Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Damn, there really wasn’t a whole lot going on for a couple weeks or so again, and really I think it was among the worst starts to a year as it was full of ballads and other blandness.
Anyway, we back.
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Hinatazaka46 – “Sukininarucrescendo”
Still can’t get into this type of generic upbeat release from big J-pop groups (unless it has some indelible hook or something), as it really just ends up blending all their vocals together in a way that reminds me of a school choir that ranges from elementary to high school. It’s not bad or anything, but it does end up kinda just feeling like a placeholder of sorts.
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ZEROBASEONE – “LOVEPOCALYPSE”
ZEROBASEONE‘s disbanding song — at least as a nine-member unit — and for those types of songs, this is certainly counts as one of the best.
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NAVILLERA – “NO LIMIT”
The best thing I can say is that it reminded me of GFRIEND, which I’m thankful for, and thus they get promo to the three people who read this.
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FANTASTICS – “FINALE”
Could’ve used a more engaging refrain/melody in the chorus to distinguish it, as it kinda fades into the background as is, especially on repeats. That said, it’s still generally enjoyable.
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ATEEZ – “Adrenaline”
Definitely one of those songs that works better as an interactive performance at a concert/festival than something to listen to while sitting at home. Would I ever seek this out for a listen? No. Would I jump around to it a bit if I was at a concert/festival? Sure.
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IVE – “BANG BANG”
It’s been somewhat interesting to see people acting as if this was too abstract or something, when I actually felt like it didn’t lean in far enough to the IVE-does-aespa thing. The chorus should’ve been messier, as the start shows a lot of promise, but after listening to it a bunch it feels surprisingly flat and one-note (or one-beat, really) for something designed to be the opposite.
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UNEDUCATED KID – “HIGH”
Says a lot that this guy now has an eight-year career with regular output. Bleak.
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Well, here we go again with me pushing back covering stuff I actually enjoyed because I have some kind of weird OCD block about being for sure about it. Anyway, I will indeed have posts about releases I’ve enjoyed so far this year soon.
Hoping for a better week ahead.
