Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
It would be an understatement to say I’ve been underwhelmed by most ‘SM Station‘ releases, but with the recent collaboration by Kim Bum Soo and Kenzie all has been forgiven. This Latin-inspired ballad is not only beautiful, but the music video has a purpose outside of fan service. (Yay!)
What impresses me most with “Pain Poem” is the clear conversation the guitar is having with Kim Bum Soo’s lamenting vocal. They bounce off one another so seamlessly, calling to each other back and forth; one is never overpowering the other. This is where Kim Bum Soo really shows off his skill as a vocalist, as a lot of singers tackling ballads tend to overcompensate for lack of emotional depth with big note after big note and burdensome vocal acrobatics.
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The music video was also well done, albeit a teensy bit dramatic. It added to the mood appropriately, especially the opening shots of barren landscape overlooking a plane crash, and then an empty highway with nothing but the sound of the wind.
The wind was used as a reoccurring theme throughout, which was something I appreciated.
The plot is fairly simple, but effective and fitting. As the song comes around to its peak after a lot of running, and wind, and foreshadowing, the chick breaks down in realization that she’s dead as he stumbles through the marsh upon her surprisingly clean and not tattered corpse that just literally crashed out of the fucking sky. Incredible.
This is where we get the emotional breakdown we were all waiting for.
In all seriousness, upon first watch this did catch me and pull at my heart strings, but on the second time around I couldn’t help but giggle a bit.
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While there wasn’t a lot about ‘SM Station’ that has appealed to me thus far, I loved “Pain Poem” as both a song and music video even though it’s over-dramatic, and now I want more Latin-inspired ballads as soon as possible.
