Tag: SPECTRUM

The last few days I have so busy but managed to find time to write one review per day. Monday saw the release of three songs. I have already reviewed the releases from NU’EST and The Boyz. Today, I will be reviewing the third song, which is After Party by Spectrum. This is Spectrum’s first comeback for 2019 and is it also their first comeback since What Do I Do?, which was released back in November 2018.

After Party doesn’t really envoke the desire to continue partying after the main event. Rather, it feels like a song is more light than party-theme and is more about having a good time at that very moment. And actually, the lyrics reflect that. The song takes on the tropical island style of music, so it doesn’t offer anything new. And that is the case for most of the song. I found the vocals to be fitting for the track but not really mind-blowing. I did like the autotune and the rapping, which gave the song some texture. There is a fun element embedded in the song which you can’t help denying and I think the song comes together well to really bring that out and make it somewhat appealing. At least, it wasn’t just plain. The chorus was nice, with the post-chorus hook (the ‘Say La La La‘) being quite catchy. Though I did expect something with a little more hype and energy based on the title, After Party was a relatively chill song that I wouldn’t mind play once in a while.

The video seems to match the lightness and fun side of the song. There are no parties in this video, with the members mainly just having fun and hanging out. And since the video was just that, I don’t really have much to talk about. Because of that, it is one of those videos that you watch once and don’t really have the desire to rewatch it as it is fairly straight forward. Compared to other videos, this one does fall short. But it was rather fitting.

Like the video, the performance went in a fun direction. There really isn’t much else you can do. There really aren’t complex moves as the song doesn’t allow them to fit in. Hence, the dance was rather simple and was quite playful. My favourite part has to be the post-chorus section, which incorporated that Fortnite dance.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6.5/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcSQfdr1DL8

SPECTRUM has returned to the stage for the first time since their debut with Light It Up. It is also their first comeback since the tragic loss of their rapper, Kim Dong Yoon, who passed away in July of this year. The news was very unexpecting and I wondered how the group was going to proceed, particularly since they just started. But I am glad that they are doing well enough for a comeback. Their latest title track. What Do I Do?, is featured on the group’s second mini-album, Timeless Moment.

What Do I Do? is one of the songs that has a really good build-up but a very underwhelming chorus. But more on that a little later on. The song starts off with the classic mix of piano and electronic. Very nostalgic. The verses follow quite nicely, with the verses showcasing a good set of vocals from the two members. We continue the vocal momentum with the really well-polished pre-chorus, with the constant beats and the falsetto combination. And now, we approach my initial comments. The drop to the chorus was fine. It is just the repetitive nature of the chorus that causes it to go bland and feel lacking its dynamic nature. We get raps in the second verse and a softer rap sequence during the bridge. Both sounded quite nice. Together, it makes the song quite promising. But the chorus is the main problem.

While I think the video could have had a lot more going on in it, what they did deliver was quite good. I like the way they started with the one guy (sorry, I don’t know any names to the members) walking alone into the abandoned setting, which I recognise to be that set with the concrete staircases. A lot of music videos this year was shot there. I like the way they transitioned between that introductory segment to the actual start of the performance. The rest of the video showcased closeups under coloured lights, which I thought were cool but quite typical and your standard choreography shots.

The performance was good but it wasn’t that impressive. I mean, it felt fitting for the song. But I felt the amount of work the members were putting in for the chorus could have been more worthwhile under an intense sounding chorus. I did like the way they started the entire dance routine.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 6.8/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STNVJiwIyes

SPECTRUM is the newest male group to be joining the KPOP wave. They are a new group under WYNN Entertainment. The members that make up the 7-member group are Hwarang, Minjae, Dongkyu, Jaehan, Eunjun, Dongyoon and (my pick for best stage name ever) Villain. You may find Jaehan familiar as he participated in Produce 101 Season 2, while Dongyoon participated in the more recent MIXNINE survival shot. Together, the group dropped their debut single, Light It Up, yesterday.

Light It Up joins the growing list of tropical house songs that had basically dominated our playlists in the past year or so. And while this song does sound good, I can’t help but point out how plain the tropical house elements are. Rather, the more interesting parts of the song were the stuff around the chorus. The verses were okay and the buildup to the chorus felt prolonged. However, that prolonged buildup seemed to pay off because I really liked the drop into the chorus. That deep sound while the rappers sing the words ‘불붙여 (Light It Up)’ really felt like a good punch from the song. And as simple as it sounds, the ‘Na Na Na‘ part in the second half of the chorus was quite decent. Together, they made the tropical house elements in the chorus more interesting. The vocal work was fine but I felt like they rushed through the rap sequence, where they had 3 rappers take on one rap sequence and then going back to the prolonged buildup to the chorus for the second verse. I feel like if they somehow managed to distribute the raps across the song, it would have potentially made their parts stand out somewhat more. But overall, Spectrum was a decent debut song.

The music video felt very typical. There wasn’t anything special about that makes it stand out from the crowd. Because they are from a small company, going with sets that were seen many times over was expected. But what makes other videos stand out is that they use the set in different ways. Here, it just feels very simple-minded and repeated many times before. The members also didn’t really pop in the video. The video was rather dark and the outfits the members were wearing didn’t really highlight them. I am not expecting fluoro colours but rather something more fitting yet allowing them to be brought to the forefront of the video.

The choreography of the video was quite cool. Once again, it wasn’t mind-blowing but I could appreciate their dance moves, which I thought were fitting for the song. Parts that stood out were the chorus and pre-chorus buildups.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 5/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.1/10