𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑑 𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 isn’t a basic EP for your basic days, it’s not something you put on randomly because you’re not sure what to listen. You reach for this kind of project at a certain time because you know it’s the right time. And today is the time; it’s hot, I’m tired and need energy. So 17 minutes of Red Velvet’s bright and colourful music is ... read more
![오마이걸 [OH MY GIRL] - Remember Me](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x0/album/121520-remember-me.jpg)
𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐡 𝐌𝐲 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥
When @ShadeRD sends you a K-Pop album that went kinda under the radar, you know you're about to have a good time! If only all the tracks were closer to “Twilight”’s level…
I love the surprise that comes with the bombastic “Remember Me”. Electropop isn’t a genre I expect to hear when listening to Oh My Girl, but it’s a pretty good take on the genre and it’s cool to ... read more
“Yesterday's Tomorrow's Today” is so radio French variety coded it's insane. Like Claudio Capeo, Trois Café Gourmand and others of their breed probably have many songs that sound the same.
I think there are a few interesting ideas on “Balance Baby” and how her voice is processed and used in the verse. “Choose UR Fighter” is one the better songs as well, and is surprisingly saved by its super short runtime as I don't think I could ... read more
Isn’t it crazy how putting mid-songs in the middle of genuinely bad ones, can make them sound nice? Cause that’s how it feels listening to “Closer Than This” and “Who” with the other tracks. I hated my first listen of “Who” yesterday, but after listening to it 2 or 3 times today in the context of the album it’s honestly not that horrible, if only high notes sounded better.
I’d say that compared to the mess that was last year’s ... read more
𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 & 𝐌𝐀𝐗𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒
── It’s 6:40, I just woke up. Today, two major K-pop projects were released, Jimin’s and Stray Kids’s albums. As a part of this site's K-pop community, I should listen to those projects. But it’s 6:40, and I don’t think listening to Jimin or SKZ is what I want to do while eating breakfast. However, yesterday SUMIN & SLOM dropped ... read more
𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭
── I never really know what to expect when I listen to a new NCT release (all units included). It's not that they drop stuff that sounds super different like (G)I-DLE does, but they’re often going for something a little off-putting at first or unusual. And it always worked for them, I enjoy so many of their songs, even those I thought weren’t so good after a first listen. They typically catch you off guard, but once you ... read more
𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬 : 𝑼𝑵𝑻𝑶𝑳𝑫
── After releasing their best EP in a while with 𝘔𝘌𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘈𝘉𝘐𝘓𝘐𝘈 for their Webtoon, ENHYPEN is back with 𝘙𝘖𝘔𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘌 : 𝘜𝘕𝘛𝘖𝘓𝘋, a 25-minute “full album”, that ditch their darker tone for something lighter, leaning towards today’s US Pop.
── I was pleased with the record from the first song ... read more
𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘕𝘌𝘚𝘚 starts in a pretty sick way with the introduction borrowing from Jungle (I think), “SHOCK” and its Drift Phonk drop. But past those two tracks, ALL(H)OURS feds the usual Trap EDM food and only “PSYCHO MANTRA” manages to bring interesting moments with its diverse production. “'Bout That Issue” and “Blah Blah” remind me too much of ATEEZ’s ear-piercing music, which I usually find lacking purpose and loud just ... read more
𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲
── Many found 𝘝𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘚 a disappointing EP, but 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘚 brings justice to Dreamcatcher’s discography and counterbalances the feeling left by its predecessor. It relies on Rock elements more than ever before and while they don’t completely ditch EDM, the ... read more
It’s nice to see Weeekly returning to a more regular release pattern, without any major drop in quality. I’m not sure what to think about this EP, and don’t see myself going back to it, apart from “LIGHTS ON” for how fun it is.
I appreciate “LIGHTS ON” for how it feels like a call-back to the group’s upbeat and fast-paced tracks. It’s the most interesting element out of the five, due to its diversity. With the other songs, they go different ... read more
AKMU is the only act under YG Entertainment that should be allowed to release music. And they're also the only ones doing their stuff without the unwanted “help” of the company's favourite producers. Keep it up!
(𝐆)𝐈-𝐃𝐋𝐄’𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫
── For the first time with (G)I-DLE, I didn’t listen to the highlight medley. I didn’t even see any promo for it on my timeline on Twitter or Instagram, and I follow all members. Did I get disconnected from K-pop? Not really. I’m still super into the genre and what it offers, but I also realised that it wasn’t possible to have a job, write reviews, do sports and read articles every day. ... read more
𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢 is what I need in K-pop, this is what K-Pop needs. Great music. Delicious synths, bright sounds, light atmosphere. Before battling in Queendom 2, LOONA and WJSN had a child, her name was ARIAZ, this is her story.
Upon the first couple of seconds of “Assemble #1”, I knew that what @ShadeRD sent me wouldn’t be an ordinary listen for me. I was about to go back to LOONA’s early sound. Each song is immersed in an airy and bright ... read more
I have no idea what the hell is “Sun and Moon” doing in between “Hot Mess” and “ZOOM ZOOM”, but at least its laid-back and light energy brings a moment of peace between the two storms. “Hot Mess” is a perfect name for the sound it represents. It's fast with a big bass and a metallic and rough soundscape, something to remind us of aespa's Hybrid Trap wonders, without being as good as them. “ZOOM ZOOM” also has a ... read more
I'll start to believe KISS OF LIFE is our new favourite rising star and hitmaker. With “Sticky” and “Te Quiero”, the group presents two new songs perfect for the summer. “Sticky” mostly takes its influence in Afrobeats with an entertaining rhythm and a lighthearted production, meanwhile “Te Quiero” gets its effortless catchiness and lovely melodies from Latin Pop. Of the two, I prefer “Te Quiero” as I find it more interesting, ... read more
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐂'𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞
── When STAYC debuted in 2020 with 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘛𝘰 𝘈 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, all eyes were on them. There was something about “SO BAD” that was different from other groups doing synthpop. At the time I didn’t realise the track's impact, but as time went by, it became a hit. After that, everything went smoothly for them, with tunes that were well ... read more
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝'𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫
── Lisa's “Rockstar” is the first song released since all BLACKPINK members left YG Entertainment to pursue their own paths (edit: they renewed their contract for group activities, but moved for solo projects). This says a lot about the company's declining state, compared to TWICE, who renewed their contract with JYP Entertainment in July 2022 and Red Velvet, who ... read more
![威神V [WayV] - Give Me That](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x0/album/956177-give-me-that_090116.jpg)
𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧
── With 𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵, WayV presents a pretty consistent EP when it comes to music quality. They don’t come back nearly as much as their NCT buddies, but when they do, they never disappoint.
── We start with a super fun Hip Hop Soul tune. The very beginning of “Give Me That” isn’t what makes this song so great, its first verse isn’t the best part ... read more
𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡
── Chuu’s second EP 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘩 can be summarised in two words, sweet and cute. Which could be Chuu’s definition as well. If there’s something I look for when a K-pop soloist drops a project, it’s how it represents the image of this artist. Soojin’s two mini-album fits her soft aura, Yena’s 𝘚𝘔𝘪𝘓𝘌𝘠 embodies the bright/loud personality of ... read more
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Recent Review Comments
On BLACKPINK - DEADLINE
"@suddenlystarlit late reply but it's track 3 and 4"
On i-dle - Mono
"@primari thank you so much!! i'm trying to slowly get back to writing reviews again and words like this truly motivates me haha <3"
On i-dle - Mono
"@KayleNevie that's cool! i also saw they were performing it on music shows"
On ARTMS - Dall
"@rbbaddie thank you so much, this makes my heart melt"
On i-dle - We are i-dle
"@ShadeRD I have accepted the "no-return" of Soojin (her solo debut made it clear), but still I find that they were playing with the fans by hinting at her.
I'm not annoyed at them releasing those songs, as it does make sense and every group ends up doing it. It's more about how it's done.
But again, I have zero idea of the real situation, what they're allowed to do or not and the making process. Idk if what seems like Soojin's references are intentional or not. I repeat myself but I guess I needed to let that out last night and then thought about it again haha!
In conclusion: I don't know anything about the situation and therefore shouldn't assume anything either, because then I'm just creating conspiracy theories, which I deeply hate!
2/2"
On i-dle - We are i-dle
"@ShadeRD You're right it's probably just about publishing, performance's rights. While it's true many other groups did that, but they do it in the following months or so, and songs are often put at the end of another album, or without promo. To me it's a little weird that it's done now and not earlier, and I struggle with the way they used her name/image for marketing strategy (it looks like that did at least).
But we have no idea of what happens behind the scenes and some stuff take times and are beyond our understanding. In the end we're here overanalyzing something far more complex than it seems. As listeners we only see the outcome and not everything that comes before which can make up come up with wrong interpretation.
1/2"
On i-dle - We are i-dle
"im writing this in bed right before sleeping so excuse any poor wording. shit cant believe im going to mess up my sleep for a silly comment under a silly album for something silly like that which is probably not THAT deep, but still pretty silly imo"
On enderkeenan's review of CIX - THUNDER FEVER
"100% agree with the daft punk sound, it reminded me of them too"
On ShadeRD's review of XG - AWE
"@ShadeRD yeah in the official lyrics it's written "bold" but it's just more fun to say "bald". one could say coco is bold for going bald!"
On ShadeRD's review of XG - AWE
"wait on which track is the Coco bar about being bald??? i didn't notice i guess"
On Vision@ry Vision - Performante
"@distopiadan oh yeah that's right i saw about it! the vocal album can come after that then 🙏"
On ILLIT - I'LL LIKE YOU
"@oaaat i'll give it a rest next comeback! dont worry it's not that deep really. the lack of impressive vocals applies to a few other groups primarily made of very young members. newjeans and triples are two other examples of this, but the production and melodies make up for it"
On Billlie - appendix: Of All We Have Lost
"@luneo tbh The Billage of perception: chapter 3 might have more of those straightforward tunes"
On Loossemble - TTYL
"@distopiadan thank u sm!"
On ShadeRD's review of LUN8 - AWAKENING
"lmao "you can’t exactly blame the group for avoiding calling the entire fandom crazy" so real"
On enderkeenan's review of TAEMIN - ETERNAL
""pitched-down moaning Taemin" lmaoooo he kinda slays this style compared to many others tho!! (expect kai)"
On ShadeRD's review of beabadoobee - This Is How Tomorrow Moves
"sweet review; i agree on how different the impact is compared to previous album, but i think it's a welcomed change as it shows how much she grew as both an artist and a person.
im not seeing her on tour this year but i saw her in Feb 2023 and istg she is top 5 cutest people ever!"
On Red Velvet - The Red Summer
"@enderkeenan thank you so much 🤝"
On NewJeans - Ditto
"@alstanskiof lmao yep!"
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