Category: Reviews

[Review] Odd Eye – Dream Catcher

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Dream Catcher is back with a brand new release titled Odd Eye and their 6th mini-album, Dystopia: Road to Utopia. This comes after a jam packed year for the female group, including their first studio album, their fifth mini-album, promotions for Scream and Boca, the release of the special single R.o.S.E BLUE for another mobile game, Japanese comebacks and a bunch of solo work. Definitely quite a long list of activities. Let’s hope that 2021 is an eventful year for Dream Catcher! It is already shaping to be one with Handong officially returning to the lineup of the group through promotions for Odd Eye.

Odd Eye is confirmation that Dream Catcher’s title tracks cannot be without a rock influence. The first verse pretty much settle on a hip-hop influenced instrumental for the dance track. Hearing this influence got me excited for a bit as I thought that Dream Catcher was going to break out the mould of their commonly associated rock sound. It was definitely an interesting change to their usual style. Even the pre-chorus lead me to believe that they left the rock influence behind in 2020, infusing bit of an electronic texture to the song. But when the chorus rolls around, Dream Catcher hits us hard with the rock elements. And I really liked that, as it definitely helped made the chorus and rock elements feel a lot more explosive than usual. The textures in the chorus were really powerful, whilst the vocals were very crisp and clear. The second verse is pretty much of a mix bag, It doesn’t really return to that hip-hop styled verse we heard start off the song. Instead, it is a bit of a mix between the two styles of music, allowing for a bridge to be created to facilitate the ongoing momentum of the song and Dami’s great rapping sequence. I would have liked for them to explore more of that hip-hop influence though. For the bridge, I really liked how that humming in the background. It kept the song going without needing to opt for a slowed down or cut back sequence. It also maintained the song’s intensity, keeping up the suspense. Overall, Odd Eye does embark into foreign ground briefly. But it did not do so at the expense of what we know Dream Catcher for. In fact, it probably made Dream Catcher even more powerful than before.

With an electrifying song like this, it was nice to see the producers opt for a modern influence to the music video. The video features a fair amount of electronics and additional post-production effects to give off a technological advanced premise. It actually comes off quite cool. They also redesigned the setting of the tree that featured in the previous comebacks to fit in with the video here as well. As for the symbolism, I have no idea what the video is about. Nor how it links to the other music videos in the Dystopia series. It is interesting to see the message at the video, telling us that Dream Catcher couldn’t find their utopia. For the choreography shots, I really liked the black, white and red colour palette. It felt striking and also edgy, fitting with the musical influences they had in the song.

Fierceness is how I would describe the choreography and performance as a whole. The members just came at you with all this energy to be on par with the song. And it felt very satisfying to watch. It didn’t feel like their best work, however. But it was still up there, nonetheless!

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

[Review] Burn It – Golden Child

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The other group to make a Monday comeback today is Golden Child, who returns with Burn It and the mini-album, Yes. Golden Child had a pretty big year and it all started in the preceding year of 2019 through their Wannabe comeback. The group went on to release Without You and One (Lucid Dream) to form a trilogy of releases in which Golden Child explores a darker and mature side. In the midst of these comebacks, they also partipated in Road To Kingdom, before ending the year with the more chirper release of Pump It Up. Golden Child continues to venture out with their new release, kicking off what should be another big year for the group.

Burn It aligns with their more mature releases. My first impression of Burn It was that it felt plain. But why does it have that impression? Well, each of the three releases that formed part of that triology I mentioned in the previous paragraph had a really strong hook that captured my attention. Burn It had a few good hooks, butnone of them felt as as explicitly upfront as those hooks I could easily identify from the other songs I am comparing Burn It to. The good news is that the few re-listens I have given the song today so far to prep for this review has helped the song grow immensely on me. Now I find that the reggaeton styled dance track actually feels quite modern and smooth. Oh, you will always be surprised what a few more repeats of the song will do to you. To enhance the sleekness of the song, there is a bit of whistling in the background to really help emphasis this side of the song. The vocal work and melodies really help in this regard as well. It is also the melodies that help drive the song forward. TAG and Jangjun’s rapping really had a nice kick to it, giving the song that needed intensity fix. I just do miss that centrepiece that draws you in from the first listen. But Burn It comes together to be quite a cohesive track, satsifying the reviewer in me.

Korean media is very big on zombies. There are dramas that features the undead creatures. There are movies that features the same undead creatures. And for a brief while, they featured in the KPOP music videos. But it has definitely been a while since we have seen a zombie themed music video. And Golden Child really went for it in a video almost 7 minutes long. I won’t get into the exact details, but there were many subplots within the video. Family, romance, friendship and sacrifice. The main story of the video revovled around the romance side of the video, where one of the members fight to protect the lead actress. But it turns out the lead actress was bitten and slowly turned into a zombie. In her final moments, she tells her lover to not come near her. But he embraces her zombie form. We can only assume that she turns him at the end (though there was no clarification of that). I do like the subplots approach, because I am sure each subplot represents something larger. The interlude music in the video was a bit cringy and cliche for my liking. But obviously it was there to help build suspense to the final outcomes of each of the subplots (or their cliff hanging enders). I also wished they didn’t include the choreography shots, as those time slots could have been used to explore more of the stories. Have a separate video for the choreography, similar to what T-ARA used to do with their Cry Cry and Day By Day music videos.

The choreography is definitely quite intense and complicated. I really liked that intensity they fuse into the post-chorus hook sequences of the choreography. I also enjoyed the graceful moments of the verses, which felt fitting for the music and helped show off more of their performance skillset. I also really liked how the enitre group was essentially in sync for majority of the performance, emphasising that sleekness and attention to detail once again.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

[Review] U Mad – Bobby (iKON)

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Bobby makes one of the first comebacks of the week. Looking back at this previous solo work, it has almost been four years since we have seen any work from the iKON member. His last release was back in 2017 with the double title track release of I Love You and Runaway. Since then, Bobby has been mainly focused on his group activities through multiple comebacks. More recently, Bobby returned as a solo artist briefly for an OST. Today, Bobby made his solo comeback with U MAD and his second studio album titled Lucky Man.

U MAD is a very agressive song. While U MAD does feature a powerful instrumental, it isn’t the most explosive aspect of the new song. Rather, it is Bobby’s angsty delivery of his lines through his rapping that gives the song its blastful effect. And this actually sets the song a part from the rest of its competition. Most of the time, songs rely heavily on the instrumentation to show off that energy or flair. But in U MAD, Bobby shouts and growls his way through. It really does make an interesting song. The instrumental itself does help out a bit, framing itself around the hip-hop genre. The synths do make the song eventful, peeking through when it matters most to help deliver an effective song. The chorus was really cool. Not only does it combines the best of everything that I mentioned so far, I really liked that it started off with a question (‘Why you mad son?‘) that almost feels playful in a way. It is as if Bobby is edging on his opponents in this song (more on this in a moment). While I have specified in the past that songs like this aren’t really my thing, Bobby definitely manages to change that this time around with U MAD. The only thing I was upset about with this song was how quickly it was over for me.

The premise of the music video was an action packed mission in which Bobby (number 1) had to find the missing CD that Bobby (number 2) had already taken. There was an epic fight scene between Bobby (number 1) and a bunch of guards who worked for Bobby (number 2), which I read Bobby attended stunt classes for. That is definitely commitment! Naturally, for the video to proceed, Bobby (number 1) managed to make it past all those guards (by pretending falling to his death before flying away with Spy Kids styled jet pack shoes) to Bobby (number 2), who was patiently waiting for him. We don’t get to see the aftermath so I am hoping there is a sequel of some kind on the cards. It was a really good video that literally comes out swinging, making it highly suitable for the new song. The only thing I didn’t like was the dreadlocks on Bobby (number 2). The only reason why this version of him is in the feature image is because it is the most decent closeup of the soloist I can get from the music video. I am sure the stylist could have given him a different hairstyle to show off the sinsiterness of the character.

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

[Review] My Turn – CRAVITY

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The next comeback being covered on my blog occurred back on Tuesday (apologies for the delays, once again). I am talking about CRAVITY’s My Turn, which dropped alongside their third mini-album, HIDEOUT: BE OUR VOICE – SEASON 3. This is their latest comeback following their debut with Break All The Rules and their comeback in August with Flame. The group also promoted Cloud 9 and Ooh-Aah (from their two mini-albums) throughout 2020. So without anymore delay, I present to you my review for CRAVITY’s My Turn.

The biggest elephant in My Turn that needs to be addressed is the chorus. Everything else in the song is just fine, though very unimaginative. Better words to describe the rest of My Turn is generic and plain, given that it felt like your typical edgy dance KPOP track and nothing more. But I can overlook that. Despite that, there was some interesting aspects to the song. The dull metal clanging was intriguing. Vocally and rapping-wise, CRAVITY does sound good and more refined The song’s bridge felt very NCT-esque with the slowed down instrumentation, smooth high note and the brief rapping sequence just before the chorus is brought back into play. The pre-chorus tracked a bit better in my books, with a slightly more promising appeal thanks to the incline in the song’s momentum. But instead of a drop to bring up the dynamics of My Turn or a drop that would drasticially change the direction of the song, the producers went with a childish centrepiece. Never did I think I would hear ‘Vroom Vroom Skrrt‘ as the literal main hook of a song. It felt very elementary. When I heard My Turn for the first time, I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. As some time has passed, I will admit that I have gotten used to the idea of ‘Vroom Vroom Skkrt’ as the chorus’ main selling point. But all of those thoughts I had initally about it being childish and such still lingers. And that really maintains that disappointment in the chorus. The insrtumental is another element that hones straight into that plainness description, with it not doing much other than maintaining that generic momentum that the verses contained. Overall, disappointed about the chorus of My Turn. And not much feeling towards the rest of the new song.

I think the visuals within the music video for My Turn fairs better than the song. But ultimately, the video is weighed down by the song. There are many aspects of the video that I enjoyed. The set designs and the overall feel of the music video felt like it was very stylish and modern. The lighting really helped in that aspect. The use of black, white and red felt very sleek. But with a song like My Turn, I think the video had wasted potential. A more dynamic song would have made everything in this video even more sasitfying (with some slight adjustments to the lighting to ensure that the dynamics is reflected). I also note that CRAVITY is being blamed for plagarism once again. Firstly, it is not their fault. It is their company’s fault for these accusations. Horrible planning, poor vetting of the creative minds and ideas – all faults are pointed at their management. Starship Entertainment really needs to be up their game became plagarism is never a great word to be associated with a group.

The choreography was actually quite good, It definitely fitting for the song. The edgy concept they were going for with the song was actually abundantly present throughout the performance. I appreciate the serious mode they were in, which made the childish nature of the chorus disappear briefly whilst watching the performance.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6.3/10

[Review] Love So Sweet – Cherry Bullet

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Apologies, once again, for drip feeding the song reviews again this week. But the weekend will definitely feature more reviews (and this time I am for real as I will be spending my time indoors away from the hot weather, which means more time on the blog!). The song I want to focus on today is Cherry Bullet’s Love So Sweet (as you can already tell from the title of the post). The now-seven member female group returned on Wednesday with the new song and their very first mini-album, Cherry Rush. This is their first mini-album release since their debut in 2019 with Q&A. This is also their first comeback since Aloha Oe last year.

While I have yet to show it due to my slow reviewing capacity, Love So Sweet is fast becoming a favourite of mine this week. To me, I find the song’s instrumental to be so unique, memorable and addictive all at the same time. The start of the song gave off a modern TWICE-like feel, before settling with a minimalist beat that reminds me of the Western pop industry. The pre-chorus kicks the song up a notch by transitioning the song from bubblegum into a more intensive pop sound. And I really liked how it bridged the gap between the verse and the chorus, which also felt defined. The chorus was fun and continues the energy from the pre-chorus. It definitely honed in the fact that Love So Sweet was of the cutesy nature. But while high pitched vocals and sweet melodies were used, I didn’t find the song overly saturated with this vibe. I did like the paced nature of the instrumentation, which really helped in preventing the song from becoming too overly cutesy. Following the actual vocal section of the chorus comes the song’s best part – the post-chorus hook. It brings back that minimalist vibe of the verse in a really unique and sophisicated manner. It also drives the energy down slightly to give way to the slightly more energetic (relatively to the first verse) second verse. I personally didn’t like the rapping in the bridge, but everything else in the segment was fine. Another really strong moment was the high note and its pairing with the subtle blast of energy for the final chorus. It was very fitting and definitely helped make the song peak in a very satsifying manner. I also like how they borught back that post-chorus hook at the very end, ending the song with the highlight of the entire three minutes. Overall, Love So Sweet is definitely a sweet song. But done in a way that was enjoyable and refined.

I really liked the concept of the music video. Essentially, each chunk of the song has given a particular room or setting. The transition between each room was done by a singular doorway, which was a very unique idea for me. I am certain they reused the same rooms, just with different lighting to give off a different feel and make it seem they set up a new room for each scene. Pretty smart. I also liked the editing at the end of the video, where each set was flashed for one second. It was quite flawless. I tried to work out if one member was out of place or not. But I guess the director had such great attention to detail because I couldn’t pinpoint any issues with the quick transitions.

The cutesy charm of the group came through in the performance. Once again, I am glad it didn’t look over saturated with this. There was no bad moment throughout the choreography. My favourite part has to be the during the post-chorus hook segment and after the high note at which the song peaked (and so did the performance!).

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.3/10

[Review] No Diggity – ONEUS

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2020 was a big year for ONEUS in terms of promotions. They were definitely busy. The male group started off 2020 with A Song Written Easily and this was promoted whilst the group participated on Road To Kingdom. As part of the Road To Kingdom show, the group dropped their Come Back Home single, which was then followed up with TO BE OR NOT TO BE in August. And unexpectedly, ONEUS dropped BBUYSEO last month as a digital single. And while you would expect ONEUS to finally have a break of some kind, the group announced a 2021 comeback with No Diggity, which is the focus of today’s review. No Diggity is featured on the group’s first studio album, Devil, since their debut in 2019.

No Diggity is a very powerful song. We are teased with the powerfulness at first via the thumping at the start of the song. But this is just a teaser for what is to come. The song reverts to a more typical hip-hop based dance track, yet with a serious tone and explosive energy as it progresses. What I do like is how they kept that connection with the powerful nature by intensifying the instrumentation with rock vibes. The pre-chorus opt for a very KPOP direction. It was pretty plain and felt like music that I have heard before. On a more positive note, it did show off some vocal flair from Seonho and Leedo though. The chorus takes a turn with what would be accurately described as a noisy and expected drop. We all saw it coming and I don’t really know how to feel about that. I also didn’t enjoy the so-called lyrics to the first half of the chorus (they aren’t words!). It felt like a typical move, though it did show off the song’s intensity without much hinderance. Interestingly, when you actually get lyrics in the second half, you can’t hear much of it because they paired the member with the deepest voice (Leedo) in the group with the loudest instrumentation, which lead to the drowning out effect! Said member returns briefly at the start of the second verse with a really strong rap sequence. I appreciate that he was brought back after the chorus died down and that hint of a low growling effect in his voice. Let’s skip forward to the bridge (as the rest of the second verse/chorus was essentially the same as the first verse/chorus), which I think is where the song definitely wows and peaks for me. Firstly, we have strong vocals (i.e. a brief falestto from Keonhee and high note from Seonho). Remember that powerful energy at the very start of the song? Well, you get a rush of it here at the very end during the dance break and final half-chorus. It shows off their fierceness and intense profile in another thrilling section. Overall, No Diggity is defintiely a song you would want to check out if you want something high energy or intense. It just has a bit of a plainness issue in some parts.

The music video is definitely very bold and has a hint of colour, which I thought was pretty expressive. Based on the lyrics and the imagery in the video, I think the music video is about inner conflict for a lover. On one hand, the members wanted to be sweet (represented by the members in their white outfit). And on the other hand, the members’ inner devil comes out to play, showing each member in an insane mode (playing with flame throwers, getting up close and personal with a bear trap, donning the spiky mask etc.). I think the video also shows their transition to the more crazier side, as shown by the members as they are dressed in red. In the song itself, the more powerful rock sections are like the inner devils speaking, while the more melodic sections (pre-chorus and bridge) was when the more sweeter side emerges. So I think my theory is plausible.

Aside from the intense choreography which ONEUS definitely ticked with this performance, another thing that they nailed was the stage presence. I mean, they knew how to captivate us on stage with their performance with their facial expressions and charisma. And that along with the intense choreography drew me into the stage performance.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

[Review] Stay Young – AB6IX

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The first group to be reviewed this week is AB6IX, who made their return with Stay Young today. This new song is the title track off their repackaged version of their third mini-album, Salute: A New Hope. Previously, the group made their epic comeback in October 2020 with SALUTE, via the mini-album of the same name. I have yet to publish my album review for SALUTE. Originally that was going to come out past new years. But as soon as I heard that the quartet was gearing up for a comeback with a repackaged version, I thought I hold it back to include the new side tracks. That should hopefully come out by the end of the month. In the meanwhile, here is my review for Stay Young.

First impressions of the song is that is very different to the grand and epic nature of SALUTE. If I were to compare the two song side by side, SALUTE would be ‘bold’, ‘powerful’ and ’empowering’, which I am sure are words that many listeners would use to describe that number regardless of whether they enjoyed the song or not. Stay Young would definitely be described as ‘toned-back’, ‘delicate’ and ‘warming’, which are without a doubt in a completely different league. The song itself is a dance track that employs a unique combination of textures, classical instrumentation and bouncy synths. It almost felt like a throwback to their title tracks during their debut year which featured a heavy presense of the house genre. Stay Young features a trendier and refreshing mix that makes the song sound more appealing than straightforward house. The textures and classical instrumentation also bring a differen dynamic to the song. I liked how the producers of the song go for a very nice change in textures towards the end of the song, by bring a touch of guitar, squeakier synths, and the re-employment of the textures that I already mentioned. It definitely makes the song more interesting and brings a fresh wave of energy to end the song in a satisfying manner. The bass in this song is also commendable. Woojin’s rapping was definitely quite strong and complimented the song’s bolstering buildup. Their vocal work was quite nice, but it felt best during the chorus. The vocals in the verses were forgettable. But overall, Stay Young is definitely a decent track overall that I am sure fans will enjoy. Props to their slightly different direction, yet still calling it back to their roots.

From what I got from the lyrics, the song is all about staying indivualistic by staying young. I just wished that message was slightly stronger in the music video. But from what I could understand, the theme park was closed, yet the members still managed to get into the theme park and have some fun. They reference that this could be seen as a rebellion, but they see this as being young. I had a slightly more confusing interpretation which invovled the letter flying backwards and the flower in Woong’s hand while they emerge from apocalyptic setting. But I don’t think it is as strong, felt muddled and might make it confusing, which is why I have left it out. I would like to know any theories/interpretation you might have that involve these scenes, as they do feel a bit random. Aside from the messaging, the video actually felt quite nice. The lighting really helped warm the video up. The setting brings about a nostalgic feeling, while their outfits add to the warmth of the video. Good choices, overall.

The choreography was quite good. I found it to be quite enjoyable to watch, especially when it came to the choruses. There was a vibrant blast of energy in the choreography that really help strengthen the song. I also liked how they played with the song’s slight textural change at the end, which made the performance more captivating and fun (depending on which way you look at it).

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10

[Review] Switch To Me – Rain & JYP

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The next collaboration that I wanted to quickly cover was the final release of 2020. Dropping on the 31st of December 2020 was Switch To Me, a collaboration between Rain and JYP. Rain, for those who don’t know, is a well-known soloist in the KPOP music industry and his famous physique that he has flaunted in his musical releases on numerous occasions (the most iconic being Love Song). More recently, he saw a resurgence in his fame through the remergence of his 2018 track Gang, collaborated with Zico for Summer Hate and collaborated with Yoo Jae Suk and Lee Hyori for SSAK. JYP is a male soloist who we all know, thanks to his old school hits (which are considered classics in the industry) and more recently collaborated with Sunmi for When We Disco. But today, we are hear to have a closer look and listen at Switch To Me.

Switch To Me delves into the new jack swing genre, bringing forth a strong retro appeal for their new song and collaboration. It is super jam packed with energy, which is representative of the genre. And knowing Rain and JYP’s style of music, this energy driven song is totally both their styles. In hindsight, Switch To Me is a pretty straightforward song. But there was a few elements that really made this a collaboration enjoyable. Aside from the energy that I have already touch upon, I really liked the chorus of this song. It was quite memorable and catchy. I particularly liked the way they ended their choruses, giving us a little more than a hard finish would have. I really liked their voices in this song. JYP’s sings in his signature style, while Rain employs a little more huskiness than what I remember his voice contains. The rapping in the second verse was quite nice and adds a burst of exciting energy into the song. I don’t have much else to say about Switch To Me, aside from the fact that it is a strong collaboration track and one that I am sure fans of both soloists have enjoyed.

The music video starts off with what feels like a K-drama scene of two frienemies or rivals praising one another by keeping tabs on one another’s recent achievements. I also like how their dialogue touches on the point that Rain used to be an artist under JYP’s guidance and that he learnt everything from JYP himself. Enter in the actress, who Rain and JYP spend their time throughout the music video competing against each other for. There are abs being flaunted, horse riding and expensive cars being driven. But the ending cracks me up with an unsuspected contender turns up. The ending shows the actress walking towards Rain and JYP, with us suspecting that she will choose one of them. But she ends up going for Psy, whom she was very pleased to see. I loved Psy’s face in response to the two singers and Rain’s reaction to the event.

The performance was pretty good. Despite their age, both Rain and JYP commit to the energtic side of the performance. It is really enjoyable and helps liven the song up a lot more than just the instrumentation/song itself. There seems to be a tiny hint of comedy in the performance from how I see things, no doubt a play on Rain’s recent trendiness and JYP’s usual outrageous performance style. I also quite liked the ending, with both singers going for that half split.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10

[Review] Hop In – Uhm Jung Hwa ft. Hwasa (Mamamoo) & DPR LIVE

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During the final days of 2020, we were gifted with a number of releases. Usually, this time of the year is very quiet in terms of releases. But like the entire year as a whole, 2020 was an exception. The first release I want to review is a collabroation between the legendary Uhm Jung Hwa, the trendy Hwasa (from Mamamoo) and DPR Live. The single, titled Hop In, came to life on the 22nd of December and was performed at each of the end of year music festivals.

Hop In starts off with Hwasa in a ballad-like set up. Hwasa has been known to kill ballads in the past and this start is no exception to this trend. But that is only the intro, a small fraction of the song. In a matter of seconds of wrapping up the balladic nature, the song brings in a very energetic and upbeat retro beat (similar to the new jack swing genre of music) that is very lively and brings so much personality to the song. This also marks Uhm jung Hwa’s entrance into the song, which is bold and powerful. All of which definitely suits the legend that Uhm Jung Hwa is. I really like the rock elements in the instrumental, which just amps up the song to a whole new level. DPR Live ‘s featuring is much shorter in comparison to Hwasa’s featuring. At first I enjoyed his part, giving the song some vareity. But as his part progresses on, it just bored me. Hwasa returns at the end of the song to close off the song with that balldry style that she started the song off with. There are two parts of Hop In that I really enjoyed, on top of what I have already pointed out thus far. The first has to be the mini rap-like sequence Uhm Jung Hwa brings to the song towards the end. And the second is the spoken ‘Click Clack’ just before the song’s choruses. Both parts felt iconic and definitely are Uhm Jung Hwa’s strong points. Overall, Hop In was a very strong collaboration between generations that manages to appeal towards the taste of listeners of KPOP today.

I find the music video to be quite well done. It is quite simple, with majority of the music video shot in a dark set and lights being used as effects to fill up the void in the darkness. It is quite effective, as the simplicity allows you to just zone right into Uhm Jung Hwa and Hwasa. And they are performing in leopard print, which fits both of their bold, confident and fierce personas. The coloured lighting in the white rooms were pretty weak and not as bold. I wished they had some oomph to them to be on par with the rest of the music video.

Uhm Jung Hwa and Hwasa are sexy icons. So without a doubt, their performance will go down the sexy route. Those outfits definitely allude to the direction already. It is quite an enjoyable routine and there wasn’t anything overly explicit about it. But despite that, I like that neither holds back, going straight for the boldness that I am sure shocked fans and the Korean public.

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

[Double Review] ASURABALBALTA + Dracula – T1419

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It is time to do some catching up and review a new release from earlier in the week. Killing two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. T1419 made their debut on Monday with ASURABALBALTA. Those who don’t know who T1419, they are a nine-member male group from MLD Entertainment. Because they come from MLD Entertainment, the group is being marketed as the younger-sibling group of MOMOLAND, who also hails from the same company. Fun fact, the name T1419 is based on the current age range of the members (i.e. 14 to 19 years of age). The group also pre-released a single prior to their debut, Dracula, which is the second song in this review today.

While this is a double review, I will be focusing on ASURABALBALTA as that is their debut track. ASURABALBALTA is clearly an attempt of trying to fit into the industry with the dark and serious sound trend that male groups have been going for, particularly in 2020. I do like prefer this style of music from male groups. But T1419’s debut track fails to really captivate and capture my attention. ASURABALBALTA features a powerful instrumental that is undermined by the group’s delivery. The vocals and rapping don’t feature that same level of impact and hence weakens the integrity of the song quite a bit. And even while I describe the instrumental as powerful, I will admit that its content is very unimaginative. I wish there was more to every element. Let the instrumental have that spark it need to make it even more explosive. Let the vocals and rapping have a bit angst behind them to really make the song more captivating. I will give them a second chance when they next comeback rolls around. But ASURABALBALTA is just a listen once song for me.

Dracula was released back before Halloween 2020. I personally don’t remember what I initially thought about Dracula when it was first released. But post-ASURABALBALTA, Dracula has a bit more indivudality, even though it does have a plainness vibe to it. It, too, is an attempt to fit in with the darker sound of male idol groups in the KPOP industry. But there are acoustic guitars and flute work that is mixed into a bass-heavy and squeaky synth instrumentation. I also like the suspenseful bridge of the song, which works with the time period they released the song in. It isn’t exactly a fresh sound, but it definitely has its perks. Dracula also manages to put a bit of ‘life’ into the rapping, which I think is much better than the debut song’s rapping (even though, it is heavily deepened to give off a ‘possessed’ type of aura). The vocals don’t really scream out at me in Dracula, which felt more dried and dulled than ever. I just wished the instrumental (and vocals) had more oomph and energy, which would have Dracula a much more successful debut track than the former song.

ASURABALBALTA‘s music video was pretty one-dimensional. I wanted more to it, as it just opted for the basic choreography and closeup formula. At least, MLD Entertainment could have made the closeups a little more captivating. Aesthetic-wise, the colour palette works extremely well and the edgy vibes are well translated. But that is the best comments I can give for their debut music video. As for Dracula‘s music video, it was a smart video. It is relatively simple music video, featuring just choreography shots. But it taps into that Halloween pretty well. The setting that was chosen for the music video served its purposes for this concept. I really like the bats and chuckled at the randomness of the wolves. But the winning element, without a doubt, has to be the faces of the members. Scary, yes. Mysterious, yes. Creepy, yes. And going back to that ‘smart’ comment, Dracula also serves its purpose of being a teaser to the group, leaving us guessing and asking questions about the members.

T1419’s strongest point has to the choreography and performance. Both ASURABALBALTA and Dracula were strong performances. ASURABALBALTA showcased their syncness and energy quite well. I just wished the song was something more along the lines of the intro, which would have really showed us more of their performance skills. Dracula could have used some more flair, but it was still a decent routine that worked well with the rest of the music video.

ASURABALBALTA
Song – 5.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.2/10

Dracula
Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

[Review] HWAA – (G)I-DLE

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Please accept my apology for drip feeding you the reviews like this. Today, we are covering another comeback that occurred on Monday of this week. (G)I-DLE made their comeback with HWAA and the mini-album, I Burn. This release follows their DUMDi DUMDi comeback that occurred back in August of 2020. Since the August comeback, the group has been busy with their Japanese comeback, their return as part of the K/DA lineup and an online fanmeet.

The first thought that popped into my head while listening to HWAA the first time was that this new song reminded me of HANN quite a bit, a previous single by the group. And I guess this was based on the atmopsheric approach that the songs share in common. But HWAA is a little different, as (to me) it has a bit of an edge thanks to the more upbeat instrumentation that the song ended up developing towards. I also find that the more intense moments of the song come during the verses, which is slightly different to HANN’s chorus approach when it came to that atmospheric vibe. And as we have that atmosphereic mindset in play, I was also slightly convinced that the group was going to pull an Oh My God styled chorus, which I personally would have been down for. I specifically note this, however, as I have recently found that I seem to be in the minority of people who actually enjoyed the Oh My God comeback. Obviously with that supposed general consenus, something similar would probably have made HWAA less palatable. I am hoping that this is more satisfying for other listeners to actually appreciate the effort that (G)I-DLE has put in for this song/comeback. I personally enjoyed the chorus, but wished there was something more than the HWAA harmonisation to give it that extra oomph. The rest of the vocal work in the song is superb, especially with Soyeon’s vocals at the start of the song and rapping in the second verse. It is however disappointing to hear that Shuhua only got four seconds of lines in the song. The biggest flaw for me with this song was the ending. Too abrupt for my liking. Overall, HWAA was a great song, though the ending was the biggest let down. And such an ending stays with you.

The music video was very aesthetic and stunning to watch. To me, this would rival any YG Entertainment music video. And this is saying a lot given how I am always amazed at the quality of their videos and the grandness of their set design. HWAA consisted for really beautiful and captivating set designs. The icy landscape with the dying tree in the background, Soyeon’s birdnest, the oriental styled walling and the moonlight garden were just so good. I also find their outfits and visuals stunning. Stealing my attention right away is Yuqi’s haristyle and those dresses with flowery patterns on them. The song doesn’t necessarily suit those dresses, but they work extremely well in that moonlight garden setting.

Hand motions and arm work heavily dominate the choreography. It is commendable how graceful they make the all those motios look during the pre-chorus vocal moments, matching with the music. And I really like how robust they make it look during the chorus, giving it energy and intensity to also match with the music at those parts. Essentially, they are doing the same thing but making it go both ways.

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

[Review] MY TREASURE – TREASURE

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Also making their comeback yesterday was TREASURE. For those who missed the second half of 2020, TREASURE made their debut with BOY back in August and made comebacks with I LOVE YOU and MMM. And with these releases under their belt, the newest male group to the YG Family have been sweeping the rookie awards of this ongoing award season. They are also my pick for best rookie of 2020 (hint hint). This comeback with a full length album and (I guess) the title track, MY TREASURE, was originally hinted to be a December release. But their company made the decision to delay it slightly to allow the members focus on more special performances which they are performing at award shows and end of year music festivals. But as we are now in mid-January (and YG delivered on their promise), we are here today to check out MY TREASURE.

I personally find TREASURE to be a very interesting group, given their company’s background. MY TREASURE doesn’t conform to anything that YG Entertainment is known for. I had that inkling through their earlier releases. But MY TREASURE seems to confirm that TREASURE is going in a different direction to what the roots of the company were based on. The new song itself is very cheerful and vibrant in a pop music manner, which works extremely well with the uplifting nature of the lyrics. I feel that the company/members ultimately chose this song as their comeback track for these characteristics. It definitely brought some light back into our lives after such a hard year. I appreciate this greatly and think the effort pays off, as the song does make you want to smile as you listen to it. I also really like the warm feeling the song gives off thanks to the brass- and string-based instrumentation, particularly during the chorus. Another positive aspect of this song is that with this style, more of TREASURE’s vocals are showcased. I definitely enjoyed this as well, as it really allowed TREASURE to show more of that side of their music. The rapping was still quite good, giving the song some much needed oomph and additional intensity. The hooks were catchy and memorable. But while this upbeat and pop sound is fantastic, I just wished there was more to the song. At the moment, MY TREASURE feels like it could have been pulled off by any other male group. I just wanted a bit more personality and indivduality, adding to what we saw in their earlier works from last year. I also wonder where TREASURE would go from here and how this more pop-centric sound would alter YG Entertainment’s portfolio. But it still a great listen, nonetheless.

With such uplifting lyrics and such a vibrant sound, it was clear that this music video would be along the lines of that bright and cutesy style. I am glad that the members didn’t get dragged into a cutesy concept, as that would be a bit much for me (as always). ‘Bright’ would be the best term to describe the song with. There is a lot of smiles in this music video, and also frowns being turned upside down. I also liked the splash of colour in their sets, making this a really pleasant video to tune into. The video does take a slightly serious turn, showing a lonely child, students taking exams in a very harsh environment and a child blocking their ears from hearing their parents arguing. But we see their hearts shine, showing us that they will shine through the hard times no matter what.

Like the music video, the performance was definitely bright and vibrant. But I will be honest, there isn’t much else to the performance. I didn’t find any moves that were captivating or worth mentioning. You could blame the song, but I felt the creative minds could still manage to find somehow one-up their MMM and other performances.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10

[Review] What I Said – VICTON

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VICTON is officially back with their first studio-length album since debut. Titled Voice: The Future is Now, the group launches right into promotions with What I Said as the title track. This comeback was originally scheduled for early December, but the members came into close contact with a person with COVID-19 days prior to their comeback. ‘The company, Plan M Entertainment, decided to postpone the comeback to allow the members to quarantine and ensure that they all had a clean bill of health (which fortunately, they did) for promotions. This follows Mayday, which was released in June of last year and Han Seong Woo’s solo debut with Sacrifice.

What I Said continues the Latin trend that has been going around the industry for the last few years. While this would definitely elicit a groan and a eye roll from some (which does include me), What I Said manages to stand out with the more energetic nature of the instrumental. I think it is better described as an explosion of energy, thanks to the layered instrumental of brass and thumping percussion. The song features a powerful dance pop vibe in the song, which really helps distract me slightly from the Latin influence that is undeniably there. And if you know me, I do like my vibrant pieces of music. So that really enhances What I Said for me. The members do a really good job of matching this vibrancy. From their vocals to the rapping, everything was definitely popped out at me. I liked how their vocals and rapping added an edgy vibe, which fits in with VICTON’s matured profile that they opted for in 2020. I also liked the energy they channeled through the vocals and rapping, giving the song some more power in another form. The hooks of the song made the song even better, giving it that memorability factor that I always looking for in these song. I did find the second verse the most interesting, with the start of verse reminding me of the ‘I Like It Like That‘ sample which was made recognizable most recently through Cardi B’s I Like That. Hanse’s rapping and Chan’s solo moment right after were very captivating and extremely intense. Overall, What I Said might be a bit cliché in some regards. But this is easily overlooked with everything else that VICTON pulls out of the bag.

Personally, I am not exactly sure if the music video sets have much meaning. They look quite extravagant, sleek and definitely something that feels like it was thought out. Furthermore, I am quite sure they reflect parts of the lyrics. But I just can’t seem to pinpoint the exact meaning or message behind the music video. I am always interested in reading theories, so feel free to comment any below that you may have figured out or heard from other viewers/fans. But I can say that the sets are stunning (as already touched on). The camera work looked cool and the video highlighted the visuals of each of the members. I also like their outfits in this video, especially those black jackets and gold detailing.

While the choreography is a great representation of all that energy, intensity and power that I mentioned in the song review section of this post, I felt the choreography was lacking depth and dynamism. I just wanted more with this choreography, something to make me go wow. The synchronization was good, but it just wasn’t paired with jaw-dropping moves that would have enhanced their performance even more.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10

[Review] Crush – MCND

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MCND makes their comeback, just a few days after the group kicked off their musical career with their pre-debut single Top Gang one year ago. They later debuted in 2020 with Ice Age, and returned with Spring and nanana later in the year. On the Thursday and Friday that just passed, the five member male group from TOP MEDIA returned with Crush and their third mini-album, MCND Age.

Since their debut, MCND has managed to show more and more of their skillset to me through their main title releases. And it seems like Crush continues momentum with another pretty good song for me at least. Their new song has this playful persona especially when it came to the song’s chorus, which helped made the song appeal to my taste and make it likable. It is a little masked, however, which allowed the group’s hip-hop roots to flourish a bit more and help it be consistent with the rest of their discography. I am not troubled by this though, as Crush still comes out to be a really enjoyable song for me. The instrumental has this really nice energy profile throughout the song. From the looping guitars to the conisistent snare beats to the synths employred throughout Crush, everything comes together really tightly. I really liked the dance break section that formed part of the bridge, which felt like a brief reset before the song brought back the chorus in a more amped up and chanty fashion. Their vocal delivery was also quite good. It might have been a dull move when paired with other instrumentals. But the deep rap-speak delivery of the lines in the chorus worked really well and added that playful persona that I mentioned before. The ad-libs were also quite nice, giving the song some flair at the end. Altogether, a great listen from MCND.

Aside from choreography shots and closeups, the music video to Crush doesn’t have much else to it. But despite the basic formula, I did enjoy the various sets that the members shot those scenes in and the different angles/confined places that were used helped make the music video feel a little more creative. I do question some elements. The closeup shot of one of the members in a tanning bed doesn’t seem like a great message to send out to the audience (I come from a country where those are banned because they are dangerous and not great for one’s health). The whole final set of scenes where the members perform ‘outside’ with hot air balloons floating in the background made no sense and felt like a random addition. The hats worn by two members in those scenes were also horrendous. Who ever thought that pink fluffy hat in particular was good really needs to have a long think about themselves. But apart from those questionable elements, it was a good video.

With a song such as this and great energy being one of the highlights, it is expected that the choreography would carry through the same energy levels. And they do just that. The song’s playful nature also carries over, making it quite en enjoyable stage. The members’ smirks and smiles add another layer of appeal to the performance. That dance break we get at the end was another highlight of the choreography.

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

[Review] In The Dark – Jeong Sewoon

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Finally…. The first song review of 2021! And the honour of kick starting the reviews for 2021 belongs to Jeong Sewoon, the first artist from a major company to make their comeback in the new year. About 6 months ago, Jeong Sewoon made his comeback with the first half of his first studio album, 24, and the title track Say Yes. It has been incredibly quiet since that release. Today, the soloist finally returns with the second half of his first studio album and the title track, In The Dark.

While the last title track had a cheerful tone to it, In The Dark opts for a little more matureness and seriousness. This doesn’t effect the upbeat nature of the song, as the acoustic guitars that make up In The Dark‘s background is incorporated with band percussion to give the instrumentation some bounce to it. I quite like this, as the energy is very straightforward and consistent. Usually, I use these descriptors to highlight them as flaws. But In The Dark uses them in a very appealing manner, so it is definitely a highlight of the song. Another highlight has to be the husky vocals that Jeong Sewoon employs in this song. They blew me away and made the song a lot more captivating to listen to. It just bring so much texture of the song, particularly for the chorus. And it is the main selling point of the song that makes me want to go back to the song each time it wraps up. Unfortuately, I do have one issue with the song. I was expecting the ending to be somewhat different to the rest of the song to really bring it all home and blow me away completely. Whether that was through amped up vocals (or some sort of high/long note or ad-lib) or maybe different instrumentation routes, I wouldn’t mind. I just thought the ending called for something more. But aside from that, In The Dark still manages to blow me away.

While In The Dark sounds more mature and serious, the lyrics are unexpectedly quite uplifting. It reassures fans and listeners that being ‘in the dark’ is okay and that ‘you will shine’. He also offers tips of ‘hold your head up high’ and ‘bring back the mindset that you started with’ whilst in the dark. What does this have to do with the music video? Well, majority of the video is Jeong Sewoon in the dark. I interpreted his face in some parts to be worrying and scared. But we see him have a boogie and dance around, making the most of his time in the darkness. It is clear he is showing that while the dark is scary, he can hold his head up high and shine with his smile. And if he can do it, you can as well!

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

[Review] Across the Universe – D-CRUNCH

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Vote now before the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards polling page closes on the 31st of December. Click here to be taken to the page.

The next review is for D-CRUNCH, who made their comeback back in October with Across The Universe. D-CRUNCH may be an unfamiliar name to some as they are from a very small entertainment company, Ai Grand Korea (they were previously signed to All-S Company, but have since left that company). I have previously reviewed their Stealer single. But that is from 2018 and so I too need a refresher on who D-CRUNCH are. They are a nine-member male group (consisting of Hyunho, O.V, Minhyuk, Chanyoung, Jungseung, Dylan, Hyunwook, Hyunoh, and Hyunwoo) who made their debut in 2018 with Palace. They then made their comebacks with Stealer (also in 2018), Are You Ready? (in 2019, not reviewed), Pierrot (earlier this year, not reviewed) and now Across The Universe.

To me, Across The Universe has this dramatic flair and a seriousness to it that makes the song appropriate for an action movie, especially in the chorus. I’m thinking a chase scene that has us on the edge of our seats. But back to the song. I find Across The Universe‘s EDM direction to be quite dynamic and full of energy. At first listen, it might just sound like a bunch of noise. And I actually noted down that I wanted to hear something more thrilling and exciting. But after many listens since October, I can safely say that the song had all of that on the instrumentation side of the song. I also liked the use of the marching band and piano in the pre-choruses, which really helped add some flair and different energy throughout the song (i.e. it wasn’t just EDM and synths all the time). And an EDM track like this is definitely full of intensity. But note that I only specifically mentioned this about the instrumentation. My wishing for something a little more thrilling and exciting is still applicable for the vocal work and rapping in this song. I wanted it to be as dynamic as the instrumental and at the moment, it felt a little one dimensional (though the fast rapping sequence in the second verse was definitely a highlight if I focused on the song and was not casually listening to it). As a result, I didn’t find much of their input to be memorable, aside from the ‘Across The Universe‘ line they sing in heavy autotune just prior to launching into the chorus. They do build on their vocals to match the instrumental, which was a plus. But majority of the time, the instrumental felt like it overpowered the vocals and rapping. I also wished the chorus had more of a hook, rather than relying on just the abrasiveness of the EDM. Sometimes it works for me, but other times (like Across The Universe) it doesn’t.

There isn’t much to the video aside from choreography and close ups. There was a bit of a segregation between members for a small part of the video that I wished they could have explored a little more. But it seems like they are friends and aren’t actually enemies. I am not entirely fond of the sandy set. It looks like a backyard. But I did like how they redid the lighting to make it appear like two different sets. The better set of sets (for my personal tastes) are the darker ones, such as when the members were dressed in silky blue outfits in front of the diamond-like structure or white outfits in front of the graffitied wall.

I really like the intensity and energy behind their moves, which matches with the intensity and dynamic nature of the music. I just wished the way they got into formation wasn’t just walking. Maybe incorporate some movements to make getting into formation and hence the entire performance appear more robust.

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