I last wrote about GOT7’s Jay B in late 2024. He was fresh off military service and releasing his first full album. Since then, he’s been touring and signed with new agency 528Hz. Today’s Layback offers a new sound for his title tracks, though this style of R&B has found a place on his and … Continue reading
It’s been four years since GFriend’s Yerin debuted as a soloist. Since then, she’s delivered exactly one comeback per year, so we might expect Shooting Star (조각별) to be her sole musical statement of 2026. With large gaps between albums, we might also expect her to make bigger musical statements. Alas, Shooting Star is pleasant … Continue reading
EPEX’s discography has been a real mixed bag so far. They’ve released a few solid tracks (2024 was a solid year for them), but more often their music has either been too generic or actively off-putting. New single Echo fits squarely within the first category. It’s a song that could have come from just about … Continue reading
izna have delivered a fractured discography so far, with some songs hitting harder than others. However, the highlight medley for their newest mini-album hinted at a synth-heavy sound that feels consistent among its tracks. This is a stellar identity for the group to pursue and results in their strongest title track yet. Metronome is pure, … Continue reading
Despite really enjoying BOYNEXTDOOR, their past few comebacks haven’t done much for me. Then, I thought it might all be over with the blustering hip-hop pre-release ddok ddok ddok. However, that song ended up growing on me in a way a track like Hollywood Action never did, and I’m not quite sure why. Regardless, this … Continue reading
Rather than promote a follow-up track from their recent album, BABYMONSTER have taken the rare approach of releasing a new song just a month after their comeback. This reminds me of the old days of album repackages, which I miss very much. They made comebacks feel more like eras and stretched out the excitement. Unfortunately, … Continue reading
1. Atmos // 2. Hours // 3. Possibility // 4. Anti Believer // 5. Still Raining // 6. Thousand Miles Away THOUSAND MILES AWAY These days, I do a double take any time I see a K-pop song longer than four minutes. That shouldn’t be a rarity, but it’s so much more likely to find … Continue reading
1. Atmos // 2. Hours // 3. Possibility // 4. Anti Believer // 5. Still Raining // 6. Thousand Miles Away STILL RAINING We’ve now reached the portion of the album where things slow down. SHINee are on my very short list of K-pop groups with great ballads, so a slower song is nothing to … Continue reading
1. Atmos // 2. Hours // 3. Possibility // 4. Anti Believer // 5. Still Raining // 6. Thousand Miles Away ANTI BELIEVER ATMOS‘s first four tracks form an all killer, no filler suite of stylish dance music. Like the album’s teasers promised, it’s a whistlestop tour of genres SHINee have mastered. However, each song … Continue reading
Some groups function solely as a collective while others feel more like a series of successful soloists making music together. After years of promoting their individual work, Mamamoo have transformed into the latter — a supergroup of sorts. It’s been almost four years since we’ve seen them come together for new music, making 4 Flowers … Continue reading
1. Atmos // 2. Hours // 3. Possibility // 4. Anti Believer // 5. Still Raining // 6. Thousand Miles Away POSSIBILITY A song like Possibility, with its uplifting lyrics, could easily come across as cheesy. Yet something about SHINee’s layered vocal adds gravitas that makes the song feel much more transcendent. It’s not my … Continue reading
1. Atmos // 2. Hours // 3. Possibility // 4. Anti Believer // 5. Still Raining // 6. Thousand Miles Away HOURS This mini album was billed as a showcase of SHINee’s signature charm, which is really a gift for fans. If an act has mastered a sound or genre, there’s no reason not to … Continue reading
With each release, I’m more convinced that VVS is some kind of psyop meant to test the limits of fans’ blind idolatry and the industry’s willingness to appropriate hip-hop culture. How else do you describe BOTTLE$? The moment its “chorus” first dropped, all I could do was laugh. A song like this is difficult to … Continue reading
Remember that brief moment when N.Flying were a chart-topping, A-list band? It seems almost like a fever dream now, but the guys have hung around and continued to release music that plays to their strengths. I still prefer the goofier concepts of their debut era, but new single In Between Seasons (환절기 (換節期)) is a … Continue reading
There’s something admirable about a K-pop act from a small agency who just keeps on churning out material. XODIAC has never been in conversation with the big leagues of the industry, but they’ve released several comebacks a year since their debut in 2023. The quality of these songs has varied, and new single Phantom Fire … Continue reading
Despite being a huge presence in K-pop, I get the sense that most newer fans are not be familiar with Kim Junsu. If there’s one soloist’s discography I’d point them toward, it’s his. Songs like Flower, Tarantallegra and Rock The World should be a part of everyone’s music library. Junsu doesn’t come back often with … Continue reading
Japanese mega-girl group/collective Sakurazaka46 recently released a few stunning singles, which got me thinking about what a 20+ member group can sound like. In my mind, the music should be as immense as the configuration, and I haven’t often felt that way about tripleS’s output. Their songs feel too small for their concept, and I … Continue reading
Three years ago, Fifty Fifty’s Cupid brought them global attention. But just like a bubble (see what I did there?), their prospects burst when the group fractured. This new group configuration has been flooding the market with material but nothing’s yet recaptured the public interest of Cupid. New single Like A Bubble is unlikely to … Continue reading
Recently, I’ve been ranking K-pop artists against each other based on their singles runs and I was surprised how high Treasure ended up. This isn’t because I dislike the group. I just can’t immediately point toward one big highlight in their discography. For me, they’ve been a firm, reliable act that rarely propels to the … Continue reading
With each new release, I’ve appreciated MEOVV’s music more and more. They’ve yet to deliver a song that’s completely captured me, but they have a sound that feels much needed in K-pop right now. Even with this goodwill, as soon as I spot a song title like “DDI RO RI” my mind goes to the … Continue reading
