K-pop’s title tracks might gain most of listeners’ attention, but many album tracks are worth equal spotlight. I call these “buried treasures.” Beyond this, K-pop’s albums deliver thousands of additional tracks that settle for a more limited audience. It’s these songs that will become a part of my “battle of the b-sides” feature. In this … Continue reading
A K-pop group’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. As great as 2021 has been … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. July 2021 Overall Thoughts Well, July was… interesting. And by “interesting,” I mean unimaginably dull. Other … Continue reading
K-pop’s been on a “summer holiday” for weeks now, but Dreamcatcher are vacationing the right way – by releasing new music, of course! New single BEcause heralds their special summer album. Given this distinction, I wondered if the girls would take the opportunity to delve further into the EDM sound that pops up often in … Continue reading
Following on the heels of yesterday’s ‘top 2021 singles,’ it’s time to turn our attention to K-pop’s full and mini albums. As with title tracks, 2021 has delivered a strong series of albums so far. My lists are a little longer than normal, but the criteria remains the same. To be considered an “album,” the … Continue reading
I think it’s obvious that I love a good statistic. In addition to my core rating system, I’ve got my top three songs of each month, my yearly countdowns and more data breakdowns than anyone could ask for. None of these are perfect ways to categorize or quantify something as subjective as music, but they … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. January 2021 Overall Thoughts It’s the start of a new year, and new possibilities when it … Continue reading
A K-pop group’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. Dreamcatcher’s Road to Utopia is a … Continue reading
Dreamcatcher have returned with the final installment of their Dystopia trilogy. This series kicked off with panache last year as title track Scream twisted their usual rock sound into something more theatrical. In contrast, new single Odd Eye is pretty much what you’d expect to hear from Dreamcatcher’s music – composed by their usual collaborators … Continue reading
I’m the type who likes to listen to every major K-pop album at least once. Maybe that’s a bit obsessive, but it guarantees that no buried treasures slip through my fingers. And although much emphasis is put on title tracks, more and more the best K-pop songs are relegated to b-sides. This countdown encompasses any … Continue reading
Compared to last year’s dynamite collection of albums, 2020 didn’t quite live up. But, that doesn’t mean there weren’t a few highlights. As usual, mini albums were generally stronger than fulls, which makes sense given how hard it is to retain a high quality across a dozen or more tracks. Like last year, my top … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, songs … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. August 2020 Overall Thoughts At the beginning of the year, one of my wishes for 2020 … Continue reading
Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, 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. I’ve seen quite a few people raving about Break The Wall, … Continue reading
Dreamcatcher have discovered one of K-pop’s golden rules: find a signature sound, build a consistent discography around it, and the fans will come. It may take a while – years even – and the growth may be slow. But, this kind of gradually-built popularity tends to foster a more devoted, less superficial fan base. Since … Continue reading
Dreamcatcher have yet to grace us with a follow-up to February’s excellent Scream, but they’re keeping fans on their toes with a special OST release for online RPG game Girl Cafe Gun. Tie-ups like this are common in J-pop, but not so much in Korea – at least not to the extent that they receive … Continue reading
After looking at the year’s best singles (so far), it’s time to turn attention to 2020’s albums. I’ll reiterate what I said yesterday: relative to previous years, it’s been slim pickings. Consistently good mini albums have been particularly hard to find this year, at least in my opinion. But even though the overall picture may … Continue reading
Slim pickings this year, my friends. In fact, if not for June I’m not sure I could have compiled a mid-year list at all. As it stands, I only have five picks compared to last year’s eight, and the honorable mentions list has been cut in half as well. What does this all mean? It … Continue reading
Though they first debuted as relatively typical girl group MINX, Dreamcatcher’s 2017 reinvention spawned a discography that bucks K-pop’s trends in favor of heavy guitars and thundering percussion. They are unique within their often-soundalike K-pop era, bolstered by an incredibly consistent singles run. As always with these particular countdowns, a song needs to be paired … Continue reading
Between Korea and Japan, Dreamcatcher have been quite active these past few months. For each of their most recent promotional periods, they’ve released both a K-pop and J-pop single within mere weeks of each other. Their Korean work has been more willing to experiment, which resulted in the brilliant Scream last month. Japanese tracks like … Continue reading
