K-pop is well known for latching onto a specific musical trend (usually a year or two late) and refusing to let go until they’ve drained the sound for all its worth. This is fine if we’re dealing with a fun, malleable trend, but becomes increasingly maddening when the trend is narrow and poorly executed. It’s … Continue reading
It’s been well over a year since we last heard from The Wind. Since then, their agency has partnered with a new management company to shift the group’s sound with an eye on global markets. Yes, The Wind are following the path that 99.9% of bright, melodic boy groups eventually succumb to. They’ve ditched their … Continue reading
The best thing I can say about POW’s material so far is that they’re doing their own thing. Their music has been quite trend-averse and hasn’t drawn attention to itself, which is rare in K-pop. To me, they feel like an indie group who just happen to be working within the idol system. New single … Continue reading
Fresh off the aural hell that was Iconic By Mistake, Katseye are continuing their new EP rollout with Animal. Thus far, the group has pinballed between gimmicky ragebait and ultra-generic pop, making their overall identity a mystery. Their sweet spot likely lies somewhere between both extremes, but their producers have struggled to find it. Animals‘s … Continue reading
One Pact have been swimming upstream since debut, fighting against an increasingly monolithic agency system that doesn’t afford many chances for acts from small-to-mid companies. Any residual Boys Planet buzz has long since faded and they’re left to fend for themselves. To their credit, they’re a largely self-produced group, making it easier to take matters … Continue reading
Fresh off a funny little foray into country music last year, J.Y. Park has returned to his bread and butter. New single Wet acts as a theme to this year’s Waterbomb Festival and also pulls him back to the dancefloor, recalling vinyl pants of days gone by. Of course, this is an artist now well … Continue reading
Hyolyn has become synonymous with summer, first as a member of Sistar and then as a solo act. She’s leveraged that position once again for a new mid-summer album but isn’t playing into obvious summer tropes. New single ChecK could be played year round as long as you’re in the mood for some more Y2K … Continue reading
U-Know is one of a handful of idols now working in his third decade as a performer. That’s rarefied air and a huge achievement for any pop star. He didn’t make his “official” solo debut until 2019, but has steadily been releasing material since then. Time’s Tickin’ is his new single album and continues to … Continue reading
BTS have been drip-feeding music videos from their comeback album Arirang, releasing the most recent ones as Spotify premium exclusives. This limits their audience to paying Spotify listeners (which I am not), but they’ve also uploaded the new mv for Normal on YouTube, thus earning them a write-up here. I can’t say I’m excited for … Continue reading
Over the next few weeks, there are a number of female acts scheduled for comebacks who have reliably delivered summer bangers in the past. This raised my hopes for a big summer hit this year, but judging by teasers and full releases I’m striking out so far. BBGirls (formerly Brave Girls) owned summer of 2021 … Continue reading
Not content to simply release solo music in a predictable way, Seventeen’s Dino has debuted as fictional alter-ego Picheolin. This character is the CEO of a music company specializing in retro sounds and we have an entire mini album and multiple singles to look forward to from him during the coming weeks. Joke or not, … Continue reading
Over the past few months, H Music Entertainment has attempted to revitalize interest in its groups WOOAH and DXMON through a series of digital releases, but rather than put all their might behind one great comeback they’re farting out these low-budget, amateurish tracks that won’t successfully accomplish their goals. I’m naturally biased toward summer-themed K-pop, … Continue reading
Over the years, Super Junior has had a lot of sub-units and solos. Like… a LOT. 83z is their seventh official sub-unit, bringing together members Leeteuk and Heechul. From what I can gather, the two share a passion for nostalgic pop culture and the classic, upbeat OST sound of debut single Promise (너를 위한 약속) … Continue reading
For the second July in a row, producer EL CAPITXN has been very busy. He spearheaded the vast majority of AHOF’s mini album released last week and has done the same for the new idntt project. Of course, in this era of K-pop there’s never just one producer attached to a track so there’s no … Continue reading
After releasing a cover of TRF’s Boy Meets Girl last month, NCT Wish are back with the other half of their double A-side single. YO-I-DON! takes us into the frantic, fast-paced world inhabited by a certain style of J-pop. I’m not sure whether you’d call it Denpa or simply Eurobeat-influenced pop music, but whatever the … Continue reading
NCT’s Jaehyun recently completed his military service and will be joining 127 for their comeback later this summer. Before that, he’s back with new solo track 99 Degrees — a stark, emotive ballad with R&B flair. It takes a few key factors for me to enjoy a ballad. As I’ve said many times before, you … Continue reading
New girl group Heart Of Woman has done a nice job promoting their debut album with multiple video clips. Some of these have been lower budget than others, but with visuals such an important part of today’s K-pop industry it makes sense to tie some sort of imagery to the music. And since there’s no … Continue reading
The phrase “summer special single” always catches my attention. Summer’s my favorite season for music and “special” implies that the song will be distinctly tied to the season. Today, we’ve got a “special single” from rookie boy group AmbiO, who debuted earlier this year. The song’s heart is in the right place, but its execution … Continue reading
Monsta X’s Kihyun first promoted as a soloist back in 2022 but hasn’t made a comeback since. Much of that, I’m sure, is due to a lengthy military hiatus, but new single So Good picks up right where he left off. As expected, it’s a big, rock-fueled ballad. Kihyun has an excellent voice for this … Continue reading
i-dle have a history of releasing summer songs, bending the season to their will for material that fits within their sonic wheelhouse. They’re no doubt hoping another summer release will reverse their chart fortunes and see them sitting comfortably in the top ten again. For that to happen, they’ll need something much more striking than … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 