Kim Jaehwan continues to move away from the balladeer his early title tracks suggested. His albums have often dabbled in funk music, but it’s cool to see him embrace the genre on title tracks. New single Ponytail comes across as a natural follow-up to last year’s Lucky.

This is a more reserved take on the genre, offering plenty of groove but leaning closer to “smooth” than “boisterous.” I enjoy the overall sound, but not much about the song sticks out. The melodies are too flat and like many recent K-pop funk efforts Jaehwan spends a little too much time exclaiming when he could be singing. Early standout Designer continues to be his high water mark within this genre.

Grade: C