With such a busy slate of K-pop releases, I don’t always have a chance to rave about some of my favorite J-pop. This week, I’ll be giving an overview of some of my favorite acts and songs. Hopefully you’ll find a new obsession to add to your playlist! Why I Love The Rampage (and you … 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. October 2022 Overall Thoughts First off, I want to recognize Korea’s national period of mourning and … Continue reading
When it comes to niche corners of the global music market, I tend to go through phases. Right now, I’m in the middle of another phase involving Exile Tribe. Nothing in particular set this off, but each time I revisit the discographies of these groups, I’m reminded how amazing they often are. The Exile “universe” … 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 2022 Overall Thoughts Too often this year, my monthly round-ups have been… kind of a … Continue reading
The Bias List is a K-pop blog that also covers a fair amount of J-pop. But along with most music fans, I enjoy tracks from all around the world. So, I thought I’d start a monthly round-up of some of the non-K-pop songs that have caught my ear. No ratings — just highlights! Though I’m … Continue reading
With retro synth emerging as a dominating trend of the past few years, it’s been interesting to see which groups fit it naturally and which feel shoe-horned in. Exile Tribe’s Fantastics have totally suited the sound – so much that I hardly want them to stray from it! 2020’s High Fever ended up becoming a … Continue reading
One of the quirks of The Bias List is my hesitancy to give 10/10 scores right off the bat. I just don’t know that you can measure perfection on release day, nor do I think a perfect score is attainable without some time and experience. This approach doesn’t exactly jibe with “OMG SOTY” internet culture, … 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. February 2022 Overall Thoughts Oof. I predicted February would be slow, and unfortunately I was right. … Continue reading
Exile Tribe’s Fantastics have been jumping from strength to strength these past few years. So many J-pop and K-pop groups embrace retro sounds, but it’s not always a perfect match. Fantastics feel designed for the aesthetic, and that continues with the upbeat city pop of Santa Monica Lollipop (サンタモニカ・ロリポップ). This song is a bit more … 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 2022 Overall Thoughts It’s a new K-pop year! I always feel optimistic in January because … Continue reading
I think we can safely mark January 25th, 2022 as the date our current 80’s revival trend officially hit its zenith. Jr.Exile unit The Rampage refuse to pussy-foot around the excesses of the genre. They go straight to the source with a cover of Van Halen’s 1984 classic Jump. First, a little about Jump itself: … Continue reading
After years of releasing excellent material, The Rampage’s 2021 work swerved in directions that weren’t for me. In fact, they missed out entirely on my Top 50 J-pop countdown last month – a rare omission for one of my favorite groups. Leading up to their latest full-length album (basically a compilation of those 2021 singles), … 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. December 2021 Overall Thoughts After spending the past few weeks counting down everything under the sun … Continue reading
My Top J-Pop Songs countdown continues in its expanded format! We’ve got fifty of the best (mostly idol) tracks Japan had to offer, with many great choices relegated to the honorable mentions. Because I don’t write about all of these songs the way I do for K-pop, this is always a fun countdown to compile. … Continue reading
My Top J-Pop Songs countdown continues in its expanded format! We’ve got fifty of the best (mostly idol) tracks Japan had to offer, with many great choices relegated to the honorable mentions. Because I don’t write about all of these songs the way I do for K-pop, this is always a fun countdown to compile. … Continue reading
My Top J-Pop Songs countdown continues in its expanded format! We’ve got fifty of the best (mostly idol) tracks Japan had to offer, with many great choices relegated to the honorable mentions. Because I don’t write about all of these songs the way I do for K-pop, this is always a fun countdown to compile. … 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
It’s been fun watching Exile Tribe’s various groups find their niche. The artist collective is really diversifying its roster, tailoring different sounds to different strengths. Unsurprisingly, I’ve been enamored by Fantastics’ recent embrace of retro synth pop. They’ve been on an incredible roll of late, from High Fever to Play Back to Stop For Nothing. … Continue reading
Ryuji Imaichi, from Exile Tribe’s Sandaime J Soul Brothers, has a flourishing solo career that’s largely passed me by. Depending on the song, I either love the unique tone of his voice or find it quite piercing. But when I stumbled upon the futuristic cover of his new mini album Chaos City, I knew I … 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. June 2021 Overall Thoughts So far, the rule of 2021 seems to be “expect the unexpected.” … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 