ 16)
20 Lovesick Girl BLACKPINK (new)
21 Think of Dawn GHOST9 (▲ 11)
22 W.A.Y ENOi (▲ 19)
23 THANXX ATEEZ (▲ 42)
24 Hey There Seven O’Clock (▲ 18)
25 Parting ONEWE (▲ 40)
26 GUNSHOT KARD (▲ 21)
27 Helicopter CLC (▼ 12)
28 Beautiful Scar Lee Eun Sang ft. Park Woo Jin (AB6IX) (▲ 28)
29 I Believe Bae Jinyoung & Kim Yo Han (▲ 33)
30 Not Shy ITZY (▼ 20)

Songs leaving the charts this week are:

  • BOOM BANG – M.O.N.T
  • Who U Are – Kang Daniel
  • Dumdi Dumdi – (G)I-DLE
  • DBDBDIB – SATURDAY
  • JUICY – Rocket Punch
  • Summer Day Summer Night – Sanduel (B1A4)
  • Count – 1THE9
  • W.A.Y – ENOi
  • Aloha Oe – Cherry Bullet
  • BOY – TREASURE
  • ULLAELI KKOLLAELI – 1TEAM
  • Retro Love – BOYHOOD (Nam Do Hyun)
  • 2 KIDS – Taemin (SHINee)

See you in the next review!!

[Review] Lovesick Girls – BLACKPINK

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Kicking off the intense month of October is BLACKPINK, who makes their third return of the year with their long-awaited first album! With the group’s success since the start of their career, fans have been actively pursuing a studio album for the group for the past four years they have been active. Prayers and requests were answered earlier this year when YG Entertainment confirmed confirmed the album for September (though I personally was in a ‘see it before I believe it’ mindset), but it was later pushed to October. Lovesick Girls headlines the album, which was been titled as The Album, and features alongside BLACKPINK’s How You Like That (released back in July) and Ice Cream featuring Selena Gomez (released in August).

Lovesick Girls is a great changeup to the group’s (and YG Entertainment’s) usual style of music. More recently, the company’s artists have been exploring new sounds and genres, though most of these releases do opt for some of the usual YG tactics. Lovesick Girls seems to be the biggest step away from the usual style, by opting for a dance pop profile rather than the hip-hop roots associated with BLACKPINK and their company. It also doesn’t include the usual chant-like chorus and drop chorus, nor does it build up to an anthem-like final chorus (in an attempt to changeup the song in its final moments). No doubt, all of this is quite refreshing. To me, Lovesick Girls is an impressive display of BLACKPINK’s vocals and rapping. The pre-chorus is the prime example of the great vocals, before the group joins forces with an all-in approach and catchy hummable melody. I do have some minor complaint about the chorus vocals though. I didn’t like how the slight echoey nature of the chorus. I felt that the producers had a strong opportunity to make this part dynamic, but opted for a much weaker approach. It didn’t ruin the song for me, but it did strip away the energy that was building towards to the chorus. The rapping that features briefly in the first verse and more prominently in the second verse gives the song more heft and depth, with Lisa and Jennie incorporating a brief hip-hop touch to their delivery. What really made the rapping better was how well it complimented the instrumentation. If the instrumentation was the cake, then Jennie and Lisa’s rapping would be the icing. In addition to that sequence, I really liked what the acoustic guitars brought to the verses, further complimenting that dance pop styled-chorus. Overall, Lovesick Girls is definitely a great song!

What a stunning music video. For once, BLACKPINK is not in a built set. I think we have seen BLACKPINK out in the open air before, but it has been a while if I remember correctly. The music video shows the members in a happy relationship one second and the next second are in an argument or in tears over their relationship. It works well with the lyrics, which is all about them wanting to love someone forever but only knowing the pain of heartbreak. The most captivating part of the music video belongs to Rose during the bridge of the song. The way she throws black paint across the pink wall (subtle BLACKPINK reference?) and is later seen covered in black paint and crying in the bathtub is such an impactful sequence for me. Her acting was superb. I had to rewatch that sequence a few times to properly take it all in.

The choreography looks good. The chorus starts off simple but it slowly builds in complexity as the routine involves moving about. The way they got into formation for some parts (as shown in the music video) looks quite clever as well. Other than that, I don’t have much else to say.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

[Album Review] HJZM: The Butterfly Phantasy (3rd Mini Album) – A.C.E

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The next album on the reviewing list is A.C.E’s third mini-album, HJZM: The Butterfly Phantasy, which was released early September (exactly one month ago, to be precise). It is also my first album review for the group, so I am excited to dive into A.C.E’s side tracks. Featured on this album is the title track, Goblin (Favorite Guy), and the pre-release track, Stand By You (which was released back in the middle of this year). Alongside those two tracks that I have previously reviewed, there are three additional tracks to dive into. Let’s get going!

HZJM The Butterfly Phantasy Album Cover

1. Golden Goose – Whilst Golden Goose sounds different to what A.C.E usually releases, Golden Goose aligns with the intensity that we know and love from A.C.E’s title tracks. However, the members manages to infuse a little more character into the song through the hip-hop delivery of their vocals and rapping, similar to how A.C.E’s latest title track differed from the usual highly intense EDM we get. Likewise, Golden Goose opts for strong trap beats and instrumentation. It was undeniably powerful, promising and kicks off the album with a highly energetic track. The track did remind me of SEVENTEEN’s Getting Closer (a song which I really enjoyed) at certain parts. And if it manages to encapsulate that song, then Golden Goose is doing something right. (9/10)

2. Goblin (Favorite Guy) (도깨비) – Click here to read the full review for (Goblin) Favorite Guy. (10/10)

3. Baby Tonight (황홀경) – Baby Tonight opts for a R&B track. I really like their vocal direction, with raspy and husky vocals being employed by all members. Altogether the song comes off as wholesome and quite warming. It felt like a decent song for the Autumn season. The main chorus hook was catchy and helped make the song quite appealing. It doesn’t stand out as much as the other songs on the album given that it was a more typical sound that we hear often in KPOP. But it was a good showcase of the member’s talents away from the EDM genre of music. (8/10)

4. Stand By You (편지를 써) – Click here to read the full review for Stand By You. (8/10)

5. Clover – For the first 20 seconds, the opening instrumental was totally my style. It felt so calming with the acoustic guitar. It felt refreshing and very appropriate for the Summer season that Korea was coming out of. I liked how Clover‘s instrumental became mixed with modern EDM synths. Typical, but still worth listening to it. The pop ballad is enhanced when the members start singing. Their vocals are nicely displayed. Jun’s hoarse voice was just amazing. The rapping was nicely tweaked to fit into the pop ballad genre and didn’t stray away from the main backbone to be its own thing (which tends to be the case with some songs nowadays). The melodies were nice and catchy. Overall, Clover was just a nice to ride out on. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.8/10

HZJM The Butterfly Phantasy Teaser Image

[Review] Think of Dawn – GHOST9

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Another review in the same day? Who am I?

The second debut of last week that I want to cover today is GHOST9’s. The group hails from MAROO Entertainment, which is also the home to Park Ji Hoon. GHOST9 contains nine members (Junhyung, Dongjun, Shin, Kangsung, Junseong, Prince, Woojin, Taesung and Jinwoo), with the latter three also part of the TEEN TEEN project group lineup that made their debut last year with It’s On You. Other members of the group come from MIXNINE and Produce X 101 backgrounds as well. The group made their debut last Thursday with Think of Dawn as the title track.

When I checked out Think of Dawn last week, I didn’t think much of it. And unfortunately, it seems like that statement still stands true a week after it was released. It takes on the noisy side form EDM, with some of the instrumental becoming slightly overwhelming when the focus should have purely been on the member’s vocals and rapping. There are a few examples of noisy EDM that I liked this year and I felt that I would have enjoyed Think of Dawn if the producers mixed the song a bit better, so that the members would have been more of the focus rather than the instrumental. But aside from that, it features a strong instrumentation that is extremely powerful to see on stage (more on that later). And their vocals and rapping were of a good standard. I did like how smooth the falsetto vocals in the pre-chorus and chorus felt, contrasting nicely with the intense and almost-erratic nature of the EDM instrumentation. I feel that the song could have been enhanced with some individual flair. To me, Think of Dawn could have been released by a number of other male groups active this year. It was pretty much a ‘heard before’ sound throughout majority of the track. The instrumental dance breakdown was a pleasant surprise. I liked the inclusion of it and its overall intensity, but this would have been a great opportunity to have gone down a unique route. Overall, a decent debut track.

It seemed like the music video didn’t have much to it other than that choreography and closeup formula (I really need to decide which order the two C’s should be in and stick with it). However, at the very end, we see one of the members flip a switch, revealing the massive cyclops robot that follows the members at the very of the music video. The presence of this robot raises questions, some of which are answered in the prequel video ‘Cinematic World‘. However, how did the members get stuck in the set of this music video? And what did the ending of the prequel video mean? I guess we will find out in their next music video/comeback. Story aside, I find such a robot to be very eerie (how fitting for the month of October) and the suspense at the end really sets the bar for the next comeback. I wished they included some of that suspense throughout the earlier parts of the MV. That would have made the video a little more captivating to watch.

As mentioned earlier, the song enables the performance to be very powerful. And that is exactly what we get. I quite like that. But they could have gone for something a little more impressive at the start. It looked cool but compared to other stunts that we have seen this year, it falls short. The performance climaxes during the instrumental dance break, which looked awesome.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

[Review] DRUM – CHECKMATE

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Two reviews tonight. Coming your way now.

Today, I want to focus on the debuts last week. First is the debut of an extremely rare CO-ED group. It is a very small niche within the KPOP community, with only two active groups (KARD and Tiger-K ZERO from the top of my head), so there is definitely more room for CO-ED groups in the industry. Coming from GRACE COMPANY Entertainment, CHECKMATE is a five-member group consisting of Sieun, Suri, Nason, Yongseok, and Noah. They debuted last week on the 21st with DRUM.

Unlike what the song’s title suggest, DRUM lacks dynamism from the get-go. To me, drums (the instrument) symbolisms power and depth in music. We don’t really get much of either in the song, which is a pity as I feel like DRUM was going in all the right directions. It did have some catchy energy and flair through the moombahton influence embedded in the instrumental. Both of these could have been enhanced to the next level by somehow incorporating power and depth within the music. Aside from the instrumental, the members attempt to put their best foot forward through their vocals and rapping. There was some catchy vocal melodies that the female members brought in the pre-chorus sequence and the chorus. As much as these melodies were catchy and easy to get into, I found all their vocals to have this certain dullness to them. They just weren’t interesting and didn’t have much individual colour. (On the flipside, it is quite refreshing to see the male members take on a vocalist role as well). Likewise, the rapping just didn’t have momentum to grab my attention. It should of as the song had some flair that would have enabled for the rap sequence to gain some edge, which occurs in some groups (i.e. in such songs, the rappers manage to outshine the rest of the group). It seems like whatever CHECKMATE is doing, it is definitely in the right direction. It just wasn’t executed as well. If the song proved anything, there is some potential behind this group, which makes me hopeful for their next release.

Apart from taking on that close-up and choreography setup, the music video doesn’t elicit much from me. The sets were pretty ordinary and they had some good closeups that captured their visuals well. I am a little surprised that there was no images of drums flashing throughout the music video. I think some coloured dusts bouncing off the drums would have worked in this video and added an additional element of fun. The producers may have thought this was a cliche idea, but I reckon it would have been fine.

To me, the performance was a highlight for this debut package. I liked the drum imagery they had incorporated during the chorus and the body rolls. Their movements helped made the song seem a lot more lively than what it really felt without seeing the performance, so good on them for that!

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.7/10