𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐭 𝟏𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐲
── What a pleasure it is to listen to a mini-album by a group you love, and know can make some of the best songs, just to find out they made some of the best songs. With 𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘤, I found that Red Velvet re-invented its two sides, the upbeat and surprising “Red” versus the splendid and delicate “Velvet”. This with a project that meets the expectations I had ... read more
the production is splendid and his voice sounds gorgeously good, i need this song to be twice as long
tripleS Glow is the 8th sub-unit of tripleS and consists of the last four girls to be revealed for the 24-member group (Chaewon, Sullin, Seoah & Jiyeon). As expected, I am super pleased with this single. It's a little further away from the super synthetic sound of tripleS and for the first time with tripleS, I did think about NewJeans. And that's due to how “Inner Dance” feels more like the R&B of the 90s which largely influenced ADOR's protege. It's not ... read more
It's nice to see NewJeans explore new grounds like they do on “Supernatural” with New Jack Swing. As often with the girl group, it's done super light and effortlessly. “Right Now” is closer to the sound we associate NewJeans with. But even here, they don't stick with typical Drum and Bass, instead, they also incorporate elements of Brazilian Music. I find the two to be some of NewJeans best tracks so far, and even if “Right Now” is only 2:40 ... read more
I don’t know what you are hearing that makes 𝘚𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘛𝘈𝘎𝘌 worth a 55 (let alone my follow score of 48). To me, Eunbi’s second single album is a logical continuation of her elegant discography.
“SABOTAGE” does suffer from a poor post-chorus, a slightly off-putting second verse and over-present whistles, but its solid Dance-Pop base with a touch of retro maintains it in good shape. There’s also “Unnatural”, which is – without ... read more
𝐌𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐈𝐈𝐙𝐄’𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠
── This release roll-out is so confusing, I thought they dropped the EP but in April but it was a “pre-release” EP?? Whatever that means. And this new version isn’t even an album, just the same with one brand new song, and two singles released in 2023 and early 2024. I want to have all my thoughts ... read more
J'avoue qu'au début, j'ai cru que c'était un autre artiste qui avait sorti un son sous le même nom que Laylow (je le suis pas sur les réseaux), mais en effet, c'est bien Laylow. Je suis pas trop fan de la prod que je trouve trop simple et vide sur les bords, même si c'est l'effet voulu pour donner plus d'impact à sa performance. Bon, c'est vrai que c'est aussi ce style de musique qui ne m'attire ... read more
![위키미키 [Weki Meki] - CoinciDestiny](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x0/album/978360-coincidestiny_090202.jpg)
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
Why are the best groups always the ones getting the least respect? Without Weki Meki, the “Teen Crush” concept wouldn't have been as big in K-pop. Like too many girl groups we barely hear today, Weki Meki was willing to do stuff no one else would dare to. Their 2020 EP 𝘏𝘐𝘋𝘌 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘌𝘌𝘒, was one of the first K-Pop EP I ... read more
![선미 [SUNMI] - Balloon in Love](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x0/album/968144-balloon-in-love_204237.jpg)
Sunmi is back! Therefore it's officially summer now!
It's a nice single, of course I wished for more since her last comeback with 𝘚𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘌𝘙 was slightly disappointing. And despite the good intentions behind it, it was poorly done. “Balloon in Love” is better and I think this light spring/summer vibe fits her. I love her delivery throughout the track, mostly in the chorus where she sounds even more broken and sings “𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 ... read more
It’s nice to see CSR back with two great songs. Especially the light and upbeat “HELLO” which recalls the Synthpop sound of their EP 𝘚𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦: 7272 (I didn’t review it??). They didn’t give up on this style on 𝘋𝘌𝘓𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛, but this one felt less polished and several moments left me perplexed. So 𝘓'𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘦 : 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 is a step in the right direction. “Pretty ... read more
𝐘𝐔𝐄𝐇𝐔𝐀'𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐩
── I've been waiting for this EVERGLOW comeback, I'm always waiting for their comeback as they joined the big club of girl groups who drop one release a year. But 2023's ALL MY GIRLS was a single, and so is this new comeback… I am sick of YUEHUA. I love EVERGLOW, I don't why, but I do. However, defending them or sincerely enjoying their music is getting harder and harder.
── ... read more
I was introduced to Motomara by a co-worker who played me 𝘈𝘭𝘱𝘴 and 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 at work when we had our part of the office for ourselves. They’re a Post-Punk band from Russia signed under the French label Talîtres, a label I appreciate that released many albums I enjoyed. A few weeks ago I came across brand new CDs of 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 at a second-hand store, I’m not sure how they ended up there, still under the store ... read more
It’s such a bummer to see that ENHYPEN’s best work in a while, is an EP for their Webtoon, and not a main release… 𝘔𝘌𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘈𝘉𝘐𝘓𝘐𝘈 is the exact style I want the boy group to explore in their discography. The songs here blend the Pop-Rock sound they’ve been approaching in their latest couple of comebacks, with a darker ambience that perfectly matches the group’s energy. There’s research for a more unique musicality, something only ... read more
Hear me out!! 𝘖𝘝𝘌𝘙𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘗 is in no way a good project, but it's so wrong it ends up acceptable you know?? I know it's super messy, and it sounds like they randomly picked instruments/samples and threw them together, but its chaotic evil side, makes it somewhat interesting. I don't know, like they wrote some genres down, and blindly chose 2 for each song, intending to mix them. The production is so intriguing that I'm curious to hear more you know.
I'll play this 100 times ... read more
𝐊𝐞𝐩𝟏𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
(Feel free to skip the intro I don’t talk about the music but about my history with the group)
── I’ve been following Kep1er since day 0, and I remember where I was when they revealed the members one by one, with a 5-minute interval between each, and it still drives me crazy. 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵 999 was my first survival show, since then I ... read more
𝐘𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫 (𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲)
─── Indeed, I’ve never been a fan of the group, I find most of their stuff super hard on the ear, and borderline annoying. But for some reasons that I still don’t understand, they’re among the most popular boy groups in Europe (I’ve seen many French moots on Twitter love the group, and put them as their ult or close enough). I didn’t listen to all their work, but enough ... read more
𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 & 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 – 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧
——— All ARTMS members have released a project since they joined MODHAUS. Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Choerry under ODD EYE CIRCLE, Heejin with her solo EP and Haseul with her digital single. It's time for them to reunite and debut under the name ARTMS. ... read more
NEXZ is JYP Entertainment's latest project. The Japanese boy group, which consists of seven members, was formed on the survival show 𝘕𝘪𝘻𝘪 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 2.
NEXZ caught my ears with “Ride the Vibe” several times. I can't recall hearing anything similar among other boy groups. Glith Pop is not so common in K-Pop, and it's easy to come up with something too off-putting when tackled incorrectly. But here it's done in a surprisingly gentle way, I love the ... read more
𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩!
Yves is the last LOONA member to release a project in this new “post-loona”¹ world. The name 𝘓𝘖𝘖𝘗 itself feels like a homage to LOONA. If you’re familiar with the group and its lore, you know about the Möbius strip, two separate timelines happen at the same time on each side of the strip, without ever crossing each other. And a Möbius strip looks like a loop.
I was a bit ... read more
As I'm listening to this album, I can't help but be reminded of a softer version of most projects released on Longinus Recordings. On 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮, the Michigan label's Post-Rock, Emo and Shoegaze tones are often nearby, here in the background. It's slower, singing/screaming is less prominent, the guitars aren't as aggressive, and the sound has more room/air. It's closer to an Indie Rock album with Space Rock Revival undertones than the shadowy and dense releases ... 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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