Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Sup.
Actually, a lot of stuff in this week’s Rundown that I liked quite a bit.
======
ICHILLIN’ – “BITE ME”
With its impactful production, it was a song I enjoyed and also a song that’s a decent melody in the chorus away from glory. Actually, things kinda come together in the final chorus, and it’s not even a hook that does it, just the “woah-ohhhs” and ad-libs alone alone make it good, so imagine the song with something sung.
——
Jeong Sewoon – “Quiz”
I suppose fans would say it’s bright and playful, but I would say it’s more flaccid and boring. I had to force myself stay through all of it just so I knew what to complain about.
——
WAKER – “ATLANTIS”
A boy group debut from HOWLING Entertainment, it’s a solidly-done bright and fun K-pop track. It doesn’t quite get all the way home, though, and is a prime example of a rap verse being wholly unnecessary.
——
SF9 – “BIBORA”
Another track that I enjoyed thanks to it having a consistent energy seemingly made for a party or club atmosphere. For now, I wish the chorus went further than it did after that glorious build, as it almost kinda sinks back rather than soars. The “bibora” repetition didn’t stick with me, but it could grow on me yet.
——
B1A4 – “Rewind”
They rewind things to New Jack Swing, which is a tried and true format, but in order to have it stand out a bit, it’d have been nice to have an element in the chorus that really draws you in, but it never arrives. It’s just kinda chill, which is fine.
——
Kyuhyun (Super Junior) – “The Story Behind”
As I’ve gotten older I’ve tried to be more understanding of different tastes and remain open-minded, and obviously I know he can sing and I respect that, but I feel like this kind of ballad is literally released at least a dozen times a week if you look at non-mainstream artists. I dunno.
——
8TURN – “RU-PUM-PUM”
I dunno man, hearing so many songs with these types of sounds have just kinda dulled my senses at this point, so unless you do something crazy like NCT sometimes does or it includes a decent hook/melody, I’m mostly uninterested.
——
OnlyOneOf – “dOpamine”
Likely going to be in the minority here and I understand why because the drum-and-bass production is on point, which makes this enjoyable on its own. But on repeats I found it lacking a hook to look forward to that would’ve taken it to another level, and that made it become something more like solid club music with surprisingly strained vocals at times. DJs will probably enjoy messing with it, though.
——
Ryu Sujeong (Feat. XYLO) – “Fallen Angel”
I actually like this darker turn for Ryu Sujeong, and it’s a promising pre-release off her upcoming 2ROX album, but it basically doesn’t go anywhere new after the first time through. Feels like a bit of a waste of something promising that could’ve easily been used better.
——
ALL(H)OURS – “GOTCHA”
Another debuting boy group, this time one from EDEN Entertainment. With their hip-hop focused concept, the song goes about how you expect. In a way it’s kinda remarkable how boring it is considering the image it desperately wants to project.
