When I cued up Jeong Sewoon’s new single, I was expecting some soft, acoustic ballad. But January continues to surprise with upbeat material, as he’s taken a sudden shift towards …
Read More »Indie Focus: Ashmute’s ’01’ is a quality album that puts twists on the electronic sound
It’s been about 10 months between Ashmute‘s last single, “Scenery,” and now her first EP in ‘01‘. The four-song EP carries well with the addition of the instrumentals, which I …
Read More »Fromis 9 make a rock-solid debut with peppy and fun, “To Heart”
Fromis 9 are the group that’s been born out of the Mnet survival show ‘Idol School‘, and while “Glass Shoes” left such an impression on me that I didn’t even …
Read More »VIXX’s Ravi changes direction and shows promise on “Nirvana”
Boy group VIXX has settled into a comfortable stability, having cultivated a sizable fan base that seems pretty committed to supporting them. But there’s still room to go higher, as …
Read More »Girls On Top impress with dynamic “HOLA” that thrives thanks to a multi-faceted chorus
Vocal trio Girls On Top didn’t even get a music video for “HOLA“, which is quite a shame considering the quality they brought on it. The obvious comparison to make …
Read More »AOA’s Jimin’s “Hey” is heavy on attitude but is lacking in substance
While AOA remains on hiatus, leader Jimin is back with her second solo single in conjunction with W Magazine. October’s “Hallelujah“ seemed to be on the cusp of trends by …
Read More »JBJ have a dynamite song in “My Flower”, but it’s hidden under the trendy synths
Defying all odds, ‘Produce 101‘ project group JBJ sold over one hundred thousand copies of their debut mini album last year. This ranks them right up there with the biggest …
Read More »Chungha is mismatched on “Roller Coaster”, which ultimately hinders its appeal
Chungha has been one of the bigger success stories from 2016’s ‘Produce 101‘ group I.O.I. While most other members have been reshuffled back into their respective groups, she embarked on …
Read More »Sunmi provides power and charisma for “Heroine”, which is a dramatic success
If there was one song in 2017 that I severely under-rated, it would be Sunmi’s “Gashina“. While I didn’t love it at first, the track became something of a national …
Read More »Monsta X revert back to rather basic basics in Japan with “Spotlight”
Sometimes it feels like Monsta X and I are on a constant seesaw. I’ll love one single, then dislike the next. To be fair, their hard-edged sound was not designed …
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