SECHSKIES – KPOPREVIEWED

I know I am a few days late but here is my SECHSKIES review for their latest comeback. The 90s boy group is back with an album full of new songs by the boy group, a first for the group since their disbandment in 2000. Last year, they made their highly anticipated return and the group’s performance in the past year so far has proven that they still have what it takes! The two lead title tracks for their album are Something Special and Smile.

Something Special seems to lack that ‘Something Special’. The song is quite nice, let me just say that. It is a mid-tempo Summer ballad-like song that seems to be nice and easy to the ears. The guitar strumming along gave the song a very wholesome feel. The vocals were great. The main issue about the song is that it just didn’t stand out in the crowd. It didn’t have that level of appeal that other groups (at this very moment) are delivering. The song felt like that flat line analogy that I used to speak about. When I listen to the track by itself, I don’t really remember much from it. To sum up, the song just didn’t get anywhere and that left me disappointed.

Smile takes the ballad feels from the previous song a step further by making it a full-on ballad. Unlike the previous song, however, Smile did end going there and it felt like a stronger title track. The instrumental had a nice build up and their voices reflected the buildup quite nicely. But as crazy as it sounds, I couldn’t find that much interest in me to listen to the song. Multiple times, I end up skipping the song before it finished up and I guess it could be because the song didn’t do a good enough job of making it appealing.

Something Special‘s music video was a lot more appealing than the song. The imagery within the song is quite interesting and like many of the shots due to the cinematography. However, some shots looked incredibly plain, mainly the solo shots throughout the video. They felt like last minute additions and incredibly awkward in compared to the rest of the video. Smile‘s music video felt just right for a ballad of that nature. The speed and the fading of the group/people in the video felt perfect and it reflected the atmosphere quite nicely.

The choreography for Something Special was okay but it also felt very awkward. I don’t know why I feel that way, but every time I rewatch the performance, I just can’t seem to shake that feeling off.

Something Special
Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 5/10
Overall Rating – 6.5/10

Smile
Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

Sechskies has officially returned with their latest album. For those who do not know, Sechskies is a 6-member boy group who made their debut way back in 1997. They are a hugely successful act boasting releases such as Couple, Com’Back, Chivalry and many others. The group disbanded in 2000, however, reformed in 2016 as a five member group. The group signed on with YG Entertainment and later went on to release 2016 Re-Album, which included all of their past hits. 2017 marks their 20th anniversary and last week, just released their 20th-anniversary album, featuring the title tracks Sad Song and Be Well.

Sad Song is a pretty good song. It hits home runs in some aspects of the song but lacks energy in other parts. Their vocal work is quite good, but once again, the raps are standouts for the song. The verses felt a little empty and dull compared to the rest of the song. The raps and the chorus gave the song the colour it needed, despite the song sounding quite neutral all throughout. The instrumental delves into the electro sound but it is pretty generic. If the instrumental was bolder, I feel like the song could have worked better.
Be Well is on a whole different level. Listening to the song, you can feel the YG influences. Combining it with the Sechskies group and you might have a winning combination. I love the ballad feels this song, but it also can serve as a nice dance feel to it, which opens the possibility for creative direction. But we are not here to talk about that. The vocal work here is much better here, than compared to the previous song. While it did sound more like a monologue, the rap felt underwhelming. I think a more emotional centred rap could have made the song sound more impactful. The song overall had a more appealing melody which was soft and almost soothing.

Both music video suited their respective songs. Sad Song played with a more upbeat feel and while the music video does bring out the emotions through the scenes, the video felt just right for the electronic sounds. The video shows the guys recovering from a breakup (I think), so there isn’t much to talk about. More interestingly, the cinematography in this video makes it seem cool and made the video appear more flashy, which goes back to suiting the song. Be Well had a more dramatic video, but it too suited the song’s ballad feels. What made the video look cool was the fact they sat in ‘rain’ throughout the video. They also showed the first-person perspective on the relationship, which does make it unique.

I really can’t make that many comments on the choreography. Mainly because they are nearing their forties and still can dance better than me. The dance for Sad Song lacked energy and felt weak, which matched the emotional side of the song, but not the electro sound. Be Well had a more suitable dance but it was boring to watch. However, their stage presence on both stages and the fan chants just prove what great influence they still have after 20 years.

Sad Song
Song – 6/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 5/10
Overall Rating – 6/10