Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
I only found out about B9 through YouTube recently, but picked up their EP right after. The self-titled release surprised me for two reasons. The first was that the band is comprised of bass and drums. While there are a bunch of duos, most are guitar and drums. The second was the sound of the band. It’s crunchy garage rock. The two members put meaty songs forward that grab your attention.
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I didn’t think the bass could be used so well as the main melody driver, but B9 have proved it’s possible. “What R U Afraid Of” makes a statement from the first verse and successfully introduces the band. The lead single “RESET” gives you the rest of the story. The song structure might be more simple, but 주영‘s main vocals tell you it’s time to listen. There’s a lot of distortion on the bass to give it a slight guitar sound, and while it would be easy to add guitar to the song, this stripped sound is perfect. What I also like is that while there is a core sound, B9 are able to give a lot of variety in their songs. You can definitely hear different voices between each track.
“For You” is a hard rock song that depends on the bass during the verse, but relies on the drums by 소라 to guide the direction. 소라’s vocals add to the atmosphere of each song, and it all helps me imagine that a live show by B9 is a lot of fun to watch. “Education” is the track that stands out on the release. With English vocals, with a lot of added effects, “Education” has this tone that sticks in my head as it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve heard recently. The mid-song breakdown is perfect before jumping back into the verse.
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B9 simply sound fresh. It’s no-frills rock that makes itself known.
There’s a lot of enjoy on B9’s first release, and they’ve made a statement and have made their presence known. If this is the start for the duo, they have many paths they can take from now. I hope they can record more music because this debut is very impressive.
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‘B9’ Album
“Reset” Song
