After leaving YG Entertainment, AKMU are back with a new agency and a new album. Global fans may wonder what all the fuss is about, but this brother-sister duo is absolutely huge in Korea. They’re also an act I’ve followed since their conception, watching them grow to fame on the second season of K-pop Star (a show that definitely needs to come back, btw!). New single Joy, Sorrow, A Beautiful Heart (기쁨, 슬픔, 아름다운 마음) is pretty much what you’d expect from the softer side of their catalog.

AKMU have lodged some genuinely classic hits of this nature onto the charts, and that success has largely come from the strength of their melodies. Something like How Can I Love The Heartbreak, You’re The One I Love has stood the test of time due to the strength of its songwriting. It’s hard to tell whether Joy, Sorrow, A Beautiful Heart will enjoy the same fate, but on the first few listens I’m not feeling as enraptured as I’d like to be. The song is soft and gentle and cycles around one melodic hook that takes awhile to reveal its charm.

Of course, I don’t speak Korean and much of AKMU’s appeal comes from the strength of their lyricism. I can’t make any value judgment on that, but their best ballads have found a way to translate meaning through the very sound of the music. With Joy, Sorrow, A Beautiful Heart, I hear echoes of past songs and all that really makes me want to do is reach back into their catalog rather than meet them at this moment. However, I’m sure this will be a hit that connects with many listeners and I do appreciate the sneaky little electric guitar that punctuates its climax.

Grade: C+