Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
After IU tried to kill us all with her music, as she proved on “Through The Night“, she came back with a collab with Oh Hyuk called “Can’t Love You Anymore“.
“Can’t Love You Anymore” generally avoids just repeating the same structure or going for vocal wanking, which keeps it from settling into a rut that other slower songs, instead using nice interplay between the voices to match with the lyrics and theme of the song. The abrupt ending was a nice touch for a breakup song and also left the listener with a feeling of wanting more.
IU provided an admirably reserved performance that set the tone, but I liked Oh Hyuk’s efforts more, as he entered with an assertion and energy to it. I’m sure he’s not the best technical singer, but it matters not at all as it’s such an interesting sound that manages to be vulnerable but command attention, and has a bit of an unrefined feel as well. It was an important quality for the voices themselves to be interesting on a track that wasn’t going to draw attention based on the instrumental or volume.
It’s a fine line between something that’s just a bore and a groovy R&B jam, but “Can’t Love You Anymore” does the balancing act well. While it’s on the slow side, it’s also easy to vibe to with its smooth and soulful sound paired with IU and Oh Hyuk’s voices working surprisingly well together.
