Tag: KARD

They are back! KARD is a co-ed group that debuted last year with a range of tropical house based songs such as Hola Hola and You In Me. And now they have returned with Ride On The Wind, which shows a different side of the same genre. Ride On The Wind is the title track of their 3rd mini-album, which shares the same title.

Like the title of the song, the verses very soft similar to a nice breeze that makes some Summer days much cooler. While this softness may be seen as a weak moment for some people, I think it makes the song very practical and actually quite unique. The tropical house instrumental was very typical, which I am a little disappointed with. However, I did like the little burst of energy once the post-chorus instrumental dropped. Jiwoo and Somin do a pretty good job with their sections, with Jiwoo also returning with some rapping, which did have some Hola Hola vibes. On the other hand, the male members (who have stayed strictly to rapping in their previous songs), each did a combination of vocals and rapping in this song, which I think is pretty cool. I think my other issue with the song was that it went by too quick and I would have gladly enjoyed another half minute of the song.

The music video follows the long line of KPOP videos that seem to focus on the scenery. It becomes a little awkward when you learn that they performed on grass fields littered with cattle poop, which is definitely interesting. But these types of videos are fast becoming unoriginal and dry, which doesn’t make it that memorable. There was also a focus on the members, allowing fans to see their favourite member up close. My favourite scenes throughout the entire music video were the choreography shots on the beach.

The choreography was quite good for this comeback. Though some of their moves from past comebacks are becoming recycled and this will cause the appeal to be lost a little too quickly in subsequent comebacks.

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

KARD has officially returned with their first comeback!!! Though, it feels like their 4th one. They previously made their debut with Hola Hola but hyped fans up with 3 pre-debut singles. Now, they are back with You In Me, which is the title for both their lead track and mini-album.

To me, You In Me keeps to the typical KARD sound that we have been hearing in their many past releases. But it also feels different. It takes on the tropical house sound, but You In Me showcases a more mature and powerful sound. The main difference is the intensity that features heavily throughout You In Me. We are literally thrown into J.Seph’s rap sequence, which completely caught me off guard. I thought the chorus was pretty cool, especially how they changed it up with the more dramatic sounds the second time we heard the chorus, giving us some more variety in the song. The thumping during the chorus just kept my tapping my foot the entire time. Somin and Jiwoo’s vocal work in the song is spectacular, usually during the verses. I just felt that BM’s part could have been a little more intense and powerful. It was good but compared to the rest of the song, it was quite lacking. Overall, the track does not disappoint and it might become my best personal favourite KARD song to date.

It seems like KPOP missed Halloween this year. But I am not complaining. The concept of this video is amazing. They are staying at the APEGO motel, which is Spanish for ‘attachment’. And it was quite clear that the girls in the video have some very serious attachment issues. Essentially, the video opens up as they are spending some time as with their respective lovers. But the video takes a dramatic turn when it is revealed that the male members had been dead for some time (my assumption is that the girls killed them) and that the girls stayed with the bodies. You can see J.Seph dead at the dinner table, while Somin is shaving a dead BM in the bathtub. I also liked how the sounds for that exact moment where it turns creepy are included in the song, which gave it the most ideal way to move the story along. I thought the idea was excellent the video turned out amazing.

The choreography was amazing. Once again, they have that key dance choreography that they released ahead of their comeback. It looked quite cool but I felt that all the other moves around the ‘key dance’ were much more epic and better. I also liked their formations and how they got into their formations.

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