A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve.
Apart from its brilliant title track, AHOF’s first mini album was a slow burn success for me. I love it now, but the songs took awhile to sink their teeth in. In comparison, their follow-up feels much more instant. The music is still on the slower side (they don’t really do “dance” tracks), but the melodies are fantastic. And the singing? Well, the guys are singing and that alone is so refreshing.
I’m particularly taken with album opener Everything Is Love. Its catchy synth riff was first teased as an interlude/outro on the first album and I’m thrilled that the full song is even better than I’d hoped. This might feel like a random reference from the past, but the song reminds me of the sound Infinite’s Sungkyu pursued on his few solo albums. It’s a wonderful blend of rock and synth driven by generous melodies that burst at the seams.
Every song on AHOF’s album stretches over three minutes, giving the music space to develop into the satisfying crescendos you’d hope for. This goes to show the importance of having a single producer overseeing the process. It’s clear that EL CAPITXN is writing songs specifically for this group rather than simply sticking them with outsourced material that could have been performed by anyone. But, we must credit AHOF as well. Everything Is Love could have easily become a rote fan song in other hands. Their performance elevates it into something special.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
man, this is so different from what anyone else in the industry is doing, in the best way. The synth riff going on throughout the song is really appealing
LikeLiked by 4 people
I see your Kim Sung Kyu beat reference and raise you “Beautiful” by Target, link at bottom. I am also hearing echos in the chorus right at 0:47 ala Taylor Swift “baby we got bad blood”. Also some flares of CIX Cinema in the chorus.
Instead of A4 I would have loved to hear D5 from one of them at 2:41, or at least a high harmony D5 in the background with someone singing the A4 as the main melody note (so no has to hit D5 live).
It still is a fan service song, just maybe a high end fan service song with good pedigree.
https://youtu.be/CdlqPQY7LIM
LikeLiked by 1 person
been a while since i did this, but what do you think of these new songs?
LikeLike
It’s a double meh for me. Neither are bad, but I have no desire to hear them again.
LikeLike
yeah, katy’s new song just feels like generic radio fodder, and since im generally not a fan of these kinds of self-empowerment anthems it definitely wont appeal to me
on the other hand its good to have hilary duff back, but the song doesnt appeal to me either
so yeah, there weren’t any other notable choices to present to you today, maybe some other time
LikeLike
My little pet project Comanavago released a new collaboration, though!
LikeLike
I’ve been enjoying Hilary Duff’s new song, although I’m realizing her voice doesn’t sound all that strong to me. Admittedly I was mainly excited for her return because her husband, Matthew Koma, was a writer on it, and I’ve been a fan of his songwriting work for years. He’s got a very coy and fun bent to his lyricism and I always look forward to him applying it to pop songs.
LikeLike
This song totally reminded me of Which a Star by Dreamcatcher (which I also love) the first time I heard it! I think when I heard their outro from the previous mini I didn’t connect the dots right away since they weren’t in the same key but now that they shifted the key for Everything is Love I immediately thought of it haha. This song is my 2nd favorite on this mini after Pinocchio and I agree this one clicked with me faster than their debut mini! AHOF have quickly become one of my ult groups 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT-uzqcttfc
LikeLike
This is lovely! Something about the synth riff reminds me of melody work you might find in video games, very catchy and loopable but not overbearing.
LikeLiked by 2 people