Category: Reviews

[Review] Eight – IU ft. Suga (BTS)

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You take the digital queen of KPOP. You take one of the members of the most popular KPOP group in KPOP. You put them together in a room and apparently that equates to Eight. If you couldn’t tell about the title of this post, I will be having a looking into the collaboration single that came about when we combine the likes of IU and Suga from BTS. And that collaboration single is set to dethrone every other song at the top of the charts, given the power of the two in the industry. After all, they have already debuted at the number 1 position for two of the domestic charts and they are rising fast on the rest of them. After all, it is what IU and BTS does best.

The song is produced by Suga and IU themselves and it all about being 28 (which is also the Korean age of both IU and Suga this year). The song takes the form of a pop rock track, which already sounds amazing. I liked how mellow Eight started off as and how fast it was to ditch that sound to become an epic pop rock song that I could rock out to. That is really big tick in my books. To me, it is like the song mashes up IU’s pop rock Blueming and BTS’ more modern influence. I do think Eight could have used some electric guitar riffs to really give the final chorus a little something different to the rest of the song. Or would this be a little cliche? The song just felt a little too consistent as I was listening to it after multiple replays. Though, this doesn’t stop me from pressing the replay button. IU’s vocals never seem to disappoint, with this song highlighting her vocal abilities in the same way as her ballads and well known hits have always managed to do. Her voice comes off very refreshing and suits this pop rock style a lot. Suga has a very limited section in Eight, but he comes in with a really cool whisper and he continues the momentum of the song without diverting to a new or different sound. The only other flaw of the song is how short it was. But after all, it is a short but sweet song.

The music video starts and ends off with IU in this futuristic world. It seems like the machine that she gets into is a memory machine that replays memories in her dream. The memory that we see on our screen is what I presume to be an experience at the age of 28. She takes care of a lizard or gecko that she really loves. One night, she has a dream that she is on a plane and her lizard is on the outside of the plane. The plane experiences turbulence, waking IU up. IU runs downstairs to find that her lizard pet has gone into the wild. IU, in another dream, goes looking for her pet. But soon realizes that her pet had evolved into a dragon like creature. Knowing that her lizard pet is well and moving on with its life, she moves on with hers as she flies away to her destination. I thought the video was really cool. I liked how they showed four versions of IU without confusing us as they used a different style of each. They used a human form for Futuristic IU and memory IU, while animated 3D IU (which may have included 3D animated Suga) and cartoon IU for the different dreams. Overall, a fantastic video.

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

[Review] V.A.V.I Girl – FANATICS

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Making their comeback on Monday was FANATICS. The group started out as a trio, FANATICS-FLAVOR, back in 2018 with the single Milkshake. The subunit was reformed with new members and the FLAVOR part was dropped from their name. The full group, FANATICS, was expanded to be 6 members in 2019 through the release of Sunday. The group then expanded to a 8-member lineup this year through V.A.V.I Girl (this review) and currently the group’s lineup is Sika, Doi, Chaelin (hiatus), Chiayi, Yoonhye (hiatus), Doah, Rayeon and Via. This is the group’s second official comeback, which features on their second mini-album which is titled (appropriately) as Plus Two.

Right off the bat, I want to say that I don’t mind V.A.V.I Girl as a song. There are a number of elements in the song that I quite enjoy and there are a number of elements that I am not digging. As always, let’s start off with the negative aspects that is dragging the song down. I personally don’t like how they pushed the cutesy style vocals onto this group. I understand that was the more fitting sound given the song’s energetic and lively nature. But I felt it was still quite unnecessary push that ended with the song developing a really typical profile. I think they could have adopted a mature vocal style (allowing for the use of their raspy and husky vocals that I can hear) and this song still would have had the same impact. The instrumental was also quite loud, so they had to push their voices extra hard to be heard over it. This was also an unnecessary step that the producers could have prevented. I usually don’t mind the dubstep breakdown that cuts through songs, but this was pretty ill-fitting. They had to a take what felt like an extra long pause to return the song its original instrumental, a sign of something that just doesn’t go with the majority. But as I said, it isn’t all bad. I thought the instrumental (aside from that dubstep breakdown) was awesome. There was an explosive and punchy nature to the retro instrumental, which was quite addictive. This also made the song very colorful and fun. Adding to the addictiveness of the song was the hook. I thought the ‘V.A.V.I Girl‘ was actually quite smart as it pronounced similarly to Barbie Girl. The main reason why they did this was to avoid being banned from promoting it (as songs with actual brand names have been banned from music shows in the past), as that won’t help to get their name out there.

If you had been reading this blog for a while now, you might have noticed that I prefer videos with a story line or some sort of . It doesn’t have to be a spectacular movie blockbuster style. It just has been something that they can weave into the video so it doesn’t become a typical closeup and choreography style music video, which I find boring. This music video had it, but it was missing a key detail. The members are dolls that have become alive and they go into a toy shop after realizing that the product they used to be part of were not doing well in sales. It seems like they go in play around with some of the toys and go looking for themselves to put in the middle display. We just don’t get to see the part where they find their product, which I think was the whole point of the video. I don’t think they grabbed the ones from the front as they have ‘Buy 1 Get 1 Free’ stickers on the front that you can’t remove without leaving some of the sticker behind. In regards to the rest of the video, it was very colourful and had a fun vibe, matching the tone of the song.

The choreography was good. It didn’t look that impressive at first. But after multiple replays of the choreography on stage, I thought that circle formation they move in for the second half of the chorus was very cool. The music video showed a few black flips (don’t know if they are the actual name of that move) at the end of the video. It was probably for the best given their outfits, but I would have liked to see that on stage as it would added a little wow factor in my opinion.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6.5/10

[Review] Knock – ASTRO

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Also kicking off the month of May is ASTRO, who makes their comeback with the title track, Knock, and the mini-album GATEWAY. This is ASTRO’s first comeback since the release of Blue Flame late last year and it is also the first official comeback which marks the return of Moonbin, who sat out of promotions for Blue Moon for health reasons. ASTRO, with Moonbin, did release a special single, One & Only, in March for their fourth anniversary. I am also very glad that ASTRO is coming back today as opposed to a week from now due to the intense competition due next week. It gives ASTRO an opportunity to shine, which will help them immensely in this crazy month ahead.

Knock may be the song that pushes the group further into the spotlight. I feel like All Night and Blue Flame did a fine job at putting the group into the spotlight, but it hasn’t been enough to make them the centre of attention based on the resultant reception that I got from my research. After all, the group is charting higher than ever with Knock. I put my finger on a number of aspects of the song that may be helping with this. The first has to be the song’s robust and very dynamic chorus. I like how the song’s main hook (i.e. the ‘Knock Knock Knock‘) felt like mini jabs throughout the chorus that really reeled you in and grabbed your attention. The second has to the be powerful rapping. Both JinJin and Rocky shined in the verses. But once the bridge came, I wanted more and they delivered with an extra powerful sequence. And as a cherry on the top, JinJin had a final section with was rapping overload for me (in a good way). The third has to be the vocals. MJ, Moonbin, Eunwoo and Sanha all sounded really clear and crisp. The powerful dance instrumentation was very loud and I was concerned that the members would be drowned in the midst of the music. The fourth has to be the instrumental, which I have just touched on. I liked how the chorus contrasted with the instrumentation in the verses, which was a lot more melodic and calmer. Put everything together and you get Knock.

The concept of the music video and comeback is dimension travelling, which isn’t a unfamiliar concept in the KPOP world. I am a little hesitant calling it time travelling, even though their image teasers hinted towards it, as I didn’t see much references to time. But what I think I find very unique about the music video is that they focus on the middle region of this travelling between different worlds, which is often not even shown in music videos related to time travelling or going in between worlds. It was stunning video and you could see how the multiple worlds was accessible in this realm or limbo that they are in. The visual effects for the spiraling staircases and the floating planets looked amazing. Even the members looked very attractive and captivating in this video.

The choreography left a very strong impression on me. In an interview published by Soompi, the group expressed how tiring the choreography. And what I saw in the music video looked really exhausting. But it was a very powerful routine that shows off the group’s dancing ability. Just watch look at each moment where they sing ‘Knock Knock Knock‘. There is no resting period in this choreography and it requires stamina. So props to the members for this powerful choreography, especially in the weeks to come.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 9.7/10

[Review] Happy – Taeyeon (SNSD)

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Today, Taeyeon makes her grand return with her single, Happy. This comeback was meant to happen 2 months ago on March 9th, which is also her birthday. But due to her father’s death on the same day, the decision was made to delay the comeback up until a week ago when the new single confirmed its new release date. Before I begin the review or go any further, I would like to express my condolences to Taeyeon and her family for their loss. On a happier note, this is Taeyeon’s first comeback since the release of her second repackaged studio album and the title track, Dear Me.

Happy is the first release of May that will be a tough digital contender throughout the month, as is the case for most of Taeyeon’s releases. And listening to Happy, you can tell there is a certain level of boldness in this song that is needed to achieve high rank on the charts. For Happy, this boldness comes in the form of a deep and loud thumping drum, which not only gives the song boldness but it also adds a little cute flair to the song which makes it extremely appealing. The song is said to combine old school doo-wop and R&B to create such a heartwarming and wholesome song. And it is because of these feelings that just make you want to smile. Adding to the really positive atmosphere that comes from the song are Taeyeon’s vocals. They just feel down to earth and really captivating without the singer pulling out crazy vocal chops. In a way, she keeps to a simple presentation and I quite like this. The melodies were just so flowy and this too adds to the appeal. Altogether, the song manages to bundle happiness in a 3:46 minute track.

I am not too sure if this is the original music video that was meant to be released. But I find the video to be extremely relatable (not including the fridge positioned in the middle of the living room) to the current circumstances that we find much of the world in at this moment. I wonder if this was the intention of the music video, if it was not re-filmed to be applicable to current times. Essentially, we see Taeyeon enjoy her time alone, with what I assume is memories with her love one. We also see Taeyeon in a fake field, surrounded with flowers. This may be an artistic choice, or it could be due to the restrictions in place around the world. I thought this was a great video. The lighting was extremely bright and complimented the happy tone of the song. I would say the music video was simple to a degree, as there wasn’t much going on. But it managed to work with the song.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.6/10

[Review] Lucifer – NOIR

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It has been almost a year since we heard from NOIR, who last returned to the stage in June 2019 with Doom Doom. On Monday of this week, NOIR made their comeback with Lucifer and the group’s fourth mini-album, Up The Sky. For those who don’t know or remember NOIR, they are a nine-member male group from LUK Factory. Their past releases include Gangsta, Airplane Mode and Doom Doom.

As it has been a while since the group’s last release, NOIR has become lost to the countless releases that have released since their last comeback. I do vaguely remember key descriptors that I have used for their past tracks – Intensity and powerful. Two words that would be too comfortable to describe Lucifer with. Coincidentally, it is also two words that I have used a lot to describe many other songs. One word I haven’t used to describe their songs yet is ‘typical’. I guess there is always a first for every thing. Listening and comparing the song with their past releases, it seems Lucifer is only intense and powerful when it came to only certain moments of the song, when the rappers come into play. It is the only element that really captures my attention. The vocal work is fine, just not really impactful. And it doesn’t help the song doesn’t have a more catchy hook. What we got was incredibly boring and typical. The chorus of Lucifer, which has been the main attraction with their last releases, takes on a melodic approach, which I don’t mind. It just lacks that, well, main attraction. It comes off as incredibly plain. Overall, the song just doesn’t do it for me. It needs to be bolder and contain another ‘main attraction’, similar to what Airplane Mode and Doom Doom had.

We all know of Lucifer as the angel who fell from grace. In this video, we often all a member dressed in white, which I assume depicts the fallen angel walking with other members dressed in black. At the table, this fallen angel sits at the head, which is where we know Lucifer would sit given his status as prominent member of the underworld. There was also a scene where one of the members was dressed in black, while the rest were in white (i.e. Lucifer before his fall). I did like the simplicity of the plot line and imagery. The lighting and effects seemed a little cliche and typical. I didn’t get the outside choreography shot we got at the very end. It felt out of placed and random as a throw in. But overall, a fair video.

The choreography was okay. I guess that since the song isn’t as dynamic, the performance doesn’t need to be dynamic as well. Most of the moves look rather standard and plain. But there was a few formations and moves that depicted the fall from grace in an interesting manner.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 6.6/10

[Review] Ridin’ – NCT Dream

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The returning group of the day is NCT Dream, who returns with the highly anticipated, Ridin’. Technically, this is the comeback where the members would ‘graduate’ from the group, as they have reached the adult age in South Korea. However, it was announced two weeks ago that NCT Dream, after promotions for Ridin’, would abolish the graduation system and become a fixed lineup group. In more exciting news, Mark (who graduated from the group at the end of 2018) would return to be part of the lineup, where small units of the members (if not all the members) would promote under the name of NCT Dream. Definitely exciting news to all NCTzens who support the ‘young’ subunit. But we will have to get through the Ridin’ promotions before we get to that stage, so let’s have a dive into the new song.

Ever since the release of Boom last year, it was obvious that the group would never set foot into their more youthful title tracks. And that game changer song really set them up for future releases, as evident by the quality and style of Ridin’. The intensity that you can feel from the song really rivals the intensity that we got from Boom. The instrumental is described to be an urban trap song. I like how the song plays with the heavy bass synths, mimicking the sound when a motorcycle revs. Given their teasers and music video, I thought this was rather ingenious. Apart from this revving-like synth, I was surprised that the instrumental had a subtle smoothness to it. The vocal work was also surprisingly very smooth. Glad the deep revving-like synth and the rapping gave that rough touch to an extent. But all the members sound very on point. The song had a very catchy melody and ‘Ridin’ and Rollin’‘ hook as well. That kick at the end that Jeno and Jaemin brings in bridge definitely gives the song that impact and climax that boldens the song’s already strong appeal. I do wish they would have gone with something a little bolder so it could have a chance to rival Boom, which I think is still the superior song after writing this review.

To think that this is the group that kicked off their careers with Chewing Gum. They have definitely grown up. The music video seems to throwback to their Go days, where the subunit took on a rebellious phase as part of their growth. When you look at their releases throughout the years, it felt like they moved too soon into that concept at the time, especially since they followed up with We Go Up and Candlelight. The release of Boom really consolidated that image of the group maturing. And hence, the progression into this Ridin’ concept felt natural and the right step forward. Needless to say, the group looks really cool. I thought the set was rather nice, looking like a legit alleyway that leads to a hidden underground garage and mechanic (but obviously a lot cooler than that description!), like in those movies with illegal car racing events. A great music video, in my opinion.

The choreography for this comeback equally looks as cool as the music video. There seems to be some movies where the members mimic the action of revving a motorcycle and show off some other edgy movies. My favourite has to be the smooth move they pull off in the second half of the chorus, contrasting with the intensity and supposed roughness of the song.

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

[Review] BAZOOKA! – GWSN

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Another returning group this week is GWSN, who made their comeback yesterday through the release of BAZOOKA!. This is their first release since wrapping up their Park In The Night and debut trilogy with Red Sun (021). This is also their first release since moving to a new label (MILES), which is a sub-label under their original entertainment company, Kiwi Media Group. For those who may have noticed, the group is down a member as SoSo is sitting out due to an injury since earlier in the year. Hope she makes a fast recovery!

Through their previous promotions, the group has developed a very strong association with the quirky and upbeat side of EDM and house music. And I feel like the group could have continued on with this sound and style through their future releases without replicating a carbon copy of their three previous title tracks. BAZOOKA! steps into a different direction entirely, which I am quite sure they have chosen this route to show off some variety in their discography. But I do feel like they stepped into that questionable ‘typical’ region with this new song. It partly conforms to what we hear from other female groups and as a result, I feel that they lost that individuality that they kicked their careers off with. But it isn’t all bad news. They do show off their strong cards in this song. BAZOOKA! is a very bright and upbeat pop track. There is a subtle retro root to the instrumental that I did enjoy. There is also good energy that does keep the song from becoming overly boring. I also like the song’s catchy hooks, particularly the ‘Watch Me, Catch Me‘ repetition and cutesy sounding ‘Play BAZOOKA!‘ that they ‘shout out’ during the chorus and post-chorus hook. Their vocals are what I am a little torn about. The more cutesy parts seem okay (I know, I can’t believe that I enjoyed it), but their other vocals seem a little plain (and is one of the drivers to the early ‘typical’ direction complaint).

The music video opens up with the line ‘Ever have that feeling where you’re not sure if you’re awake or dreaming?‘, which actually sent me chills. It sets the scene to the video and help connect the song to the music. At first, I thought the video had an Alice in Wonderland theme, which is the go-to fairy tale for KPOP video producers to play with. But instead, the members of GWSN had to go around through different doors to find special keys to open the universe, based on the lyrics. There was also some hidden gems of their previous video, such as the symbol on the book and the number 021. I didn’t pick up anymore, but I assume there would be others. The lighting and colours were also helped make it a fun video to watch, while that urban background to the setting helps make the video feel modern.

I thought the choreography was very nice. There was definitely a lot of energy in this performance, as its was jumpy and the music was very upbeat. I really like their ‘BAZOOKA!‘ move and the other hand movements that they do throughout the performance.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10

[Review] Stay Tonight – Chungha

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Chungha is going all out with her upcoming comeback. Today, she released what seems to be the first pre-release single off her future release, which does not have a confirmed date just yet. The pre-release song is titled Stay Tonight and features both a music video and choreography, which is definitely multiple steps further than most artists take for a pre-release song. Chungha previously release Everybody Says (a ballad) earlier this year. I have yet to review this and will do so sometime in the future. Her last release that I did review happens to be Snapping from last year.

I am kind of glad that this is only a pre-release single and not the actual title track. I find Stay Tonight to be a little messy for my liking. The chorus, pre-chorus and verses seemed a little mashed together and this sounded as if something spoke in a sentence without taking a breath. I also find this messy mash to be interesting as the pre-chorus acted as the suspense mechanism, effectively delaying the drop that forms part of the chorus. While it does sound like I am disliking the song so far, I do like two aspects of the song. The instrumental is the first aspect. The verses has this classy groovy feel, which I really like. The chorus has an awesome, memorable and sassy-feel drop which makes this song a lot more appealing than how I describe it. All of this is totally up Chungha’s alleyway. The ending has a really cool attitude filled sequence, that has practically the same appeal as the choruses, just done with a completely different synth background. The second aspect is Chungha’s vocals. She sounds amazing, which helps keeps the song grounded. Her soaring vocals during the pre-chorus and the bridge are pretty much the main highlights of the song, apart from that final instrumental sequence. While the individual elements of the song were satisfying, it is more so the structure that could have been a little more spaced out in my opinion.

Chungha is definitely a person full of visuals. And this music video highlights just that. Regardless if she dons a casual look, a commanding look, a golden look or a glamorous look, Chungha looks amazing nonetheless. Even she pulls off a lip ring flawlessly. I also thought the sets were visually stunning. The floating panels and the framed rectangular prism all looks superb, which adds to that glamorous touch that the video ended opting for as the video progressed, a concept that without doubt suits Chungha.

Sadly, it has been confirmed that there will be no live performance for Stay Tonight for the time being as it is only a pre-release track. But who knows when it comes to her actual promotions. But this is a stunning choreography. I mean, he literally lies on top of her dancers and have them roll under her, so she moves across (like a conveyor belt). Thats epic. That final sequence also looks stunning and feels pretty much like something she (and any performance queen) would do.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

[Review] Nonstop – Oh My Girl

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Starting off another busy week full of comebacks from the industry’s big names is Oh My Girl, with Nonstop. The song features on the group’s seventh mini-album, which also shares the same name as the title track. This is the first comeback since the release of Bungee, the group’s participation on Queendom (where they came second, which earned them more attention and fanfare) and their return to Japan in January 2020. This comeback also marks the return of Jiho who took a hiatus earlier this year to focus on her health.

As South Korea will soon be entering a warmer climate as they have just one month until Summer kicks in, we can definitely expect to see a lot of songs from the KPOP industry to take on an energetic and fun vibe, typical of the season of Sun. While it isn’t the first to take on the Summer vibes, Nonstop is definitely one of the more obvious examples. The instrumental is a mixture of synth-pop and island genres, with a small injection of hip-hop when it came to Mimi’s rap sequences. As the first song of the year to use the island genre, the sound is relatively fresh. Though, I don’t expect this feeling to remain as more songs start adopting the 2018 and 2019 overused tropical and island trend. Oh My Girl’s song is pretty catchy, thanks to the addictive hook that they have embedded at the end of the chorus. I like how they add a little attitude to this one part, which definitely gives the song some character. Likewise, I like Mimi’s rap section as they added some edge to the song. What I also like about the song is that despite it being bright and energetic, I am glad that the group doesn’t go back to their cutesy roots. There is some points in Nonstop that does steer in that direction, but the song manages to stay on the more likeable side.

The song is about falling and loving for a friend. And they did so in a very beautiful and colourful video. The video takes on a virtual board game, which I think was a good concept. There is more to just the board game however, as their world seems to be overtaken with this virtual theme. This concept on the visual front alone matches the fun vibes that the song contains and the very bright colours really reflect that energetic side of the song, as well. The friend that plays the very important role of lover is a cute teddy bear. The bear does remind me of Ted from the movies, which probably isn’t the best bear/friend to fall in love with. Unless Oh My Girl has that effect on him, which I will totally understand.

The choreography is quite good and very energetic. Overall, I felt the feel and looks of the dance definitely fitted in with the song. There is a bit of aeygo, attitude, edginess and brightness throughout the entire routine. I just don’t find the moves all that memorable, which was a pity.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10

[Review] LIE – IMFACT

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We are at the end of a busy week full of comebacks. And I have covered a most of the major comebacks and releases this week over the last few days. But due to a planning issues, I cannot get around to do them all. Hence, why you sometimes see reviews days, weeks and months late. IMFACT’s latest release, LIE, happen to fall into the days category, which isn’t too bad compared to other reviews I have delayed. This is the group’s first comeback in over a year since the release of Only U in early 2019. LIE is has been confirmed to be the title track for the group’s upcoming first mini-album, LL, which will be released next week. A very interesting promotional tactic for the group’s title track to unveiled a week before the actual release of the album.

The other day when I was reviewing APRIL’s recent comeback, I did mention that it would a pity for them to take a break and return with the exact same sound. But I did not need to worry as they used that time to reinvent their sound and it is proving to be very successful. I wish IMFACT did the same thing, as they are very underrated and definitely deserve some attention. Despite being absent from the stage for the same amount of time, the group did not reinvent themselves. LIE relies on that deep house EDM sound that we had heard many times in the past from many artists. While this does make the group fall into the trap of releasing another ‘typical track’, there is something about LIE that just sticks out at me. It could be that the song features a fake (more so subdued) drop at the start of the choruses that I thought were very slick and makes the second half of the chorus feel a lot more explosive that if it was stuck in the front and followed standard conventions. It could be the fact that the rest of the track featured a more clean sound, a feeling that I don’t often get for an entire EDM track. That, or the display of impressive vocal and rapping work from all the members. There was a captivating feel to these two aspects of the song that had me coming back for more. Sure, they could have been more robust and dynamic with their sound, But LIE does an impressive job, in my opinion.

The music video for LIE follows that closeup and choreography combination format. But there are a few elments that has my interestied in the music video. There is a nice aesthetics with the video, thanks to the darkness. The way the colour comes and goes (and how there was usually one colour dominating the screen once colour entered the visuals) was also really interesting aspect of the video. It makes the music video a bit edgy and cool looking. I also like that scene where they were all standing in a circle with microphones and the camera just circles around them. The pictures on the way that Taeho pulls off the walls seem to depict gender neutrality (you can’t tell based on just their silhouette), which indirectly shows us that the group is support the LGBT community. Their acting was pretty good in this video as well. You can definitely see them going that emotive direction based on their acting, which aids the song.

IMFACT’s performance that accompanied LIE looked amazing. There was that slick feel to it when they got to the first half of the chorus. And there was a subtle explosion in this choreography when it came to the second half of the chorus. The rest of the performance was equally as fitting, which definitely makes the performance appealing to watch.

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

[Review] Spit It Out – Solar (Mamamoo)

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Solar makes her first solo comeback with the release of Spit It Out, which is the title of both her solo comeback mini-album and title track. For those who do not know Solar is, she is one of the members of the talented female group Mamamoo. As the group has become very established in the industry for their amazing vocals and catchy hits, the first half of 2020 has been focused on the member’s solo promotion. Earlier this year, we saw the solo comeback of fellow member Moonbyul with Eclipse, which was an epic comeback. Let’s see if Solar can be epic in her own right with her solo comeback.

Right from the very first second, Spit It Out showcases its edge by a Latin guitar riff and a consistent deep thumping beat. Just launching in with this simple combination and you can tell that the song will be very appealing. The song sounds epic with bass, which is definitely putting my new headphones to good use and I highly recommend you listen to the song with some headphones to get that same epic feel. I do like how they do build on this for the chorus, but I also like how they do keep to this combination for the song. It does raise the concern of consistency and I have to admit that the song very linear, as a result. But there is a sense of refinement if you look on the flip side of this consistency issue, which is a positive in a way. Solar keeps to a husky tone in this song, which I thought was unique. It is very alluring this way and really helps you enjoy the song. Part of me is waiting for a solo release that has her letting her vocal talents loose, knowing that she has that ability to do so. But at the same time, I am glad she doesn’t do this in this song as it would be really cliche. I do have three favourite parts. The first is ‘Set A Fire Fire Fire‘, which acts as the memorable line of Spit It Out. The second has to be the grand feeling of the bridge. The third part has to be the final chorus, where that final chorus really helps makes the drop feel even more impactful and (repetitive term) epic.

The edginess in this video just from the first few seconds of the music video really shows. That whole routine with the feline claws look very intense. They look so sharp that if one move was ill timed, there would have been some blood. Moving aside from that disturbing thought, I thought the use of fluorescent colours was really nice. Combined that with the really ‘out there’ fashion choices (i.e. spaghetti dress, cat claws, rubber gloves) in this video, Solar really knows how to stand out. This actually goes hand-in-hand with the lyrics of the song, which is all about being yourself and not worrying about what other people. The most jaw dropping moment was her bald look. That is a step that I don’t think any female idol has gone for a concept, but I think it is definitely wonderful that she is going to such lengths to make that statement. It definitely serves its purpose and caught everyone’s attention.

I feel like the performance could have been taken a step towards that that wild side more. It seems like it is held back so Solar can put on a live performance with a microphone. There is definitely potential behind this choreography. There is a fair amount of stomping and fierceness mixed into it. And heck, those cat claws come out.

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

[Review] LALALILALA – APRIL

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It has been a while since we last heard from APRIL. Their last officially Korean release was back in 2018 through their Oh! My Mistake comeback. The group was absent from the Korean music industry in 2019, but they did make their Japanese debut with Oh-E-Oh, which was originally a b-side track on the group’s The Ruby mini-album. Today, the group makes their return with LALALILALA, which is the title track off the mini-album De Campo, which also dropped today.

With over a year’s absence from the industry, it would be a pity if APRIL returned with their usual sound. There isn’t anything wrong with their existing portfolio, other than it just didn’t work with the general public. LALALILALA definitely excites me as it goes in a new direction, just as I had wish. There is a beautiful aura around this song, which suits APRIL’s usually style. The instrumental takes on an electronic profile, which is very different to their previous releases. There is a strong beat in this song that reminds me club setting. There isn’t anything new with this style, as it is pretty much done by every other artist in the industry. But just before the chorus, the producers manage to incorporate what I would call a ‘ray of sunshine’ into the song, which gives way for a pretty and charming chorus. This makes the song conform to the group’s usual youthful and innocent charms. The way they do this comes off as fresh and is very neat as well. The song’s hooks are memorable and catchy and this is aided by good vocals from the members. I also liked how the bridge seemed to incorporate a bit of a rap-speak sequence. A more hard hitting rap sequence would have been better, but I don’t think that would match the group’s image. Overall, LALALILALA is a great return to the industry for APRIL. (It also seems to be paying off, as the group is now charting in high positions on the charts, which was never the case for the group before today).

I think the cosmic concept was really a good choice for APRIL, given that the song does have that vibe coming from it. It is very pretty and I liked how they made it their own, as the cosmic concept is commonly associated with a different female group. I did liked how the music video highlighted the group’s visuals and gave an opprtunity for the group to really pop out in their setting. Based on a comment on YouTube, the story-line of the video is about the members dreaming of success. Whether it is actual story-line is unconfirmed, but I liked the direction it went in. I have screenshot a copy of the comment below:

We only saw snippets of the choreography through the music video. But based on what I saw, I would say that this is a good routine. They bring their youthful charm to the choreography, whilst still adhering to the mature sound that the song steers towards. I liked the swaying moves for the chorus hook for its simplicity but also refinement.

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

[Review] SOUL – H&D

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Despite already releasing two pre-release songs, H&D officially make their debut today with Soul. For those who may be unfamiliar with their duo, H&D is made up of Lee Han Gyul and Nam Do Hyun. Both were former members of X1 (formed on the Produce X 101 survival show). But the group disbanded after making their debut due to a vote rigging controversy. Each member has gone their separate paths to their home companies, including H&D, who are under MBK Entertainment. Their pre-release songs are Toward Tomorrow (which I have yet to review) and Unfamiliar. Let’s see what the pair in store for their debut.

Soul takes a turn to a more edgy and darker sound. It is definitely different from their bright Toward Tomorrow pre-release and Unfamiliar ballad. But honestly, it is rather typical move for any male group to go down this path. Their differing sound between the tracks they have presented us so far is unique and I do hope that the group does pull off something different in their next comeback. But that is a concern for the future. Let’s refocus on Soul. What Soul does well is put some spotlight on the rapping and vocal work that the duo show in this song. It is a dance track, so both elements automatically become more dynamic and Dohyun’s deep voice still shines through. We could also see more technique in their delivery and sound, which it very exciting for a debut for obvious reasons. Based on this alone, I have the pair on my radar for future releases. The instrumental, especially the chorus, has this very subtle groove to it and I wanted to the producers build on this to make the song even more dynamic and ‘go that extra mile’. This would then make the song a lot more robust, punchy and much less consistent. The song just replayed the same instrumental parts over again and I was a little disappointed with that. I also liked the deep ‘Welcome To My Soul‘ that played throughout the post-chorus hook. Overall, it was a good debut song. But I did want more out of it. Hopefully, they will for their next release.

Shot with the same concrete staircase as the pair’s Unfamiliar music video, I thought it was a good video. There is a little bit of a story line in this video but things seems a little confusing though, so I made a stab at the interpretation (even though I most likely will be wrong). Hangyul and Dohyun are in a car accident but wake up alive. Based on my understanding of the music video, they were meant to die. But as they had given up their ‘soul’ to that statue (i.e. placed roses on the statue), they were kept alive. Each member represents a different form of love. Hangyul seems to represent present love as he has a red rose and is always surrounded by fresh red roses. Dohyun represents past love, which is shown through the dead rose and lack of roses. But as both had given up their souls by placing a rose on the statue regardless of whether or not they are still in love or not, they must remain alive. There was a lot of play on red and blue, which was cool. Their outfits and the sets reflect this using the colours a fair bit.

I like how intense their routine felt, particularly when it came to the chorus. It was reflective of the music and I am always a fan for that. The verses were a weak point, as they didn’t have much choreography to it. Other than that, there isn’t anything memorable or specific worth mentioning regarding the performance.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10

[Review] Not By The Moon – GOT7

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Kicking off this week’s exciting list of comebacks is GOT7 with Not By The Moon, which is the title track off the group’s 11th mini-album, Dye. This is the group’s first comeback since their highly successful You Calling My Name, which was released in November last year. I am still in love with that comeback and am hoping to see a leveled up comeback today. Let’s see if GOT7 can deliver!

Not By The Moon is a really good dance track, something that is very expected of GOT7. But I don’t think it had that same wow factor that You Calling My Name had delivered through its very aesthetic profile. However, it does wow me in its own way (more on that later). Not By The Moon felt like that really amped up and fulfilling dance track that you expect from many groups in the KPOP industry, but many just don’t deliver. There is a very dramatic and powerful flair in this song, which gives that ‘amped up’ description credibility. The ‘fulfilling’ description is also credible, given that the song feels whole and doesn’t lack anything, in my opinion. There are a lot of elements that really captivated (and wowed) me in this song. The first were the rappers. Mark had a long rap-speak like segment, which I thought was very different from his many limited sequences in the past. Jackson took up the role of vocalist for the entirety of this track, bringing a nice deep raspy sound to the song. The chorus had a particularly strong melody and the ‘Oh, Swear not by the moon‘ was quite catchy. I also liked how the chorus made the instrumental a little punchy. It is also one of the few instrumentals that just keeps on giving. Youngjae’s high note was amazing and the rest of the vocals were good. It is missing that dynamic touch to really make it go that extra step, but I am not sure what else to add as the song will become a little overwhelming. But other than that little dilemma, this is a very solid song.

One of my many concerns with JYP Entertainment’s video have been that the producers have become a little too reliant on the use of the green screen. We saw the company move away from that style for some of its videos in 2019. But it is still used (as seen in this video) and I am not exactly sure on what to think of it. This video does show good use of the green screen, as it is used to extend the fantastic built sets. But there is a that synthetic feel to it. The song itself seems to be taking pointers from the classical play, Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo swears by the moon. Juliet tells him not, due to the unpredictable nature of the moon (i.e. it just doesn’t stay one shape). There also seems to a dying element to the music, thanks to the presence of the coffin that the masked men (are they GOT7, based on the teasers?) are surrounding (and Youngjae was lying upon). Those masked men and the collapsing building around aren’t really shines of that classic Romeo and Juliet connection, so I am not sure what their story is. But overall, it was a good video.

The choreography itself looks quite good. I really liked how they took a few steps at the start and automatically fell into formation that kick started the entire performance. I also really enjoyed how the ending came together. The powerful dance routine, Youngjae’s high note (guess who my bias is) and the ending formation made to look like the phases of the moon.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.9/10

[Review] Lupin – Dongkiz

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With no major release today, it is a great opportunity to pull another song from the ‘Coming Soon’ list to review. A lucky dip yielded Lupin by Dongkiz, which was released exactly one month ago on the 15th of March 2020. Interesting fact, I haven’t actually reviewed any songs from Dongkiz yet, even though I was planning to for their a release earlier this year. For those who may be unfamilar with Dongkiz, they are a five member male group under Dongyo Entertainment. Previous releases include Nom, Blockbuster, Fever and All I Need Is You.

From my understanding and limited exposure to Dongkiz’s past releases, the group has on delved into funky but bright sounds. Lupin follows the funky sound that the group has maintained, but gave it an edgy feel. And that funky description might be a little understatement. There is some funky guitar work in the song during the verses, along with some groovy and squeaky saxophone synths for the chorus. All coming together to create a really high energy and loaded song. The bit in between the verse and chorus was very interesting. Usually songs would buildup to the chorus, so that they can build up suspense for the drop. Lupin, does things a little differently. It still applies the same rules but this is very minor in comparison to the complete slow down that they went with. This, I found to be very unique and made the song rather cool in my books. Not only did this make the song sound memorable for me, but I thought the vocal melodies and instrumental hook were pretty addictive. I really like rough texture the rappers brought through their one-liners in the chorus. The vocals were very smooth and sounded very nice. Overall, Lupin attracts my attention to the group and I will definitely keep my eye out for them in the future.

I think the music video shows two sides of the group. The first is the more darker and badder versions of the group. They steal the jewelry in the art gallery. The second side is the investigative team that is tracking down the thieves. Moving away from the plot line, the music video actually looked good visually. I was concerned that since they were from a lesser known company, they would have a low budget style music video. But this actually had a fair amount of cool post-production work done on it. I mean the digital picture frames looked cool and the choreography shots were done in very stunning locations. The video was quite dark, so it was hard to focus on it at times. But overall, pretty decent.

The choreography was awesome. At first I thought they were actual walking canes that we would all associate with a much older generation. But they were actual magic sticks that could go back to be a simple piece of cloth. The members performed magic twice in one stage and I thought that was awesome. I also liked how they had to revert the cane back to the cloth, but incorporating it into the choreography.

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

[Review] Break All The Rules – CRAVITY

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Over the last few years, Starship Entertainment has grown to be a highly successful label, with MONSTA X, Cosmic Girls (WJSN) and Jeong Sewoon each flourishing in their separate music careers. Today we observe the addition of a new group to that lineup. Cravity is a nine-member male group, consisting of Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung and Seongmin. Some of the members may have familiar faces as four of the group members participated in Produce X 101, with Minhee and Hyeongjun going on to debuting as part of X1. However, X1’s music journey was short-lived after the recent voting scandal, which lead to the disbandment of X1 and the two Starship Entertainment members returned to their home company to rejoin their fellow trainees to debut under the name of CRAVITY.

Their debut song is titled Break All The Rules. It sadly doesn’t break any rules and plays fairly safe. It is a urban hip-hop track, one of the many subsets of the hip-hop genre, which has undeniably become the default genre of today’s KPOP music. They do manage to infuse some rock elements during some parts, gave a good rush of intensity in the song and added that funky synth to give the chorus a dynamic touch. But I wanted more. Something unique that sets this new group apart from the rest of the competition. Maybe they could have leveled up the intensity and dynamic nature of the instrumental by going with rougher synths that is loaded with impact. Like some of the songs that I have recently reviewed, I noticed that Break All The Rules had subpar hooks in this song was rather lacking. The chorus is slowly growing on me, but I don’t think it has that reach that they need to extend into the industry. What the group does well is on the vocal front. Great vocals and rapping from the group. It is a decent track. But I am not exactly sold on the group. Hopefully, their mini-album or next release can seal the deal for me.

What the song lacks is made up visually by the music video. Watching this video, it made the song feel more impactful and definitely boosted the song in terms of appeal. That is a sign of a fantastic music video. The cinematography and the lighting just blew me away. The sets, even though some were digitalised, looked amazing and very real. I also liked the minute use of colour in this video, which adds to the impact.

And what an intense performance. This group has the choreography chops down pat! It seems like it comes at the expense of their live vocals and rapping, as it was a little choppy in their debut showcase that they had today. But I don’t blame them. It is a powerful routine that I am 100% anyone would be breathless afterwards. I would have liked to some individual CRAVITY flair in the performance. But I was amazed nonetheless.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.1/10