As part of BLACKPINK’s double title track debut, Boombayah (붐바야) acts as their more uptempo party offering. But whatever BLACKPINK released, the comparisons with YG’s other girl group, 2NE1, were inevitable. Boombayah feels a lot more like 2NE1 than their other track, Whistle, and that becomes both its strength and weakness. Boombayah kicks off with some truly … Continue reading
Monsta X is pulling a BTS and following up this May’s All In with a second promoted track from their latest album. Stuck (네게만 집착해) has the benefit of nearly three months behind it to help ingratiate itself, but even at the outset it shone as one of the stronger tracks on the album. Stuck … Continue reading
2016 has seen veteran boy group B.A.P shift towards a lighter uptempo pop sound, and it’s working better for them than I would have ever expected. That’s My Jam feels like a natural extension of their very strong mini album Carnival, released earlier this year. The song augments a trendy EDM beat into something much … Continue reading
As a newly debuted boy group, UP10TION’s management have smartly had them make incredibly frequent comebacks, never letting more than a couple months pass between albums. In this time, the group has cycled through all manner of concepts, showing their versatility but never really marking a definitive sound for themselves the way a group like … Continue reading
It’s an astonishingly (frustratingly) bare week for k-pop, but thank god for Japan, because there has been a slew of new j-pop releases over the past couple of weeks. I haven’t talked about Da-iCE on the blog before, but I’m a new convert to their music. Their vocal distribution reminds me a lot of Beast, … Continue reading
Rock group FTIsland are really on a roll this year. First, they released their Japanese N.W.U album with its excellent single You Don’t Know Who I Am, then they came back last week in Korea with one of the strongest singles of their career. Now, they’ve got another hit coming down the pike for an … Continue reading
This week, SM’s Station gives us something close to an actual comeback. All four members of f(x) perform All Mine, a modern EDM track that fits nicely alongside much of SM’s recent output. I’m in two minds about the song. Oddly enough, I’m finding that I can adore it and be angry with it at the … Continue reading
Beat Win came back last year with the underrated Stalker, but they’re the kind of group that never creates much buzz around their releases. Because of this, I came to their new single, Your Girl (니 여자친구), without expectations of any kind. This was probably a positive approach, as the song instantly resonated with me much … Continue reading
Last week, Zhoumi pre-released the Chinese version of his stately ballad, Empty Room. With What’s Your Number, he flips that sound completely, opting for a synth-drenched dance track. It’s a break from the ultra-trendy EDM SM has been giving its solo artists of late, hearkening back instead to the carefree pop fellow SJ-M member Henry … Continue reading
Rock is not a typical genre in the k-pop idol world, especially that which could be safely described as “heavy” or “hard.” After releasing a more standard brand of radio-rock for many years, FTIsland were given leeway last year to record material more closely aligned to their personal preferences. This resulted in a heavier sound … Continue reading
Stellar are back with their second title track of the year. They’ve been making great use of the makestar crowdfunding site, which presumably has allowed them the budget necessary to work with a producer of Brave Brothers’ caliber this time around. My ears perked up as soon as I heard his name, since he’s one … Continue reading
Back in March, I suggested that Eric Nam move back to an uptempo pop track for his next comeback, and somebody must have been listening because Can’t Help Myself is his brightest, most exciting single since 2014. Buoyed by the fame his personality has helped foster, Nam finally gives us the aural equivalent to the … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. The concept of NCT is infinitely promising. But as much as … Continue reading
Rookie group Snuper have forged their sound upon working exclusively with composing team Sweetune. They’re the only ones to do it consistently at the moment, and for that I’m very thankful. Their 80’s-tinged Platonic Love was a wonderful surprise back in March. New single You=Heaven (너=천국) is a different beast altogether. While it possesses many … Continue reading
It’s been a long wait for Infinite fans. I’ve made no excuses for my bias towards them and their music, and I had totally pumped myself up for a July comeback only to hear that it would be postponed to late summer or fall. Luckily, they’ve thrown us a bone in the form of That … Continue reading
Few k-pop stars bring the drama the way Shinee’s Taemin does. I’ve been a massive fan of his solo material from the start, so hearing that he would release a Japanese mini album later this month was a very nice surprise. I’d be lying if I said the ballad-meets-dubstep nature of Sayonara Hitori (さよならひとり) is … Continue reading
Wonder Girls’ Reboot was my favorite full length k-pop album of 2015, and this is coming from someone who had never really been a massive fan in the past. I’m delighted that they’re keeping with their new band formation, but I worried when it was announced that Why So Lonely would be primarily reggae-based. I … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. I was a little (or maybe a lot) harsh on Taeyeon … Continue reading
It’s rare that we get a pre-debut music video that’s not a solo or sub-unit. From what I’ve heard, Pledis Girlz (hopefully not their final name) will debut as a ten-member group. We doesn’t feature all ten members, but feels like a good indication of their color, especially since the girls directly participated in its composition. … Continue reading
One of my biggest annoyances of the past year or so in k-pop has been the lessening influence of classic producers like Brave Brothers, Sweetune, Thomas Troelsen and Yoo Young-Jin. Yes, we have newly popular talent in the form of Black Eyed Pilseung, LDN Noise and the Iggy/Youngbae duo, but my love of k-pop was fostered … Continue reading
