Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
As a part of trying to play catchup on features before I get a bit busier with work and what not, I figured I might as well try to stay as current as possible with some of the other noteworthy releases as well.
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IMP. – “INVADER”
If you thought the problem was limited to current gen K-pop for whatever reason, not to worry, as there are dogshit melodies in choruses everywhere for your eyes to see.
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WHITE JAM – “I Miss You”
Just a genuinely deranged music video for a song like this, gimmick or not. But hey, it got me to post about it, which I guess was the goal.
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tuki. – “Zero”
Not my favorite song of hers (it’s fine), but I loved the music video playing with her anonymity and getting creative to hide it, making it worth a highlight. It’s the opening theme for the anime SNOWBALL EARTH.
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Mika Nakashima – “Look In My Eyes”
She has all-timer ballads. This is not one of them.
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Utada Hikaru – “PAPPAPARADISE”
Mostly wanted to post this because now we can add another job to their resume. It’s the ending theme for the anime CHIBI MARUKO-CHAN and it sorta reflects the safer qualities appropriate for that audience in the production. It’s fine.
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BOYNEXTDOOR – “Knock Knock”
A boy group toying with something like a Kendrick Lamar imitation was never gonna end well, but it is kinda amusing to witness at least. Was a matter of time, I suppose.
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Jay Park & LNGSHOT – “4SHO 4SHO”
Still unclear if it’s for sure or not, could use further clarification.
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aespa (Feat. BIGBANG’s G-DRAGON) – “WDA”
aespa leaning heavy into hip-hop doesn’t play to their strengths, G-DRAGON feature or not. A production like this provides the performers freedom, but also requires them to hard carry it to the finish line, and they just can’t do it in this sound. The result is not feeling engaged as a listener at any point despite the allegedly confident and aggressive tone, but at least it’s a pre-release.
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NMIXX – “Heavy Serenade”
That vibrating jackhammer sound overpowers the verses and sends it into overly busy territory, though my main problem was the melody just wasn’t good enough of a payoff to vindicate the creative quirks of this like they were on pre-release “Crescendo“, for example (which I’ll probably write about instead). Their talent can compensate for a lot, and this is a solid overall effort for most, but it’s not one of their strongest and I have higher expectations for them at this point.
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CORTIS – “ACAI”
Like I said last week, #JusticeForJaneRemover.
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Well that was a pretty random and eclectic mix.
