Category: Reviews

[Review] Simon Says – NCT 127

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Since wrapping up their promotions for Regular a few weeks back, we have been teased with an impending return with the repackaged version of their first studio album, And now, NCT 127 has returned for the third time this year with Simon Says, which the title track off their 1st Repackaged Album, Regulate. Interestingly, the music video for Simon Says was released well ahead of the actual release of the repackaged album. But we aren’t here to talk about this experimental release method. Instead, Simon Says to start this review!

Simon Says is a return to that hip-hop and electronic sound that NCT 127 hasn’t really done that much this year. Touch was a rather bright release, while Regular was an attempt at the Latin trend. So, it is quite nice to go back to some familiar territory. The instrumental has this experimental side to it, which makes it interesting as the style isn’t that clear-cut as their past songs. The verses are formed to give attention towards the rappers, who do a really good job with the song. There are attitude and charisma flowing throughout. The song focuses on the vocalists through the bridge of the song. While it is a little short, we do great a nice little breather from the intensity of the verses/chorus. As for the chorus, I thought it was quite catchy. The song is quite powerful and definitely aggressive in a more subtle manner. Overall, Simon Says is a pretty cool song.

The music video takes that aggressive and powerful nature touched upon earlier and develops into a very aesthetic music video. There is definitely some sort of message hidden throughout this video through the symbolism that I am no way near smart enough to understand. Here are what I could see. Taeyong is Simon, as he is the leader of the subunit and all the members move around him. He is also the first member to take off his mask and the rest of the members follow suit. And talking about the masks, how amazing do they look? Visuals along, this is one video to watch.

Like all the other components of this comeback, the performance is very intense and dynamic. Each of the members do a really good job at captivating the audience through their charisma alone. Their moves make this comeback so much better. My favourite part has to be the fast-paced chorus.

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

[Review] Learn To Love – Hwang Chi Yeul

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Making his second comeback of the year so far is Hwang Chi Yeul. His first release of 2018 is My Only Star, which was unveiled back in April. The soloist returned on Tuesday of this week with Learn To Love, his first digital single release.

Learn To Love no doubt takes on what the soloist does best, ballads. And like the rest of his title tracks, Learn To Love is another typical ballad. It has a nice orchestral-like instrumental, which is rather standard of ballads. It was definitely quite nice sounding though, so I am not too much troubled by the typical nature of the song. Hwang Chi Yeul brings his raspy vocals into play, which I quite like. His voice captivates you, which is definitely a selling point of any ballad. I did like how his vocals pushed higher and felt more emotionally influenced during the chorus, allowing the song to be boosted in appeal. The song peaked wonderfully during the bridge, with the combination of his vocals and the instrumental, reaching up higher than before. I do want to see him go into different areas of ballads or music one day, as his stages on Immortal Song proves his potential. But this is still quite nice.

The song sounds quite sad but when you inspect the lyrics and the video, there really isn’t a hint of sadness (at least how I am interpreting them). The lyrics seemed to be a commitment to love at the start of a relationship. He sings “I did not know that that I was the only one learning to love”, which seems to show that the two are starting their love life afresh with each other. The music video shows that through scenes of the two getting to know each other and slowing things down. A few times they seem to go in for a kiss but they hold back (most likely in their own past relationships, they rushed things). I did think the dullness of the colours/filter was a little too dark, which made me think the song was a sad one at first. But other than that, it was a good video.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10

[Review] SOME (You’ll Be Mine) – NATURE

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NATURE is back with a brand new song, titled SOME (You’ll Be Mine)! For those who do not know NATURE, they are a relatively new group who debuted with Allegro Cantabile back in August. They were meant to debut with 9 members, however, one member left just before they debuted (she did not participate in promotions but was still featured n the music video). With this comeback, the number of members is bumped back up to 9 with the addition of Loha.

If you were looking for a song similar to Allegro Cantabile, you have come to the wrong place. But if you came for something a little more out there, you may stay and have a listen. SOME start off a standard KPOP track, bright and bubbly. But the chorus is a little different, going with seems to be an addictive EDM drop that I am digging a fair bit. It attracts attention and hypes up the atmosphere. It caught me off guard but I really did enjoy the chorus. I thought the pre-chorus section was amazing, which I thought was a great limbo between the bright start and the dramatic change for the chorus. The rapping to the song was awesome, fitting in extremely nicely. And I thought the vocal work was showcased well, where both the vocals and the raps draw you in. The bridge slows it down but I didn’t mind it too much as the buildup back to the chorus was awesome. Overall, it is another great song for this week.

The first thing that jumped right at me was the colours. I thought it was extremely bold and very bright, which definitely matches the atmosphere of the song. It does fall under the category of a typical music video but it is the atmosphere of it that makes this a great watch. The classroom set reminded me of a combination of TWICE’s One More Time colour palette, while the classroom reminded me of TWICE’s Signal. I am not trying to suggest that they copied but rather point out an observation I made. I feel like with the song’s drop and the dance moves, they could have been more out-there. For example, funny costumes would have been fun in this video.

I think the main focus of this comeback is the dance. Once again, I am reminded of another group’s performance. If you cast your mind to Momoland’s Wonderful Love choreography for EDM remix, I think this would be the equivalent to that. And once again, the choreography during the chorus lived up to the song’s crazy drop, atmosphere and expectations.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10

[Review] Sorry To Myself – Baek A Yeon

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Baek A Yeon is the second artist to make their comeback today. The soloist from JYP Entertainment returned with Sorry To Myself, which is the title track off her fourth mini-album, Dear Me. This is her first comeback since Sweet Lies (featuring The Barberettes), which was released at the start of last year.

Sorry To Myself, as expected from the title, is a very emotionally driven ballad. Baek Ah Yeon’s recent title tracks have been of the brighter nature, so it is nice to see something different than the usual. Honestly, I had the chose to two ballads to review today and I chose this one because I was more drawn to it. There is something about her voice that makes the song sound so heartbreaking and desperate. Maybe it is because you can hear a hint of innocence, which makes the song so much more impactful. I really like the melody in the chorus, which I believe to be the strongest peak of the song. As for the instrumentation, there isn’t anything special about it. Instead, it is rather standard. But besides that, it is a good song.

The music video shows a heartbroken girl, who is reminded of her ex-partner through many things. We are treated to a number of flashbacks during their happy memories, to make sense to why apples and a rubber duck keychain makes her sad (i.e. fond memories of her partner). We are then shown the moment they break up, which is the start of her devastation. I thought the actress’ acting was amazing, especially during the scenes where she is all alone. She took the emotion behind the vocals and portrayed it successfully in the video. From what I saw I think there was a turning point where she started to retreat in a confident manner, which went extremely well with the ‘He doesn’t deserve to be hated’ lyrics.

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

[Review] I Love You – EXID

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This is the comeback that I have been waiting for all week. EXID has finally returned, along with Solji who has been absent from group promotions for almost two years now! Welcome back Solji! Their comeback single is titled as I Love You and is their first comeback since Lady, which was released back in April. Since then, the group (with Solji) made their official Japanese debut with their hit track, Up & Down.

I Love You opens up with the most addictive hook of the year. I have no idea if I will find it annoying in the future, but at the moment, I am totally digging it. It is definitely attention-grabbing. The verses were good but there isn’t much to talk about. I like how the chorus comes into play. Both Hyelin and Solji have ‘louder’ sections with their vocals jumping right at you. It is unexpecting but it manages to fit in. To avoid being too repetitive, the song takes a change for the second verse, becoming a lot more techno-y and much sexier. I love Hani’s whisper that comes at the end of the verse, which I thought was another highlight of the song. I do think the Solji’s high note at the end clashed with the song, making the ending appear slightly messy. But other than that, I Love You is probably my next favourite song.

Hopefully, you did not gag throughout this music video. EXID did a lot of gagging, which seems a little odd at first. I had a quick look at the lyrics but they don’t really fit the gagging into the song. It seems like there is some sort of regret going on, as Hani changes the course of the video to prevent each member from gagging/throwing up by editing some footage, which allows everyone to spend a more enjoyable night. And the worst thing after a night out is the hangover in the morning! I liked the comedic effect the video touched on and the Elmo character in the background for some of the scenes. The music video was also very colourful, which I thought added to the atmosphere of the video.

And I love the choreography. The moves associated to the hook were simple and can potentially rival their Up & Down hip thrust that drove them to the top of the charts. It was also sexy and oozed confidence, which is right up EXID’s alley. I also thought it was rather interesting they staggered the same dance move in the middle of the song, which I thought was a nice effect.

Song – 9.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10 

[Review] Loved – HIGHLIGHT

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HIGHLIGHT is back with their third mini-album, Outro. This is the group’s first comeback since Celebrate (the group’s second mini-album under the name HIGHLIGHT), which featured the title track Can Be Better. The title track for Outro is Loved and it is also the first single to not feature Doojoon, who is currently carrying out his military enlistment. I believe this is also the group’s last release for the time being as other members will be enlisting in the next year. But in the meanwhile, let’s have a look at Loved.

The song started off as your standard dance track. The start felt very ‘done-before’, leaving the start to be underwhelming to my ears. However, the song started to pick up around Junhyung’s rap. From then on, the song started to gain momentum. But my most favourite part was the chorus. While the concept was rather ‘done-before’, it was totally awesome. The kick the distorted violin gave was much needed and very attention-grabbing. The way it presented was rather bold and I liked that. It did remind me of Ribbon, which also had violins of the same nature.  The vocals were pretty good overall, with all the members doing an amazing job. I particularly like the autotuned ‘사랑했나봐’ just before the chorus. I also liked how mature it sounded, compared to their title tracks from last year which I wasn’t much of a fan of.

I liked the way the video was shot. It seems to show the actress walking through each of the member’s scenes and then the HIGHLIGHT members turning up a second too late. It doesn’t sound like a very normalised topic when it comes to Korean media but I think it was well shot. It goes hand-in-hand with the lyrics, particularly the ‘I will wait for you’ line towards the end of the song. I also like the choreography shots. Especially, the change between lack of colour to an infusion of colour, which resulted in some life and energy to the video.

The choreography, from what I can see in the music video, looks amazing. I think the chorus looked really cool and the staggering that they do with the backup dancers for the second half of the chorus was extremely smart and allowed for some aesthetics. I would like to see what else the dance will offer, so most likely I will return to update this section.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10 (I will return to update this section)
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

[Review] Spring Breeze – Wanna One

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Wanna One has returned with what could be their last album release before their scheduled disbandment at the end of the year.  The album is titled 1¹¹=1 (Power Of Destiny) and it features the title track, Spring Breeze. But despite the talk of this being their last release, there are ongoing rumours that are giving fans some hopefulness of contract extensions, with concert venues booked for January of the next year and the need to represent Wanna One at the award shows occurring at the start of next year. Whatever the outcome is, Wanna One and their influence will never be forgotten!

Spring Breeze is another dance track to add to Wanna One’s portfolio with the inclusion of some synth pop in the background. Like the song’s title and lyrics, the song felt fitting for a nice breezy day. You know those scenes with long grass on a nice sunny day with a constant breeze. That’s the day I am imagining when I listen to this song. I was quite surprised by the final outcome of the track, as I thought they would have gone with something a little more ‘Energetic‘ or upbeat. But they went with calming and soothing, instead. Like Beautiful, Spring Breeze zone right into the group’s vocals which I thought were nice, overall. The raps, on the other hand, were underwhelming for me. I guess I something a little more hard-hitting when it came to the raps, rather than rap-speaking. I think the way they ended the song, with all the members joining in, was an excellent way to close the song but also close this chapter with each other.

While there are many ways to interpret a song and a music video, if you are given the context you can only interpret them one way. There is no doubt that this is what I am doing with this comeback as it seems to be the right interpretation. The video shows the members having fun with each other. They enjoy each other’s company through the many interactions together. I particularly like the panning from left to right just before the choruses, which shows the members just doing that, similar to their chorus in I.P.U. But their close-ups show something else. The members look very passionate and intense in their close-ups, which could potentially be showing how sad they are in regards to their end. I found those scenes to be heartbreaking yet touching. I thought the choreography scenes looked spectacular with regards to the grand sets they had.

[Updated: My original comments still stand] We do not get to see much of their dance in the music video and their first live performance isn’t until this Thursday. However, the music video shows what I think will be the highlights and the main pointers to their choreography. I liked how they fitted their dancing into the slower tempo and how it looked extremely graceful. My favourite bit has to be the choreography for the first half of the first chorus (when Jaehwan starts singing). Their movements were so fluid yet strong in a subtle way.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 9/10 [Updated: Original Performance Score Remains]
Overall Rating – 9.3/10

[Review] Under My Skin – Taemin (SHINee)

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For this week’s Japanese review, we will be covering Taemin’s Under My Skin, which the music video was released last week, despite the actual album being released digitally on the 5th of November. Under My Skin is one of the lead title tracks off Taemin’s first solo album, titled after the singer himself. The other two singles are Eclipse and Mars. You may recognise some other tracks on the album including the Japanese versions of Taemin’s Korean hits such as Drip Drop, Press Your Number and Danger.

Unlike any of his other singles,  Under My Skin focuses on one major element, vocals. And this emphasis creates an epic song. Sure, they may not be powerhouse vocals like from other vocalists in the industry. But they are definitely very strong. The song is a ballad but it mixes in some soft yet grand electronic influences throughout the song. Combining this with some piano and drums, and you have what I would consider being a modern take on a ballad. But it is his vocals that make the song feel loaded and aesthetically pleasing. I like that throughout the song his vocals done push into a higher note, which keeps the song grounded yet extravagant in many ways. While I do enjoy this track (and style choice), I do think this choice is rather mediocre in comparison to his Korean releases. I feel like the linked Korean releases in the introductory were much more impactful and well suited for Taemin.

There isn’t much to the video besides the fact that is quite aesthetically pleasing. Taemin is shown to be singing on top of a mirror, which is placed along the beach or a field. The strong breeze makes everything feel so cool and epic, though I am not much of a fan of his black outfit. His red jacket though.. We don’t have much choreography in the song but the ending was extended to allow Taemin to do his thing in the dance department. You don’t really get to see much, however, as it is cut short due to the presence of more closeup shots of Taemin and well, it is too dark to really see anything.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

[Review] DREAM NOTE – DreamNote

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One of my goals for the next year is to work on my scheduling of reviews. Particularly debuts from much smaller companies. I tend to wait a few weeks in order to write the reviews (and I don’t really have a good enough excuse to why I do so). So while I am trying to work that out, let’s have a closer look at DreamNote, who is a female group from iME KOREA. The group is made up of 8 members (Sumin, Eunjo, Habin, Lara, Hanbyeol, Miso, Youi and Boni). and their debut track shares the same name as their group name, DREAM NOTE.

For me, DREAM NOTE sticks out for some reasons but becomes hidden for others. The group’s debut single is of the cutesy nature that literally made me cringe during my first listen.  Their vocals seemed mediocre at best throughout the song. There just didn’t seem to be any impressive moments. However, the song has a decent hook that I can see growing on me. And the instrumental of the song isn’t all cutesy. There is a potential for a powerful song, given the instrumental of the song. I also find the saxophone at the end of the song adding a nice touch that felt just right then and there (probably my favourite section has to be the final chorus onwards with the presence of the saxophones to thank for that).

And as expected, the music video is full of colour. That is the common side order that you will get when it comes to a cutesy song. The girls are also acting cutesy, which is expected. The entire video is about them trying to find some objects to put into those toy capsule machine to obtain a key that opens the door. In a way, similar to an escape room type of concept. They just have a lot of un along the way. My only problem, they could have saved the trouble, turned the knob and the key would have still come out without the addition of the pebbles and a pomegranate. They probably took the longest time of all the participants and one of the girls lost a tooth along the way. Damn.

The performance I watched for this review showed the members have very strong vocals, especially with a fast paced and high energy dance like this one. I really like the chanting them did at the very end, which I thought was very uplifting and nice. As for the dance, nothing too impressive but still decent to watch.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6.2/10

[Review] I Hate You – HOTSHOT

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Since their last comeback with Jelly (released in July 2017). a lot has happened with the members of HOTSHOT. Taehyun joined JBJ who promoted for a period of a few months before disbanding in April of this year. Timoteo and Hojung participated on The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project and placed 10th and 3rd place respectively. As a result, Hojung joined the show’s male project group, UNB. Despite all of this, HOTSHOT has regrouped (with the exception of Sungwoon, who is still a part of Wanna One) with the release of I Hate You.

I lowkey was expecting something along the lines of Jelly, which actually became quite addictive over time with the subtle aesthetics of the synths. I Hate You is a completely different song. It doesn’t rely on synths or electronic sounds, which is already a big difference. It feels more like a ballad, just there is enough in the instrumentation to allow the song to feature some choreography. The song is emotionally driven, which you can hear through their vocals. Their vocals are quite nice in the song. It isn’t the powerful vocals that I tend to prefer when it comes to ballads but it was enough to make me feel different feelings as the song progressed. I really like the “니가 미워” (nega miwo) hook at the very start of the chorus. There is something about it that makes it so beautiful and I quite like that.

The lyrics of the song essentially show their heartbreak and frustrations towards a lover who left unexpectedly. And the video does that. But instead of using the same ‘let’s film her physically walking away from the members’ over and over again, the video uses different ways to show that. While there were some cliche shots in the video, such as the girl disappearing around a corner, the video saw more creative ways such as having the lead actress die in one of their arms to represent ‘leaving’. I really like the contrast of colours throughout the video. The warm golden colour represents their happy moments but the darker scenes showcased loneliness and coldness. It is a well thought-out video.

As expected, the performance didn’t fall into a ballad category and featured choreography. I liked how sharp the chorus looked. While the song doesn’t really call for that, it worked in an interesting manner alongside the song. I also liked how the choreography didn’t feel constricting. The speed at which their movements were performed at and the wide motions really made the video feel quite strong.

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

[Review] Stealer – D-CRUNCH

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D-CRUNCH made their debut in August of this year with Palace. Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to reviewing Palace. Luckily, D-CRUNCH announced their first comeback with Stealer and today will be having a closer look at Stealer. For those who don’t know the group, they are a 9-member male group under All-S Company. The members are Hyunwook,. Hyunho, O.V, Minhyuk, Hyunwoo, Hyunoh, Chanyoung, Jungseung and Dylan.

The first thing about the song that jumps out at me is its intensity. For a group with more rappers than vocalists, this intensity at the forefront of the song is expected. I like how they infused the electronic music genre with hip-hop but there were moments in the instrumental that felt exotic, reminding me of BLOCK B’s Nilli Mambo. And like Nilli Mambo, there were also moments that felt theatrical and grand. The many rappers bring an overwhelming rough texture to the song yet each of their sections is individualistic and this allows the intensity to grow exponentially. The vocalists also shine despite it being a rap-dominant song with their choruses and pre-choruses being clear and very melodic in a way that matches the rest of the song. Altogether, the song proves that this rookie group has potential and talent in a variety of domains.

The music video lives up to the music. The level of intensity of the song is matched by the edginess in the music video. I think there was a plotline to the video somewhere in the midst of all the choreography and closeup shots but it wasn’t easily decipherable due to its limited screen time (I think they were searching for something). Putting that aside, I thought the editing for this video was pretty cool. I liked how the transition matched the pre-chorus melody and instrumental moments. I like how dark the video felt, which goes back to that obvious edgy vibe. Maybe if they focused more on the plotline as the song does feel theatrical enough for one, the video would have had an extra level of appeal.

The choreography itself was quite good. But I couldn’t stop thinking that they could have done more. The performance I watched seemed to focus on live vocals (which were quite stable), so this limited the level of intensity their dance routine could of have. I wanted to see the torches on the stage as I thought their torch opener in the music video looked really cool but that was removed due to time limitations. If they managed to match the energy/ in the music video, I think this would have been a winning performance.

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

[Review] SOLO – Jennie (BLACKPINK)

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This is not a drill. But BLACKPINK is returning! Just not as a quartet this time around. Instead, it has been confirmed by YG Entertainment that each member will be making their solo debut. Jennie’s solo release kicks off the series of solo debuts for each member with the title track titled appropriately, SOLO. We last heard from BLACKPINK via their smashing hit, DDU-DU DDU-DU.

This is one unique song. And I am really liking it. But before we jump into a shocking in-depth description, I must apologise for my lack of music terminology. This is going to be really hard. I thought the song had a nice minimisalitc vibe, especially in the opening verse. I also like those spaced out tapping (cannot think of the right word here) sounds which give off a classy yet epic vibe. Very ear-catching. I thought the pre-choruses was nailed perfectly. Her vocals just sound so good during this section. The chorus takes a turn and drops that minimalistic vibe. Instead, the aesthetics here are turned up, giving Jennie an opportunity to showcase some dance. I actually enjoyed the ‘SOLO LOLOLO‘ hook. I thought her rapping was on point and very sleek. I was hoping for the final chorus to have more a kick but they maintained the same chorus (with slight changes), which I didn’t mind. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was different yet so appealing.

So, the message behind the song is confidence. More specifically (and I quote this from SOOMPI): “Many women are in a relationship where they give up a lot of things just to be loved by someone else. But even though they put in a lot of effort, in many cases, it will return to them as pain. The song talks about being free rather than making up a fake version of yourself.” So the video shows two sides of Jennie. The first is showing her as hurt and in pain. The second is confident and strong. And this was rather cool. I liked the way the video was shot, with the cinematography being a major highlight for me. I actually enjoyed her final dance scene with the 20+ backup dancers. Jennie stood out in that crowd but yet the aesthetic of it was just through the roof.

The choreography for this looks amazing. I personally want to see how this would look on stage because the choreography for the first chorus looked more freestyle. But for the second and final choruses, I thought everything looked bold and very charismatic, obviously the exact vibes that Jennie was going for.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.8/10 

[Review] Beautiful Pain – BTOB

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BTOB has a few releases under their belt this year already. The group returned with Only One For Me and BTOB-BLUE made their subunit comeback with When It Rains. Now, BTOB has returned with a special mini-album, which is titled HOUR MOMENT and the title track Beautiful Pain. This is the group’s first comeback since Eunkwang unexpectedly enlisted in the military back in August 2018.

BTOB makes their return with a ballad, which was not that unexpected. Beautiful Pain, from the title alone, just screams out ballad. And with BTOB’s known songs being mainly ballads, it was the obvious choice. And with BTOB’s known capabilities, this is a powerhouse ballad.  Even with the lack of one strong set of vocals, the three remaining vocalists (Changsub, Sungjae and Hyunsik) do an amazing job of filling that void. I think honourable mentions have to go to Hyunsik and Changsub in the vocal domain. During the bridge, Hyunsik brings his deep husky vocals along that are so captivating and Changsub belts out this amazing high note. I was a little concerned with the rapping but Peniel, Ilhoon and Minhyuk do a wonderful job with each of their sections. My favourite has to be Minhyuk’s buildup. Overall, I really thought the group did an amazing job with Beautiful pain. You can hear the pain through each of their parts and the melody during the chorus was just so nice. The instrumentation wasn’t that special but everything else stands out.

The group sings about the bittersweet ends to their relationship. And as I mentioned in the above paragraph, their emotions could be felt. The same thing goes for the video. There were bittersweet moments when the leading actress makes her appearance around the members but the BTOB members remain in the ‘present’ moment of unable to let go. I think the most impactful moment of the entire video was when Sungjae had the sheets over his head and paced his way around the apartment. It was well shot and I liked the darkness of the video, which really made it more powerful. I also thought Hyunsik’s high note was well planned and incorporated into the video.

[Updated] I think they could have left out the dance entirely for this round of promotions. Though, I think it was more keeping all their ballad releases consistent. The performance was nice, with the backup dancers doing most of the dancing. The members did have some moves but not as much as in the past. I did like Peniel’s cane dance, which did look cool.

Song – 9.5/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 8/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 9.4/10 [Updated]

[Review] Jealous – TVXQ

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TVXQ has a very extensive career in Japan. While their Korean releases have been dropped down to once a year (or in some cases once every few years), the duo continually releases new Japanese songs. Their last release was in the form of their ninth studio album, Tomorrow, which features the singles Reboot (which I previously reviewed) and Road. Today, we will be looking at a much newer release, Jealous, which has yet to feature on any album.

It is genuinely nice to see a Japanese release not depending on EDM of any kind. Jealous instead employs a very dramatic flair and some deep brass to really make the song pop. And I like this unique sound, as it quite cool. The verses were a little plain for my liking. Other parts were a lot more likeable. The pre-chorus was a little different, reminding me of chanting (without the chanting – if that makes any sense). And the chorus was spectacular. It was simple yet it was extremely dynamic. Here, you can hear the dramatic nature the most and the use of higher pitched vocals gave it a very edgy vibe. The bridge of the song was probably the weakest part of the song. It felt too similar to the rest of the song and didn’t feel like a pivotal point in the song. But besides that, Jealous is a pretty decent song.

I am unsure if the set is real or if it fake (i.e. CGI). It looks so good and I want Korean music videos to start adopting these sets as they will really kick the ‘box sets to the next level. I like how the sets were very classy looking and TVXQ were extremely good-looking in their close-ups. I also liked how they brought a dark theme to the video. I also thought their ‘casual’ wear scenes were very fitting. Overall, it was a very good music video.

I think the moment that stole the show for me was the second chorus when the two of them were dancing with the female backup dancers. For some reason, that felt rather different and I liked their different feel. It was a nice performance overall.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10

[Review] Those Days – K.Will

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K.Will made his return earlier this week with the second half of his fourth studio album. The first half, Part 1. Nonfiction, was released last year with Nonfiction as the main title track. The second half of the album is titled Part 2. 想像 (Mood Indigo) and it features the title track, Those Days (그땐 그댄). In the lead up to the album, K.Will also released some singles, which you can also find on the album, such as My Star (which I previously reviewed).

Something that I have not heard much of so far this Fall season are ballads. This is quite odd given that we are almost at the end of the perfect ballad season. So when K.Will confirmed his comeback, I was highly anticipating a great ballad. And that is exactly what we got. His vocals are so damn good in this song, it leaves me breathless. A major reason why I really like K.Will’s voice is that he puts so much emotion behind them. This song is just even more proof of that. The song’s melody is very beautiful, particularly around the chorus. I think that there may be some backing vocals in the chorus and his harmonies are amazing. Finally the instrumental was amazing. Nothing beats a graceful orchestral piece for a ballad. Given that K.Will’s forte is ballads (in my opinion – he also really good R&B songs), he did not disappoint.

The music video features Yoo Yeon Seok as the lead actor, who is a suit tailor. While meeting one of his customers, he meets his ex-girlfriend (who has clearly moved on). Nonetheless, he continues with his job despite looking a tad unhappy. Throughout the video, we see flashbacks of their happy relationship but we don’t get to see why they broke up. Back in the present day, the two awkwardly ignore each other. The girl notices a fishbowl, the same bowl that she bought back in the day for another fish. This brings backs memories, which cause her to shed a tear. Once the job was complete, the couple leave. However, it seems like she wants to say something to her ex prior to leaving but he gives her a smile instead, to tell her everything is okay. I think the acting was wonderful in the video. I also liked how they slow motioned everything to an appropriate speed for the song but also making the video feel impactful.

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

 

[Review] Knock Knock (TAK remix) – MXM

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MXM has returned with a brand new single today. Knock Knock was previously released as part of the duo’s first studio album, More Than Ever, back in August of this year. Today, the duo dropped the TAK remix version of the song. For this review, there may be some comparison between the two versions, as I don’t review the remixed versions of any songs on this site. MXM previously returned with Ya Ya Ya in August, as well.

The original version of Knock Knock had a light feel and almost a bright atmosphere during the verses. And that was quite nice. It is just the EDM in the song didn’t feel grand but rather typical. While I never wrote an album review for this release, I did like the fade out and its transition to classical did give it a defining feature. The remixed version is a complete change. It featured a more intense dubstep sound and this resulted into a darker vibe from the song. And I actually like this version a bit more as dubstep isn’t something that I hear all too often. The vocals and rapping were practically the same between the versions, where both sounded quite nice. What I was personally interested was the ending of the song, which I mentioned above. While they did keep some of that piano as heard in the original, they incorporated some synths in order to keep it from being too distant, which makes the song well balanced. Overall, it was quite nice.

Fitting in with the darker sound is the darker visuals. MXM’s releases for this year (besides Gone Cold) have been quite bright and colourful. Here, there is a particular hazy filter placed over the top of the video, which made everything feel darker and dull. The sets were typical of most music videos but they felt fitting for the aesthetics of the video. In the entire video, I thought the entire sequence where the duo danced by themselves (i..e without the backup dancers) looked quite cool and basically summarised the entire vibe of the music video in a matter of seconds. It is a good video, fitting for the song.

It would be disappointing to see a dance routine for a song titled Knock Knock without some knocking. But don’t worry, there was some knocking action in the routine. While I liked that, I thought the performance was really well done. When the music got intense, their moves did as well. When the music was lightened, it felt lighter and the moves were a lot more fluid. While that seems to be a no-brainer, there have been a few performances that don’t follow this and I find such dances lacking and incomplete. But not this one!

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