Tag: MONSTA X

Welcome to my review of Monsta X’s latest album release, The Connect: Deja Vu. This is the group’s first release of 2018 and their 6th mini-album overall. Once again, the group has put out a top-notch album for their fans and I just can’t stop coming back to this album. To find out which songs I liked and while I just didn’t connect to, continue reading!

1..Jealousy (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Jealousy. (8.7/10) 

2. Destroyer – This particular track featured in the pre-release music film video, which provided the continuation to their Dramarama. From the very start of this track, you can get a sense of the intensity of the track. The chorus had a melodic hook, which made it catchy and memorable.  I like the post-chorus rock change-up, which injected more intensity into the track. Usually, I nick-pick at the small details but Destroyer had no flaws. It could have easily been a contender for the title track. (10/10) 

3. Fallin’ (폭우) – The song opens up with a rap sequence, which feels heavily based in the hip-hop genre. Within seconds of the vocals start, it changes more into a pop song. And once the chorus started, a funky and groovy instrumental also managed to change up the song a second time around. While these changes may not be everyone’s cup of tea, this track sounds really good (in my point of view). All the other elements that I comment all were all amazing in this track as well. (9/10)

4. Crazy In Love (미쳤으니까) – This track is an intense R&B dance track. The chorus has a nice melody, which makes it easy on the ears of the listener. Furthermore, it doesn’t rely on EDM, which we tend to hear a lot of nowadays and relief given the previous track on the album. Compared to the previous tracks, however, it does lack a little something, resulting it being not so memorable. But it was a good break from the other songs. (7/10)

5. Lost In The Dream – The song opens with a ‘Na Na Na’, which did catch me off guard at first. However, it is soft and seductive. The song had a good pre-chorus build-up but the drop into the chorus felt weak in comparison. That left the chorus a tad underwhelming, which should have been more powerful. Thankfully, the chorus did get better as the song went along. The raps included in the song lifted the intensity, while Kihyun’s vocals during the bridge sounded so awesome. Both managed to give the song a peak, which I was worried it wouldn’t get to. (7.5/10)

6. If You – The song is incredibly sweet sounding and has this noticeable cheery tone to it, which I really liked. I like all the vocals from each of the members (including Jooheon) and IM’s raps was a nice addition to the song. The build-up to the chorus was prolonged but it was worth the wait with the great chorus the song has. The song could have used a bridge (the sudden stop at the end of the second chorus felt abrupt) but what we got instead was fine as well. (8.5/10)

7. Special – At the very start of the song, a rap sequence was used to set the tone of the song. I particularly liked the drop and the strong chorus’ instrumental. The vocals don’t really seem to shine, which was somewhat disappointing. But the raps did a good job covering for that. It is another intense song with an awesome instrumental. It had a great ending, which also served as a great ending to the album. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.5/10

Monsta X has made their return with Jealousy, the title track on their sixth-mini album, The Connect. This is their first comeback after Dramarama, which also earned them their first win on the weekly KPOP music programs.

Opening up with the ‘ye-ye-ye‘ hook was probably one of my most favourite parts of the song. And that manages to introduce into what seems to be a great song. It isn’t as hard-hitting as their previous title tracks but Jealousy works pretty well as a Monsta X. It remains within their domain but it manages to stay different. The song features a trap-based instrumental with pop elements appearing throughout. There is a large focus on the vocals, split between Kihyun, Shownu and Wonho, who all sound spectacular. Kihyun probably shined the brightest in the entire song, based on the ‘A Little Jealousy‘ opener to the chorus, which also was extremely smooth. While we are also focusing on the chorus, I think this has to be one of their best yet. It was jammed packed and I enjoyed the energy that came from that part. I also really like the ‘Jealousy, baby, Jealousy‘ whisper at the end of the first and final choruses, though I do think the section at the end of the first chorus (just before Jooheon’s rap) ended a little too prematurely. The rappers also did a wonderful job with the song, with their parts, per usual, adding that extra intensity that the song needed.

I may write a lot of reviews but I have yet to understand the connection between ‘connected’ music videos. The Connect : D is the pre-release music film for this comeback, so it is clear Jealousy is somehow connected this pre-release video. If you know how these videos are connected, feel free to comment below. I managed to find a video (which I will link in the comments below) that theorises about the sequence of events in the pre-release video but have yet to find anything about the music video. Anyway, about the Jealousy video, I thought it rather cool. They managed to bring out this edgy vibe in the video through their visuals and the setting, which I thought was relatively cool. Each of the members looked awesome (Kihyun just stands out for me). I enjoyed the camera work, which started off fixed and very smooth but by the end of the video is got hectic and shaky, which also worked well with the song.

There are two parts of the choreography which I really liked. The chorus was awesome, with that scarecrow move being my absolute favourite. The second part would have to be the bridge (when Shownu and Kihyun are singing). That I don’t think I have seen before. But being something quite simple made it look awesome.

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

Monsta X has returned with their latest mini-album, The Code (album review coming soon). The title track of the mini-album is Dramarama. This is their first comeback since their release of the Summer single, Newton. This particular comeback was met with a speed bump, with Wonho missing out on the comeback showcase due to illness. But Wonho managed to pull through and promoted alongside the rest of the members for their comeback week.

The opening of the song was just a teaser to what was to come. Dramarama had an epic start, leading to another excellent song. The intensity of the song was just right. It didn’t feel over the top but it wasn’t underwhelming. The guitars in the instrumental were extremely catching. The vocals (starting off with that introduction) was extremely nice and showed off some technique which I don’t think the entire group has given to us yet. The chorus was pretty decent but I don’t think that was the standout of the song. I am completely drawn to the rappers in the song. Jooheon and IM do a fantastic job with their segments but the bridge of the song was definitely the amazing bit. It gave the song hype and built up perfectly to the final chorus. Dare I say that I think I found the best rap sequence for 2017? 

But what I think has got everyone talking is Monsta X’s video. It is set in the future (2047 to be exact) and time travel is possible then. And it seems like the way to get through time is by using old-fashion watches, which seemed to be outlawed in the 2047 society, judging by the AI voice in the background at the start. But some of the members end up with the watch. And it seems these members go back in time to specific points. Wonho goes back to a Kendo match, where he battled against Shownu. Kihyun goes back to when Jooheon was killed in a car accident (The Chaser vibes, anyone?) and Minhyuk goes back to when IM was killed.  I am not exactly sure what happened with the Minhyuk and Wonho scenarios but their attempts just didn’t work out. Kihyun, on the other hand, managed to swap places with Jooheon (with the help of Hyungwon, the mysterious and missing time traveller) and he ends up dying instead, as we don’t see Kihyun at the end when Jooheon appears in the broker workplace. A tad confusing but it sounds like a great storyline.

The performance was pretty nice. You could feel the seriousness and focus through their facial expressions. Once again, I don’t think the performance had enough to make it memorable. It isn’t that mind-blowing like their jacket routine earlier in the year with Beautiful.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

Monsta X has already had an action packed year. They have made two comebacks, Beautiful and Shine Forever, this year.  On top of that, they have been busy going on tour between comebacks and even after their most recent comeback. Now, the group has returned with Newton, a Summer single, just weeks after their Shine Forever comeback.

Even Summer won’t stop Monsta X from releasing an EDM song. And it is a pretty good one, as well. I honestly don’t have much else to say about the song because the song does feel very standard. There really isn’t any amazing aspects that make me go wow or amazes me. But that being said, it is not a terrible song. The Summer feel is very fresh and vibrant. Once the beat drops for the chorus, I couldn’t help bouncing my head along to the music. The vocal work here is quite good, but I felt the verses could have been more memorable. The raps were good but it felt like there could have been more. Even from my comments, it sounds like a typical Summer song. But overall, it is still decent to listen to.

The music video is being described as the prequel to Shine Forever video. If that was the case, then the difference in terms of concept escalated quite quickly. I did like how the colour was vibrant, especially Kihyun’s yellow shirt. Totally suiting the Summer concept. To me, the video felt like a standalone video. The guys were just travelling in a van and having fun on a trip. Not really much else to say about the video. Though, it seems like they shot in the same place where Snuper shot their music video for their most recent comeback. The colours here made the scenery look so much better in comparison to the Snuper video. But both are still pretty good videos, suiting their respective songs perfectly.

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

Monsta X recently returned with their first full-length album and Beautiful in March. Fast forward a few months and the group is officially back with their first repackaged album ever, which includes two songs, Shine Forever and Gravity, along with all the tracks were part of The Clan Part 2.5: The Final Chapter. Though I did miss out on the opportunity to review their first album, I will be doing a full album review for their repackaged album, which you can expect at the end of the month (can’t say exact day, just expect it to come :))

Following Beautiful‘s EDM influence, Shine Forever goes for another hard hitting track. While they do accomplish that very easily with the intensity and music genre, the track falls short in a few minor aspects. The instrumental felt very generic and failed to be mind blowing. Beautiful was good because there was an addictive melody, which made it much easier to enjoy. Shine Forever doesn’t seem to have that and felt more like a flat line. The vocal work for the group. It only seems like Kihyun could manage to drag himself to the forefront of the intense moments in the song (i.e. chorus), where the rest of the members felt like they were embedded in the instrumental, which made their parts seem less memorable. The verses share the same fate and just didn’t have enough energy to make it feel memorable as Kihyun’s parts in the song. The raps were pretty good and seemed to go well with the instrumental during their parts. But that is just my breakdown of the song. Do I like the song? Yes. Not their best, but still a great track to listen to.

I actually like the video. It seems like Kihyun and Minhyuk got into an accident, which left Kihyun blind (hence he was wearing blindfolds). It seems like Minhyuk is constantly reminded of the events, which leave him very guilt ridden. Somehow, Wonho finds out the truth and turns away from Minhyuk, with the rest of the members learning of the accident, which they all leave Minhyuk feeling guilty and sadden. Kihyun, though still blind, doesn’t blame him for the accident and comforts him, who I also assume also convinces the others that Minhyuk was not to blame. In the end, they band together and help Kihyun either regain his sight or provide some sort of light to allow him to see again. Though, it doesn’t necessarily amaze me, the plotline was good and cinematography was cool as well. Their acting isn’t the best but they did a pretty good job overall.

[UPDATED] Their performance does look a bit bland on the outside. But it does pack a punch as it progresses along. While there isn’t anything that memorable in this routine, there is something that I can’t pinpoint, but it makes this performance captivating. Their past routines had a key dance move, but this doesn’t. Yet, I still can’t take my eyes off them.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 7/10 [UPDATED]
Overall Rating – 8/10 [UPDATED]

Monsta X has returned with their third part of their trilogy. For those who don’t remember, the group made their comeback with the first part of the trilogy, All In, in May 2016. Fast forwarding to October 2016, they released the second part of the trilogy, Fighter. Now, they are officially back with Beautiful, the title track off their latest and first studio album, The Clan Pt. 2.5: The Final Chapter.

Another great song released this week. Monsta X follows their consistent sound and delves back into the world of EDM. It’s a fierce track that doesn’t hold back in anyway. The distorted introduction sounds very catching, and it then throws the listener into a more stable yet powerful rap sequence. The song slows down for a brief second and then builds up (in a matter of seconds) to the really addictive chorus. An instrumental break follows the chorus, giving us a break from the insanity that they just made us go through. What makes this song stand out is that chorus. I loved Jooheon and I.M’s rap, which provided the intensity needed but I personally loved the chorus more. As I said, it’s really addictive and catchy. You expect it to be overlaced with the EDM sounds (given the start and the verses). But instead, the vocals shine quite nicely throughout, and they weren’t overshadowed by a ‘loud’ and obnoxious chorus. Thr bridge is also quite interesting. Not their best part of the song, mainly because it did feel a little empty without the rappers and their own added intensity. But it is the first bridge of a dance song that I have noticed is made up of only vocals in a very long time. It isn’t unheard of, but the bridge is usually the safe-haven for producers to slide in a misplaced or (sometimes) unneeded rap sequence. Here, they swapped things around and made it sound more grabbing, which is amazing. As mentioned, everything in the song sounded fantastic. I did post in my review yesterday that I would recommend CN Blue’s latest song to any new listeners. And I will gladly do the same with Monsta X’s newest song.

When it comes to the music videos of this particular trilogy, I am a little confused. Personally, I see very little connection between this video and their previous two videos. I am absolutely certain that with each video, they are all somehow connected with each other, but I am really bad at picking out those connections. The only thing that I see as a running theme is the blue flowers used throughout the trilogy.  Besides that, I don’t have anything (Please help and explain on is happening in the videos for other readers and myself in the comment section below). But the video is quite nice to watch. It is quite aesthetic with each member’s individual scenes. The lighting shines on the members in a different way that I have never seen before in music videos. It makes them almost shine, which looks quite cool. What is more impressive is the choreography scenes. I really like the zoomed out perspective, where it made the platform and the members on it look small. As we zoom in, it looks massive and entirely different. A significant portion of the music video is dedicated to the choreography, so it only makes sense to move onto that aspect of the comeback. Overall, the video is worth watching, but connections aren’t that apparent to me (yet).

Guess who is a mega fan of the dance? I liked everything about the dance. But I want to skip to the end of the song. My favourite part has to be the one in the gif below. I don’t know why, but it made my jaw drop. It looked cool and tough (but in a subtle way). It impressed me and will forever be engraved into my mind. And it is the one part that I will keep on (and have been) going back to in every performance.

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

What’s this? I am writing a review a few hours before midnight, not with less than an hour before midnight like for the 5 reviews? I am surprising myself today. Like how Monsta X surprised me with a brand new comeback, especially when it felt just like they were on stage promoting Stuck a few weeks ago… Wait… They were! Man, all these KPOP idols need rest, not comeback after comeback after comeback.

Another amazing song to add to the list. Monsta X is officially killing it this year. I have been impressed with every song they have put out this far in the year. Fighter is a very powerful and strong song that really captures your attention from the very start. The song starts off with the sound you would here from the boxing competitions in movies. Throughout the song, you get that boxing and fighting sound from the song, which kind of exerts its dominance from the very start. I love the impact coming from each of the rapping and for once in my life, I think the rapping overtook the singing. The singing is quite good as well, but it doesn’t seem as powerful as the rapping. I would have liked if the vocals were a little better, so they are on par with the rapping. They honestly do not hold back in the song. Just listening to the song gets your adrenaline pumping.

I just finished watching Stranger Things today and I totally forgot about the start of this video, until I started watching it for the review. Don’t know what is going on with the intro of this video with the title screen quite “similar” to Stranger Things. Moving away from that, I think the video is lost in its sense of direction. This is definitely a continuation of All In, but it also feels quite detached and completely disconnected. You can tell there are parts that go with All In (such as the flower), but others seem completely irrelevant and make the video look more complicated that what it should be (‘running in the hospital’ scenes). While I think the video is interesting, the components don’t really come together. That or I am just really bad at seeing things. I am not going to list everything in the video, there is just too much. Though, if you have a theory on what’s going on, please enlighten me? I like the video due to it being intriguing and I try to guess what is going on each time, but it doesn’t add up in my head. Jooheon in a doctor’s outfit is creepy and the cinematography in this video is amazing.

The dance definitely matches up with their image and the sound of the song. Powerful and very ‘alpha-male’. It also looks very complex. Moving away from the dance, Wonho in a crop top… Hmmm… I am honestly a little weirded out by it. It just doesn’t look good.

Rating – 8/10

Monsta X previously made their comeback with All In. Another song that was released with All In was Stuck. Stuck was chosen as another special release and was promoted on shows for 2 weeks. While it does not have an official music video, there is an accompanying “special” video that I will dive into very briefly.

With that last statement, I feel like I am reviewing Stuck mainly for the song. Stuck is such an awesome song. How did I not notice it before? I think Stuck is a very unique song, despite it being somewhat similar to their previous releases. Monsta X is doing pretty well with this rough and edgy eletronic EDM sound. All their songs so far that I have listened to tend to fall into that genre. Stuck is more sophiscated, in the fact that the song isn’t as simple or clear cut. The vocal work in this is amazing and so are the raps. But let me focus a little on the vocals. There is something about each time they start the chorus. It stood out for me from the get-go and I think it makes the song amazing. It leads into the rest of the chorus quite well and I like that for that. The song is (obviously) powerful and from the start to the end, you can definetely hear that load of power. Regardless if you are listening to it on full blast or full blast with your earphones is (don’t judge – and it was by accident). Personally, I really like the song and think (as mentioned above) it is really awesome.

The video that was released with it includes a few close up shots but majority of it is cheorprgaphy. Nothing to mention about the video. Would have loved a full music video however this still does the job nicely. The video was filmed in an abonaded place that when paired with the song, matches the edgy feel I was talking about before.

Moving to what Monsta X does really well. The dancing is extraordinary. There is no arguments against that. It fits the song perfectly (from the power feel to the clean cut moves that matches the clean cut beat). It hit the expectation bar quite nicely. I just do not watch it enough to bang on about it. I write this review more for the song (as I said) than anything else.

Final Rating – 9/10 

Monsta X have made their comeback with an improved and mature sound/look. They made their debut last year and have soon become one of the hottest rookies in the industry. Their comebacks have each showed improvement. I say this to about just every group out there, but Monsta X is a prime example that there is so much potential underneath what we actually see. They have the likes of becoming one of the biggest groups in the industry in the future and it seems like they going down the right path.

As I mentioned above, each track of their’s gets better and better. All In showcases a more mature sound to the guys, while still maintaining the style of the music that they debuted with and made comebacks with. The track itself boasts a really hard and deep sounding trap-genre instrumental. Vocals were so-so in my opinion. There wasn’t anything regarding the vocals that had me going “wow” or “amazing”. However the rapping in the song had the opposite effect. I was blown away with the rapping. The times where the rapping were integrated into the song were spot on and if made the rest of the song fall into place. It was as if the song was built around these rapping parts. But hey, whatever they did managed to work and I liked it a lot.

The music video has an interesting storyline to it. But I barely can decipher what is going on in it. From what I can get, the guys are standing up towards resistance or the troubles that they are facing. Some are facing  violence issues, while others are struggling with their sicked love ones. In the end, they seem to group together and take on these issues themselves, which seems like their own option due to the heavy police presence. The video is in parts, which makes it harder to decipher. I am going to link you guys a post (by another writer: ADATB) which does a complete breakdown of the music video’s plot (better than what I have done and what I will ever do). But overall, the cinematography and even the imagery in the video (like the use of the masks) was pretty smart. They draw you into the video and make you ask questions. The has to be a part 2 to the video though. It only makes sense. We are left at the end with that odd looking heart floating mid air at the end of the video, which intrigues me (and you guys as well!). This mini album is only part 1, so it all makes sense for the development of part 2.

As for the dance, they are pretty much going down the route of sexy. The exposed backs and body rolls pretty much have every fan swooning. I personally watch of these performances with a straight face, but Monsta X’s made me go wow. As for the dance itself, the guys were in sync and I could barely see any flaws in any of the performances. The standards just get higher and higher with every band.

In summary, the comeback was amazing. It made me speechless and amazed at the talent they are pulling out. Fingers cross for that part 2 of the video. Maybe, then I can understand everything. 9/10