Chungha is going all out with her upcoming comeback. Today, she released what seems to be the first pre-release single off her future release, which does not have a confirmed date just yet. The pre-release song is titled Stay Tonight and features both a music video and choreography, which is definitely multiple steps further than most artists take for a pre-release song. Chungha previously release Everybody Says (a ballad) earlier this year. I have yet to review this and will do so sometime in the future. Her last release that I did review happens to beSnapping from last year.
I am kind of glad that this is only a pre-release single and not the actual title track. I find Stay Tonight to be a little messy for my liking. The chorus, pre-chorus and verses seemed a little mashed together and this sounded as if something spoke in a sentence without taking a breath. I also find this messy mash to be interesting as the pre-chorus acted as the suspense mechanism, effectively delaying the drop that forms part of the chorus. While it does sound like I am disliking the song so far, I do like two aspects of the song. The instrumental is the first aspect. The verses has this classy groovy feel, which I really like. The chorus has an awesome, memorable and sassy-feel drop which makes this song a lot more appealing than how I describe it. All of this is totally up Chungha’s alleyway. The ending has a really cool attitude filled sequence, that has practically the same appeal as the choruses, just done with a completely different synth background. The second aspect is Chungha’s vocals. She sounds amazing, which helps keeps the song grounded. Her soaring vocals during the pre-chorus and the bridge are pretty much the main highlights of the song, apart from that final instrumental sequence. While the individual elements of the song were satisfying, it is more so the structure that could have been a little more spaced out in my opinion.
Chungha is definitely a person full of visuals. And this music video highlights just that. Regardless if she dons a casual look, a commanding look, a golden look or a glamorous look, Chungha looks amazing nonetheless. Even she pulls off a lip ring flawlessly. I also thought the sets were visually stunning. The floating panels and the framed rectangular prism all looks superb, which adds to that glamorous touch that the video ended opting for as the video progressed, a concept that without doubt suits Chungha.
Sadly, it has been confirmed that there will be no live performance for Stay Tonight for the time being as it is only a pre-release track. But who knows when it comes to her actual promotions. But this is a stunning choreography. I mean, he literally lies on top of her dancers and have them roll under her, so she moves across (like a conveyor belt). Thats epic. That final sequence also looks stunning and feels pretty much like something she (and any performance queen) would do.
Song – 7.5/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 10/10 Overall Rating – 8.5/10
Starting off another busy week full of comebacks from the industry’s big names is Oh My Girl, with Nonstop. The song features on the group’s seventh mini-album, which also shares the same name as the title track. This is the first comeback since the release of Bungee, the group’s participation on Queendom (where they came second, which earned them more attention and fanfare) and their return to Japan in January 2020. This comeback also marks the return of Jiho who took a hiatus earlier this year to focus on her health.
As South Korea will soon be entering a warmer climate as they have just one month until Summer kicks in, we can definitely expect to see a lot of songs from the KPOP industry to take on an energetic and fun vibe, typical of the season of Sun. While it isn’t the first to take on the Summer vibes, Nonstop is definitely one of the more obvious examples. The instrumental is a mixture of synth-pop and island genres, with a small injection of hip-hop when it came to Mimi’s rap sequences. As the first song of the year to use the island genre, the sound is relatively fresh. Though, I don’t expect this feeling to remain as more songs start adopting the 2018 and 2019 overused tropical and island trend. Oh My Girl’s song is pretty catchy, thanks to the addictive hook that they have embedded at the end of the chorus. I like how they add a little attitude to this one part, which definitely gives the song some character. Likewise, I like Mimi’s rap section as they added some edge to the song. What I also like about the song is that despite it being bright and energetic, I am glad that the group doesn’t go back to their cutesy roots. There is some points in Nonstop that does steer in that direction, but the song manages to stay on the more likeable side.
The song is about falling and loving for a friend. And they did so in a very beautiful and colourful video. The video takes on a virtual board game, which I think was a good concept. There is more to just the board game however, as their world seems to be overtaken with this virtual theme. This concept on the visual front alone matches the fun vibes that the song contains and the very bright colours really reflect that energetic side of the song, as well. The friend that plays the very important role of lover is a cute teddy bear. The bear does remind me of Ted from the movies, which probably isn’t the best bear/friend to fall in love with. Unless Oh My Girl has that effect on him, which I will totally understand.
The choreography is quite good and very energetic. Overall, I felt the feel and looks of the dance definitely fitted in with the song. There is a bit of aeygo, attitude, edginess and brightness throughout the entire routine. I just don’t find the moves all that memorable, which was a pity.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 7/10 Overall Rating – 8.6/10
I guess you didn’t see this one coming. Another album review! And it isn’t a Sunday or Friday, which is when I usually publish my album reviews. Given that I had a day off work today and I didn’t want to fall behind in the schedule as I find a lot of albums recently released to be worthy of an album review. Today’s focus will be on Suho’s recent solo debut mini-album, Self-Portrait, which was released at the end of March. It features the title track, Let’sLove, which I reviewed on the same date of its release. Let’s see how the rest of the mini-album is.
Self Portrait Album Cover
1. O2– O2 opens the album in what I would describe as a spectacular manner. The start of the song really feels like an atmospheric piece that is very aesthetic, while the subsequent energy that comes from this song really wanted me to continue listening onto the album and is extremely thrilling. The combination of the rock band instrumentation, the heavy bass and the classical orchestra gives off a grand and epic vibe that makes it so appealing. Suho’s voice is very light in this song and just manages to be heard over the instrumental at the end. A fine track to begin the album off with. (10/10)
3. Made In You – Made In You is a song for Suho’s fans. I thought his vocal style in this song was very nice and you can feel his intent to really want to connect with the audience through his voice. The melody that he sings was very pleasant and beautiful. The instrumental is more of a typical pop style, so there was nothing that special in that regards. But the drumbeats were very prominent and this made song captivating to me for a while. I don’t really have much else to say other than it is nice sound song. (8/10)
4. Starry Night (암막 커튼) – Starry Night is a rock ballad takes time to build up to its final form. But it is a ride that I am willing to take again and again as one of the charms of Starry Night is essentially that music journey that Suho takes us in this song. At the start, the song keeps to that ballad side and driven by just piano. A band influence kicks in when he enters the chorus region. More of that rock influence comes in as the song progresses. Once we reach the final chorus, the epic vibes return as the song reaches the climax during this part. I also like how the song returns to how it started at the end, which gave it a nice ended. Suho also sounded very dreamy in the song. (10/10)
5. Self-Portrait (자화상) – The album’s title is Self-Portrait and is also the same name of the fifth track on the album. The song has a rock ballad-like instrumental and it had a very pleasant melody which I enjoyed. The instrumental was also very complementary to Suho’s vocals, which were quite blissful. The harmonies in the bridge with the backing vocals really helped bolden this rock ballad and I really liked the autotuned echo during the chorus. There is a sentimental feel to the song, which you also get from the lyrics as well. Altogether, the song came together quite nicely. (8.5/10)
6. For You Now (ft. Younha) (너의 차례) – For You Now finishes the album with an piano dominant track. There is a bit more to the instrumental, but everything else sounded very minor to the piano. The song also features Younha, a well-known vocalist in the Korean music industry (I will get around to reviewing her comeback earlier in the year sometime in the future). I also find this track to be breathtaking. The two singers go extremely well with one another. Their harmonies blend nicely with one another. During their individual segments, there is a good sense of stillness that comes over me as I listen to the song. Altogether, it is a captivating ending to the album. (9/10)
The next album I wish to review is a more recent release. Actually, this is the first album released in April of this year that I am reviewing. I am talking about (G)I-DLE’s recent comeback, Oh My God and mini-album, I Trust. This was released at the start of the month, so it is pretty much clear that I am still a month behind on the reviewing agenda. I am carefully scheduling the album reviews so I don’t fall too behind, so just don’t worry yet. Here is my album review for I Trust.
2. Luv U (사랑해) – Luv U differs greatly from (G)I-DLE’s usual hip-hop sound. There instrumental employs a very interesting and experimental mix of synths which actually sound very sleek and unique. I really like how deep the instrumental goes and how this contrasts with that squeaky high pitch synth in the chorus. There is also a high dependence on bass, which really gives the song that foundation. I also the build-up to the chorus, which helps balances out the song. The vocal work and rapping were pretty good. My favourite part has to be ‘I Luv U, I Luv U, I Luv U’ repetition, which replayed in my mind for a while after I initially heard the song. (9/10)
3. Maybe – This album definitely thrives on the epicness that the songs have. This song really uses the bass to its advantage, building upon the chorus which features that cool sketchy synth. The bass is toned slightly for the verses, but it is still present. I also really like that ‘Maybe’ that they speak so coolly. I also like Soyeon’s speaking lines during the chorus. The verses were also pretty solid, featuring really fresh and pretty vocals. Altogether, Maybe forms an epic vibe and really has a lot of impact that I just cannot shake from my mind. (10/10)
I am not able to find an official video for Maybe, so excuse me for using a line distribution video to feature in this post.
4. Lion – I previously reviewed Lion as part of my review of all the final Queendom performances. You will need to scroll down to the bottom of the post, as that is where I reviewed Lion. Click here to read the full review for Lion. (9/10)
We are at the end of a busy week full of comebacks. And I have covered a most of the major comebacks and releases this week over the last few days. But due to a planning issues, I cannot get around to do them all. Hence, why you sometimes see reviews days, weeks and months late. IMFACT’s latest release, LIE, happen to fall into the days category, which isn’t too bad compared to other reviews I have delayed. This is the group’s first comeback in over a year since the release of Only U in early 2019. LIE is has been confirmed to be the title track for the group’s upcoming first mini-album, LL, which will be released next week. A very interesting promotional tactic for the group’s title track to unveiled a week before the actual release of the album.
The other day when I was reviewing APRIL’s recent comeback, I did mention that it would a pity for them to take a break and return with the exact same sound. But I did not need to worry as they used that time to reinvent their sound and it is proving to be very successful. I wish IMFACT did the same thing, as they are very underrated and definitely deserve some attention. Despite being absent from the stage for the same amount of time, the group did not reinvent themselves. LIE relies on that deep house EDM sound that we had heard many times in the past from many artists. While this does make the group fall into the trap of releasing another ‘typical track’, there is something about LIE that just sticks out at me. It could be that the song features a fake (more so subdued) drop at the start of the choruses that I thought were very slick and makes the second half of the chorus feel a lot more explosive that if it was stuck in the front and followed standard conventions. It could be the fact that the rest of the track featured a more clean sound, a feeling that I don’t often get for an entire EDM track. That, or the display of impressive vocal and rapping work from all the members. There was a captivating feel to these two aspects of the song that had me coming back for more. Sure, they could have been more robust and dynamic with their sound, But LIE does an impressive job, in my opinion.
The music video for LIE follows that closeup and choreography combination format. But there are a few elments that has my interestied in the music video. There is a nice aesthetics with the video, thanks to the darkness. The way the colour comes and goes (and how there was usually one colour dominating the screen once colour entered the visuals) was also really interesting aspect of the video. It makes the music video a bit edgy and cool looking. I also like that scene where they were all standing in a circle with microphones and the camera just circles around them. The pictures on the way that Taeho pulls off the walls seem to depict gender neutrality (you can’t tell based on just their silhouette), which indirectly shows us that the group is support the LGBT community. Their acting was pretty good in this video as well. You can definitely see them going that emotive direction based on their acting, which aids the song.
IMFACT’s performance that accompanied LIE looked amazing. There was that slick feel to it when they got to the first half of the chorus. And there was a subtle explosion in this choreography when it came to the second half of the chorus. The rest of the performance was equally as fitting, which definitely makes the performance appealing to watch.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 8/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.5/10
Since the start of the album review segment, there are many artists that I always cover, as their songs are always so good. And there are other artists whom I never dedicated an album review to as I have not really been satisfied with their albums enough. VICTON happens to be one of the artists in the latter category. I may return to their albums from the past through the Past Album Review (PARs) segment, but I have yet to come across an album by VICTON that warrants an album review. Until a few weeks ago, when I listened to the group’s sixth mini album, Continuous, which was released in early March. The mini-album featured the group’s latest title track, Howling. Let’s have a listen to the rest of Continuous.
Continuous Album Cover
1. Nightmare – Kicking off the album is Nightmare. Like the song’s title suggest, there is a dark sound featuring throughout it. The song kicks off with a haunting piano piece that resembles what we would commonly know as ‘haunted organs’. The song maintains the eerie feeling with a simple yet repetitive piano sequence in the background, which manages to shine through a whole bunch of heavy and deep beats. What I think stands out in the song is effect at the very end of the chorus. Don’t know what the effect would be called/described as, but it made the song quite cool. The singing was awesome, while the rapping was really dynamic (and probably my favourite out of the two – after all, Hanse is Freddy freaking Krueger). What a great start to the album. (9/10)
3. All I Know – All I Know has a very impressive instrumental. It is a simple pop tune, predominately featuring guitar. There is also a snapping element to the instrumental and a deep beat to it. It may not be a unique sound, which is what I am seeking for usually. But provided that it isn’t something that is too heavily used at the present and it doesn’t give off an eye-rolling ‘again’ type of feeling, then I am happy to overlook the lack of uniqueness. Plus, it is always nice to revisit a familiar or nostalgic sound, such as the pop sound in All I Know. VICTON’s vocals also add a soothing touch to the song. Even the rapper, who has a voice well suited for an intense sound, was well fitted for this pop sound. The song’s melody was very easy on the ears and also quite catchy. (8.5/10)
4. Petal– Petal brings back that EDM pop feel that we commonly see as b-sides on various KPOP albums. Petal isn’t hard hitting like most EDM tracks. Actually, I would liken the song to a petal floating in the wind. That type of light music. There is a decent beat to it, but it doesn’t strike me as something memorable. A similar comment can be made in regards to the vocals. Their vocals do compliment the song’s light style, but I don’t find the melody to be strong enough to help make it memorable. The rapping by Seungwoo and Hanse does hold some promise, though I am leaning towards a similar comment after multiple listens. I do note that none of this means the song is bad. It was just not memorable enough to avoid being the ‘skippable’ track. (7/10)
5. White Night – As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, almost all KPOP albums must contain a ballad. It is an unwritten rule that somehow ever artist just follows. VICTON is not exception and White Night is the ballad of the album. The instrumental is very typical, starting off with a piano that ends up featuring throughout the entire song. The second verse brings in the drums but the song stays slow. The vocal work is a lot better in this song, as you can sense some emotion behind their voices. There is just a delicate feel behind their voices. But it is the rappers that shine in this song. They wowed me with their impressive sequences, which I feel like is a ‘hidden gem’ within this song. (8/10)
Solar makes her first solo comeback with the release of Spit It Out, which is the title of both her solo comeback mini-album and title track. For those who do not know Solar is, she is one of the members of the talented female group Mamamoo. As the group has become very established in the industry for their amazing vocals and catchy hits, the first half of 2020 has been focused on the member’s solo promotion. Earlier this year, we saw the solo comeback of fellow member Moonbyul with Eclipse, which was an epic comeback. Let’s see if Solar can be epic in her own right with her solo comeback.
Right from the very first second, Spit It Out showcases its edge by a Latin guitar riff and a consistent deep thumping beat. Just launching in with this simple combination and you can tell that the song will be very appealing. The song sounds epic with bass, which is definitely putting my new headphones to good use and I highly recommend you listen to the song with some headphones to get that same epic feel. I do like how they do build on this for the chorus, but I also like how they do keep to this combination for the song. It does raise the concern of consistency and I have to admit that the song very linear, as a result. But there is a sense of refinement if you look on the flip side of this consistency issue, which is a positive in a way. Solar keeps to a husky tone in this song, which I thought was unique. It is very alluring this way and really helps you enjoy the song. Part of me is waiting for a solo release that has her letting her vocal talents loose, knowing that she has that ability to do so. But at the same time, I am glad she doesn’t do this in this song as it would be really cliche. I do have three favourite parts. The first is ‘Set A Fire Fire Fire‘, which acts as the memorable line of Spit It Out. The second has to be the grand feeling of the bridge. The third part has to be the final chorus, where that final chorus really helps makes the drop feel even more impactful and (repetitive term) epic.
The edginess in this video just from the first few seconds of the music video really shows. That whole routine with the feline claws look very intense. They look so sharp that if one move was ill timed, there would have been some blood. Moving aside from that disturbing thought, I thought the use of fluorescent colours was really nice. Combined that with the really ‘out there’ fashion choices (i.e. spaghetti dress, cat claws, rubber gloves) in this video, Solar really knows how to stand out. This actually goes hand-in-hand with the lyrics of the song, which is all about being yourself and not worrying about what other people. The most jaw dropping moment was her bald look. That is a step that I don’t think any female idol has gone for a concept, but I think it is definitely wonderful that she is going to such lengths to make that statement. It definitely serves its purpose and caught everyone’s attention.
I feel like the performance could have been taken a step towards that that wild side more. It seems like it is held back so Solar can put on a live performance with a microphone. There is definitely potential behind this choreography. There is a fair amount of stomping and fierceness mixed into it. And heck, those cat claws come out.
Song – 8.5/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.6/10
It has been a while since we last heard from APRIL. Their last officially Korean release was back in 2018 through their Oh! My Mistake comeback. The group was absent from the Korean music industry in 2019, but they did make their Japanese debut with Oh-E-Oh, which was originally a b-side track on the group’s The Ruby mini-album. Today, the group makes their return with LALALILALA, which is the title track off the mini-album De Campo, which also dropped today.
With over a year’s absence from the industry, it would be a pity if APRIL returned with their usual sound. There isn’t anything wrong with their existing portfolio, other than it just didn’t work with the general public. LALALILALA definitely excites me as it goes in a new direction, just as I had wish. There is a beautiful aura around this song, which suits APRIL’s usually style. The instrumental takes on an electronic profile, which is very different to their previous releases. There is a strong beat in this song that reminds me club setting. There isn’t anything new with this style, as it is pretty much done by every other artist in the industry. But just before the chorus, the producers manage to incorporate what I would call a ‘ray of sunshine’ into the song, which gives way for a pretty and charming chorus. This makes the song conform to the group’s usual youthful and innocent charms. The way they do this comes off as fresh and is very neat as well. The song’s hooks are memorable and catchy and this is aided by good vocals from the members. I also liked how the bridge seemed to incorporate a bit of a rap-speak sequence. A more hard hitting rap sequence would have been better, but I don’t think that would match the group’s image. Overall, LALALILALA is a great return to the industry for APRIL. (It also seems to be paying off, as the group is now charting in high positions on the charts, which was never the case for the group before today).
I think the cosmic concept was really a good choice for APRIL, given that the song does have that vibe coming from it. It is very pretty and I liked how they made it their own, as the cosmic concept is commonly associated with a different female group. I did liked how the music video highlighted the group’s visuals and gave an opprtunity for the group to really pop out in their setting. Based on a comment on YouTube, the story-line of the video is about the members dreaming of success. Whether it is actual story-line is unconfirmed, but I liked the direction it went in. I have screenshot a copy of the comment below:
We only saw snippets of the choreography through the music video. But based on what I saw, I would say that this is a good routine. They bring their youthful charm to the choreography, whilst still adhering to the mature sound that the song steers towards. I liked the swaying moves for the chorus hook for its simplicity but also refinement.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.8/10
Despite already releasing two pre-release songs, H&D officially make their debut today with Soul. For those who may be unfamiliar with their duo, H&D is made up of Lee Han Gyul and Nam Do Hyun. Both were former members of X1 (formed on the Produce X 101 survival show). But the group disbanded after making their debut due to a vote rigging controversy. Each member has gone their separate paths to their home companies, including H&D, who are under MBK Entertainment. Their pre-release songs are Toward Tomorrow (which I have yet to review) and Unfamiliar. Let’s see what the pair in store for their debut.
Soul takes a turn to a more edgy and darker sound. It is definitely different from their bright Toward Tomorrow pre-release and Unfamiliar ballad. But honestly, it is rather typical move for any male group to go down this path. Their differing sound between the tracks they have presented us so far is unique and I do hope that the group does pull off something different in their next comeback. But that is a concern for the future. Let’s refocus on Soul. What Soul does well is put some spotlight on the rapping and vocal work that the duo show in this song. It is a dance track, so both elements automatically become more dynamic and Dohyun’s deep voice still shines through. We could also see more technique in their delivery and sound, which it very exciting for a debut for obvious reasons. Based on this alone, I have the pair on my radar for future releases. The instrumental, especially the chorus, has this very subtle groove to it and I wanted to the producers build on this to make the song even more dynamic and ‘go that extra mile’. This would then make the song a lot more robust, punchy and much less consistent. The song just replayed the same instrumental parts over again and I was a little disappointed with that. I also liked the deep ‘Welcome To My Soul‘ that played throughout the post-chorus hook. Overall, it was a good debut song. But I did want more out of it. Hopefully, they will for their next release.
Shot with the same concrete staircase as the pair’s Unfamiliar music video, I thought it was a good video. There is a little bit of a story line in this video but things seems a little confusing though, so I made a stab at the interpretation (even though I most likely will be wrong). Hangyul and Dohyun are in a car accident but wake up alive. Based on my understanding of the music video, they were meant to die. But as they had given up their ‘soul’ to that statue (i.e. placed roses on the statue), they were kept alive. Each member represents a different form of love. Hangyul seems to represent present love as he has a red rose and is always surrounded by fresh red roses. Dohyun represents past love, which is shown through the dead rose and lack of roses. But as both had given up their souls by placing a rose on the statue regardless of whether or not they are still in love or not, they must remain alive. There was a lot of play on red and blue, which was cool. Their outfits and the sets reflect this using the colours a fair bit.
I like how intense their routine felt, particularly when it came to the chorus. It was reflective of the music and I am always a fan for that. The verses were a weak point, as they didn’t have much choreography to it. Other than that, there isn’t anything memorable or specific worth mentioning regarding the performance.
Song – 7.5/10 Music Video – 8/10 Performance – 7/10 Overall Rating – 7.6/10
Kicking off this week’s exciting list of comebacks is GOT7 with Not By The Moon, which is the title track off the group’s 11th mini-album, Dye. This is the group’s first comeback since their highly successful You Calling My Name, which was released in November last year. I am still in love with that comeback and am hoping to see a leveled up comeback today. Let’s see if GOT7 can deliver!
Not By The Moon is a really good dance track, something that is very expected of GOT7. But I don’t think it had that same wow factor that You Calling My Name had delivered through its very aesthetic profile. However, it does wow me in its own way (more on that later). Not By The Moon felt like that really amped up and fulfilling dance track that you expect from many groups in the KPOP industry, but many just don’t deliver. There is a very dramatic and powerful flair in this song, which gives that ‘amped up’ description credibility. The ‘fulfilling’ description is also credible, given that the song feels whole and doesn’t lack anything, in my opinion. There are a lot of elements that really captivated (and wowed) me in this song. The first were the rappers. Mark had a long rap-speak like segment, which I thought was very different from his many limited sequences in the past. Jackson took up the role of vocalist for the entirety of this track, bringing a nice deep raspy sound to the song. The chorus had a particularly strong melody and the ‘Oh, Swear not by the moon‘ was quite catchy. I also liked how the chorus made the instrumental a little punchy. It is also one of the few instrumentals that just keeps on giving. Youngjae’s high note was amazing and the rest of the vocals were good. It is missing that dynamic touch to really make it go that extra step, but I am not sure what else to add as the song will become a little overwhelming. But other than that little dilemma, this is a very solid song.
One of my many concerns with JYP Entertainment’s video have been that the producers have become a little too reliant on the use of the green screen. We saw the company move away from that style for some of its videos in 2019. But it is still used (as seen in this video) and I am not exactly sure on what to think of it. This video does show good use of the green screen, as it is used to extend the fantastic built sets. But there is a that synthetic feel to it. The song itself seems to be taking pointers from the classical play, Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo swears by the moon. Juliet tells him not, due to the unpredictable nature of the moon (i.e. it just doesn’t stay one shape). There also seems to a dying element to the music, thanks to the presence of the coffin that the masked men (are they GOT7, based on the teasers?) are surrounding (and Youngjae was lying upon). Those masked men and the collapsing building around aren’t really shines of that classic Romeo and Juliet connection, so I am not sure what their story is. But overall, it was a good video.
The choreography itself looks quite good. I really liked how they took a few steps at the start and automatically fell into formation that kick started the entire performance. I also really enjoyed how the ending came together. The powerful dance routine, Youngjae’s high note (guess who my bias is) and the ending formation made to look like the phases of the moon.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 8.5/10 Performance – 9/10 Overall Rating – 8.9/10
It is time to dive into another album. Today’s focus will be on Ong Seong Woo’s recently mini-album release, Layers. I am super excited to be reviewing this album for not other reason other than it is more recent album. I still have one other ‘older’ album to review, but after that, it is all April albums. I also am planning on bringing back the PARs (Past Album Review) segment, though I don’t know how regular that will be. But until I make a solid decision, let’s get stuck into today’s album review, which features both Ong Seong Woo’s We Belong (released in January 2020) and Gravity (released in March 2020).
2. Café (너를 위한 카페) – Café is a nice mellow pop song to listen to. There is an easygoing and soothing vibe in this song, which makes it extremely pleasant to listen to. It is definitely a song I wouldn’t mind sipping coffee to in a nice indie coffee shop. I also found the song extremely light and soft, which really goes hand-in-hand with Ong Seong Woo’s vocals. They are breathy and often in a falsetto direction, which was very appealing. Altogether, Café ended up have a golden-like and definitely a warming touch for fans to melt away to. (8/10)
3. After Dark (또, 다시 나를 마주한 채) – After Dark is a ballad that really pushes Ong Seong Woo’s vocals into the spotlight. He also sounds very breathy in this song. But he seems to throw more technique into the song, making it a fairly dynamic ballad to listen to. The instrumental is also another strong aspect of the song. Most ballads we think of take on board a classical or piano-centric background. But After Dark takes electronic synths to create a very slow yet delicate instrumental for this ballad. This has been done before by other artists, but it stills feel fairly unique to me. (9/10)
4. Bye Bye – As we continue down the tracklist, the songs just keep on getting better. One of the things that I wasn’t sure with Ong Seong Woo is which direction he would take his solo work in. And it seems like his default genre is pop, given this title tracks and now Bye Bye. This song has some hidden surprises, and this is one of the reasons why this song is so good. We are given autotuned vocals as soon as the song started. The chorus featured a very upbeat and bright instrumental, accented with a really cool hook consisting of the song’s title and brief mini pauses. The melody that his vocals encapsulates was also very appealing. The bridge throws funky saxophone synths that give the song some groove and interesting quirk, which all helped make Bye Bye extremely enjoyable. (10/10)
5. Guess Who – Guess You is the most experimental track on the album. I say that because the chorus was pretty much unexpected. I liked the classy vibes that the whistling or flute-like (along with that higher pitch vocals) infused into the song. The rest of the instrumental predominately featured really satisfying guitar work. I already touched upon Ong Seong Woo’s vocals for this song, but I liked how clean his standard vocal work is in this song. Throw in the deep ‘I Like It’ and ‘I Love It’ we get towards the ending and you have another really good track. (9/10)
Apologies for the lack of posts yesterday. I decided to take the night off and chill for a bit. But I will be posting the album review I had planned for yesterday, so I don’t fall behind any further. The artist in question is ITZY, who made their Wannabe comeback on the 9th of March. That means this album review is over a month late. Sorry again. But as I have saying a lot lately, better late than never. This is also my first album review for this high-achieving female group and my first impressions says I am very impressed. How so? Continue reading below!
2. Ting Ting Ting – IZTY continues the momentum that Wannabe had provided with Ting Ting Ting. And since the album’s release, I have been returning to this song (alongside Wannabe and a few others on this album) as it is so damn catchy and addictively energetic. The song features Oliver Heldens, who I am reading is a famous techno artist. I suppose he is the male voice that features during the chanting ‘La La La’ parts of the song, which was cool. I did notice a certain dull factor, when I compared this chanting section to the rest of the song. It was very minute but apparent to me. There is a bit of electronic influences in the instrumental, especially during the outro. But I am not sure if it is Oliver Heldens’ influence. The rest of the track seems to take on board a hip-hop type of profile, which I really enjoyed. (9.5/10)
3. That’s A No No – That’s A No No features an anthem-based sound, which helps drive the song to have an epic vibe. I like how the group doesn’t like they are messing around with the song. There is a very serious tone to it, despite it also being very catchy and addictive. I also thought hip-hop influences were very strong. The chorus has to be my favourite part, especially with Yeji and Lia’s lines in the chorus. With that being said, I give huge ticks to the vocal department in this song. The rapping was actually a miss for me, as I felt the trap influences in that section were too typical for my liking. But apart from that, fantastic song. (9/10)
4. Nobody Like You – Nobody Like You reminds me of the rock songs you would get from all those Disney shows in the past (back when Disney was in its prime). In addition to that nostalgia for me, the rock influences give off a head-banging vibe, which was very fun. There was a lot of other textures in the song, such as the heavy-thumping drums and some smoothness when they bring in the backing vocals to perform a choir-like backing. Both the rapping and the vocals were very pleasant, which is an odd term to describe a rock song of this nature. The members keep the song quite light and refreshing, which makes it a good song to keep returning to. (9/10)
5. You Make Me – I will be frank, I am disappointed with You Make Me. I thought the instrumental was interesting, as it hard a dirty type of hip-hop feel to it. And given it is a song with strong hip-hop roots, the rapping really shined in this song. Ryujin and Yuna really showed off their capabilities in this song. The vocals, on the other hand, was a hit and miss. The ‘You Make Me … Speechless’ is very memorable, without any doubts. The rest of the vocal work just didn’t sound good in this song. Sorry, but I had to say it. (7/10)
6. IDon’t Wanna Dance– I Don’t Wanna Dance is another pretty cool song from the group. The song, while there is decent melody and rhythm, actually isn’t a song that would automatically make you get up and dance to (relative to their other tracks on the album). It doesn’t have that appeal and the energy the song could have put on display was pretty much suppressed, which is why the song is interesting to me. But as mentioned, this doesn’t make the song terrible. The song still has the capability of having a performance and there would be an interesting chemistry in that regard. The rapping and vocal work in this song was also quite cool, which brought lightness to the song. (8/10)
7. 24HRS – We end the album with 24HRS, which is very different to the other JYP-based song titled 24 Hours. It is a fun track that brings together the some of the highlights of the album. The hip-hop vibes, the good vocal and rapping styles that I enjoyed on the album, the usage of chanting for the chorus, the addictive melodies. It had it all. It did end up being rather typical for some odd reason, as I didn’t really get much uniqueness from this song, in comparison to what else we have heard on this album. But it is still good. (8.5/10)
I take a break from the usual reviewing schedule to bring you the next album review (I know this isn’t Friday or Sunday, but it is a special album review). Over the last few weeks, AB6IX have been releasing music videos for each of their members. Each music video accompanies a solo track off the group’s latest digital mini-album, 5NALLY. I thought about how I wanted to review this as an album, or whether I thought I treat them as standalone releases. But then, I thought why not both. So I will be reviewing each solo track as I have been doing in Catch Up Reviews, combining the song, music video and performance reviews into one paragraph.
5NALLY Album Cover
Moondance (Jeon Woong Solo)
With all the members of AB6IX, I most unfamiliar with Woong as he is the new member of the group that we didn’t get to see prior to the debut of AB6IX. Moondance is a R&B track that packs a punch during the chorus. It starts out as a soft number, but quickly bring the thumping drums into the mix as the song builds to the chorus. The entire track becomes very dramatic in its sound and this allows for an amazing seductive dance sequence (more on that later). His vocals were superb in this song. Particularly, I draw your attention to the really low husky whispering tone we got for the bridge, followed a return to the chorus but with autotune to give the ending some texture. Altogether, the song definitely opens my eyes to Woong’s future as both a solo artist and as part of AB6IX. The music video is really aesthetically pleasing. I really liked the glowing moon the producers made Woong dance in front of, the furniture in the dark room with the floor covered in water and the really reflective dance floor. All these sets had a place in the video and were well utilized post-production of the video to make it extremely captivating. As hinted in an earlier sentence, Woong’s choreography for Moondance is quite seductive. I mean, Woong was grinding on the floor for like 30% of performance. When Woong wasn’t grinding on the floor, he did a damn well job on the performance, which used many smooth and fluid motions that made it look stunning. (9/10)
More (더 더) (Kim Dong Hyun Solo)
Kim Donghyun is one of the vocalists of the group and More shows off his vocals in a decent manner. I was caught off guard with Donghyun’s rap-speak section at the start of the second verse. Maybe something that could be used in some of AB6IX’s tracks? The pop song employs some synths to keep it modern and relevant to the current trends in the industry. But we aren’t talking about huge drops and heavy bass. Everything is kept relatively light and pleasant in this song, which reflect well with the sweet nature of the lyrics in the song. Come to the think of it, this is the polar opposite to what AB6IX releases, and I thought this was rather interesting. More had some good hooks that was pleasant, but none of them really grabbed my attention and this resulted into the song being easily forgotten. As for the music video, it looked very fluffy. And once again, it would be the polar opposite to any AB6IX’s music videos. Dressed in a pink suit and white turtleneck; hugging a teddy bear. I would never guess this would be a track from one of the AB6IX members. I did like ‘sets’ in the music video, namely the church and theater they performed in. They looked cool. The choreography was quite good. I liked chorus routine and how it matched up with the lyrics. Nothing that impressive but still pleasing to watch. (7.8/10)
Rose, Scent, Kiss (Lee Dae Hwi Solo)
Lee Dae Hwi is one of the more popular members of the group, given his time as part of Wanna One. One thing that Rose, Scent, Kiss highlights is the maturity behind his voice and an ability to go quite deep. Together, this made Lee Dae Hwi’s solo track stand out. The instrumental is very crunchy, which matches the texture that we get from his deep voice. The instrumental fuses trap and pop together in a rather typical way. But you can definitely hear the attitude behind it, which really helps draw further attention to this voice. I really enjoyed the Rose, Scent, Kiss whisper, which reminded me of fellow Wanna One’s member Park Ji Hoon’s 360. The music video opens up with Lee Dae Hwi’s monologue about moving between the age of 19 and 20. The rest of the music video was rather dynamic despite following the typical choreography and closeup formula. The dynamic nature of the video was thanks to Lee Dae Hwi’s captivating expressions during his closeup shots, the amazing set design, the flashing patterns in the background on the screen and the lighting throughout the video. I thought the choreography was great. I liked how Lee Dae Hwi is able to show off his own style in this performance and he isn’t afraid to show off some (what usually would be considered) feminine moves. (9.3/10)
Break Up (좋게 끝내) (Lim Young Min Solo)
Lim Young Min is the lead rapper in the group. But he also as an impressive set of vocals, which I don’t remember being used all that much in AB6IX’s tracks. Break Up takes on R&B, but it a lot more upbeat compared to R&B style that Jeon Woong opted for his solo track. Alongside his vocal work, his rapping is on point in this song. I did like the piano that made up part of the instrumental. It really help drive that emotional side of the song, which is all about breaking up. I just wish the song was a little more interesting. I wished the song didn’t stay overly consistent towards the end and I wished they added some sort of texture in addition to that high pitch synth that opened the song and appeared periodically. The brief pause at the end was going in that direction, but I wanted a bit more. The music videos seem pull elements from one another. Lim Young Min’s music video featured the water floor that Woong had in his video and brought along the cube structure from Lee Dae Hwi’s (Kim Dong Hyun’s music video featured the sofa and lampshade from Woong’s music video). But I liked how they managed to infuse some individuality to the music video, namely the phone booth, the use of the city imagery and the sports car. The choreography was good, but I wanted to see a bit more in the music video. There was a sensual side that Young Min was going for that was good, through the many body rolls. But that was all I could pick up from the stuff I saw for this track. (7.8/10)
Color Eye (Park Woo Jin Solo)
Alongside Lee Dae Hwi, Park Woo Jin is the other member that everyone knows of due to his time as part of Wanna One. Color Eye is probably your typical rapper solo song on a group album. The song delves into hip-hop and features both Woo Jin’s well known rapping style and the autotuned singing. To be honest, I found Color Eye to be a little lackluster in terms of suspense and was rather dull. There wasn’t much of a buildup to the song’s peak and it was fair too consistent for my liking. The instrumental was the more exciting bit, featuring a music box like sample, which gave off an eerie sound at first. I just wished they built upon this. The music video features that square screen that we saw in Young Min and Dae Hwi’s music videos. But this one flashes lights and patterns more aggressively. The post-production in this music video makes the video look very edgy and ‘dark concept’. I liked how they never really put Park Woo Jin into the spotlight, which does reflect well with the song. Park Woo Jin doesn’t seem to participate in the choreography, assumingly due to his injury. So I am going to forgo this part of the review for him. (6.8/10)
With no major release today, it is a great opportunity to pull another song from the ‘Coming Soon’ list to review. A lucky dip yielded Lupin by Dongkiz, which was released exactly one month ago on the 15th of March 2020. Interesting fact, I haven’t actually reviewed any songs from Dongkiz yet, even though I was planning to for their a release earlier this year. For those who may be unfamilar with Dongkiz, they are a five member male group under Dongyo Entertainment. Previous releases include Nom, Blockbuster, Fever and All I Need Is You.
From my understanding and limited exposure to Dongkiz’s past releases, the group has on delved into funky but bright sounds. Lupin follows the funky sound that the group has maintained, but gave it an edgy feel. And that funky description might be a little understatement. There is some funky guitar work in the song during the verses, along with some groovy and squeaky saxophone synths for the chorus. All coming together to create a really high energy and loaded song. The bit in between the verse and chorus was very interesting. Usually songs would buildup to the chorus, so that they can build up suspense for the drop. Lupin, does things a little differently. It still applies the same rules but this is very minor in comparison to the complete slow down that they went with. This, I found to be very unique and made the song rather cool in my books. Not only did this make the song sound memorable for me, but I thought the vocal melodies and instrumental hook were pretty addictive. I really like rough texture the rappers brought through their one-liners in the chorus. The vocals were very smooth and sounded very nice. Overall, Lupin attracts my attention to the group and I will definitely keep my eye out for them in the future.
I think the music video shows two sides of the group. The first is the more darker and badder versions of the group. They steal the jewelry in the art gallery. The second side is the investigative team that is tracking down the thieves. Moving away from the plot line, the music video actually looked good visually. I was concerned that since they were from a lesser known company, they would have a low budget style music video. But this actually had a fair amount of cool post-production work done on it. I mean the digital picture frames looked cool and the choreography shots were done in very stunning locations. The video was quite dark, so it was hard to focus on it at times. But overall, pretty decent.
The choreography was awesome. At first I thought they were actual walking canes that we would all associate with a much older generation. But they were actual magic sticks that could go back to be a simple piece of cloth. The members performed magic twice in one stage and I thought that was awesome. I also liked how they had to revert the cane back to the cloth, but incorporating it into the choreography.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 8/10 Performance – 9/10 Overall Rating – 8.7/10
Over the last few years, Starship Entertainment has grown to be a highly successful label, with MONSTA X, Cosmic Girls (WJSN) and Jeong Sewoon each flourishing in their separate music careers. Today we observe the addition of a new group to that lineup. Cravity is a nine-member male group, consisting of Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung and Seongmin. Some of the members may have familiar faces as four of the group members participated in Produce X 101, with Minhee and Hyeongjun going on to debuting as part of X1. However, X1’s music journey was short-lived after the recent voting scandal, which lead to the disbandment of X1 and the two Starship Entertainment members returned to their home company to rejoin their fellow trainees to debut under the name of CRAVITY.
Their debut song is titled Break All The Rules. It sadly doesn’t break any rules and plays fairly safe. It is a urban hip-hop track, one of the many subsets of the hip-hop genre, which has undeniably become the default genre of today’s KPOP music. They do manage to infuse some rock elements during some parts, gave a good rush of intensity in the song and added that funky synth to give the chorus a dynamic touch. But I wanted more. Something unique that sets this new group apart from the rest of the competition. Maybe they could have leveled up the intensity and dynamic nature of the instrumental by going with rougher synths that is loaded with impact. Like some of the songs that I have recently reviewed, I noticed that Break All The Rules had subpar hooks in this song was rather lacking. The chorus is slowly growing on me, but I don’t think it has that reach that they need to extend into the industry. What the group does well is on the vocal front. Great vocals and rapping from the group. It is a decent track. But I am not exactly sold on the group. Hopefully, their mini-album or next release can seal the deal for me.
What the song lacks is made up visually by the music video. Watching this video, it made the song feel more impactful and definitely boosted the song in terms of appeal. That is a sign of a fantastic music video. The cinematography and the lighting just blew me away. The sets, even though some were digitalised, looked amazing and very real. I also liked the minute use of colour in this video, which adds to the impact.
And what an intense performance. This group has the choreography chops down pat! It seems like it comes at the expense of their live vocals and rapping, as it was a little choppy in their debut showcase that they had today. But I don’t blame them. It is a powerful routine that I am 100% anyone would be breathless afterwards. I would have liked to some individual CRAVITY flair in the performance. But I was amazed nonetheless.
Song – 7/10 Music Video – 10/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.1/10
The first major comeback comes from a group that has been around for 9 years in the industry. Given that most groups end after seven years under their belt (or much less), this is definitely a grand feat. I am talking about APINK, one of the many groups that managed to make cutesy concept work in their early days (see Mr Chu and No No No, as examples) and have more recently reinvented their sound to be more mature (see I’m So Sick and %%). Today, the group returns with Dumhdurum, which features on the group’s ninth mini-album.
The instrumental of Dumhdurum has a very strong disco vibe. We all know that a retro tune, such as a disco number, can be very addictive and unique in this current environment of EDM and other modern electronic genres. And for the most part, APINK nails the track. The instrumental wasn’t exact replica of 70s disco. But it was subdued to fit in with the mature sound that the group has managed succeed in their last two comebacks (linked above) and gave off a strong modern profile. I really liked their dance break instrumental that was inserted into the chorus, which was probably the most exciting part of the song. It also brought a lively energy to the song. I also find that rap speaking line that ends the chorus to be rather dynamic. Altogether, it helped make the chorus become memorable and appealing. My only issue with the song was how boring the vocals were during the verses and bridge. Riding the high that the chorus provided, I don’t remember much of the verses or bridge, which is hugely disappointing. They could have changed it up with some vocal textures or small vocal details along the way. Something to really grab my attention, rather than have it all in neutral gear. ‘
A similar comment can be made regarding the music video of Dumhdurum. The choreography scenes were probably the most exciting sections of the video. There were some close ups showed off the visuals of each member alongside the choreography shots. But in the end, this resulted in the video feeling like that very typical close up and choreography combination we see so often (i.e. a boring default). The video was partly set on a train and I wondered what that was all about. I am guessing there is a storyline in the video that I have missed, based on their individual sets, which all look like there is some meaning behind them. The name Marcella appeared at the start and a Google search yielded nothing that could pinpoint to a storyline. Does anyone have any theories? Let me know below.
The choreography looks good. From what I see in the music video, it definitely looks very dynamic and powerful. That dance break section looks really promising. Can’t say much else unfortunately, as we are pretty much limited to the music video for now. But I am sure the same feelings would carry over into the live performances.
Song – 7/10 Music Video – 6/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 6.9/10
KPOPREVIEWED 