CNBLUE returns after a year with their new single Love Cut and mini-album, WANTED. The last time we heard from the band as a whole was their grand return to the music industry after military enlistment late last year with Then, Now and Forever. Since then, CNBLUE had been fairly quiet, with a Japanese release mid-year, titled Zoom.

This seems to be a week of pleasant songs. Love Cut is another addition to this list. For me, Love Cut tethers between the the sides of pleasant. For those who don’t know, I have used the word ‘pleasant’ in both a positive (the song indeed has been blissful and sounds very nice overall) and a negative manner (the song is limited at just that and doesn’t go beyond being pleasant). The instrumental features the iconic wild west whistle and acoustic guitar, and ultimately develops into a mid-tempo rock track. If I am being honest, this sound profile that the band has gone for isn’t original, but it does come off somewhat refreshing as it has been a while since we have heard a song that features such sounds. But I find it very catchy and I personally don’t mind it. I liked the kick that the rock gives Love Cut in the choruses, which makes the song more appealing to me. However, like many songs that I describe as ‘just pleasant’, I think there is room for the band to go a little harder. I wished there was more to the rock, especially during the end to give the song the bold ending that would have set it part from the rest of the competition. I also desire CNBLUE to return to their more powerful rock days, as that is what I prefer, and an amplified rock sound in this song would have been enough to satisify that craving. Similarly, I wished there was more character and profile to the vocals. I will touch on this more in the music video section, but I just feel like the Yonghwa’s vocals were just a bit dull. Overall, Love Cut is a pleasant song that could go either way.

The music video was one of those ones that started off good, but didn’t end good. With the wild west influence in the song, it made sense for the video to take on a wild west concept. Set in a saloon bar, it seems like the members are after the female bandit. She does a good job of distracting them, and ambushes them after a card game. All three members are tied up, but the members escape with scissors. I guess this a a visual way of saying that the members are severing the ties between them and the female bandit (i.e. their relationship). But I just thought the way they shot everything and made it all a tad too dramatic looked a bit too funny for my liking. I wished the guns were still there in some capacity, as I don’t think I would trust cowboys with scissors in a fight. My other issue with the song was the poor lip-syncing on Yonghwa’s part. When I mentioned that he sounded dull in the song, the video made it worse.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6.7/10