Rolling Kpop 2021

wouldn't go quite that far but i really really like it

still love them

ONEUS - BLACK MIRROR

feeling this right now, feels v 80's soundtrack to me tho

HIGHLIGHT - NOT THE END

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TWR90KJl84

new aespa track "next level" is so deeply confused i'm kinda impressed. apparently it's a cover of a track from a fast & furious soundtrack by a$ton wyld who's an artist who currently exclusively makes music for film/tv/commercials at the moment? i didn't even know that was a career angle you could have. and sm's producers shoved an entirely unrelated bridge in there and it's bizarrely disjointed even by kpop standards

lol yes. was going thru today's releases earlier and watched that video and was like "what in the world?"

I like it - I'm a sucker for anything OG SM sound with YYJ at the helm, of course, and I think the backing track is a bit besides the point - the fun is in the various vocal diversions.

was gonna say that taemin is in his imperial phase but then when isn't he?

TAEMIN - ADVICE

kinda fun

TRI.BE - RUB-A-DUM

20% of the time i think bibi is too minimalistic for my tastes and 80% of the time i think she's a genius

BIBI - BAD,SAD AND MAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMweEpGlu_U

oh the new BTS single is decent instead of insufferably bland like most of their post-western breakthrough stuff has been. still totally unambitious but like i'll take this over "dynamite" easily

"rub-a-dum" is quite fun indeed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3RA7bi5FUM

that's pretty good, production in the second verse especially fun

oh wow dreamcatcher are playing primavera??? wild

love that everglow

and rub-a-dum is such a jam!

some recent stuff i liked:

Easy by WJSN THE BLACK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG0o2RWTKh0

Bonnie & Clyde by YUQI (from g-idle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE8yKldv_oo

Ring Ring by Rocket Punch - has some old school Sweetune vibes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_SmwQ06TQE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d74cH816kFQ
lightsum - "vanilla" is fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWEkeqJ2djM
twice go for comically tropical vibes on "alcohol-free" but somehow pull it off? by all rights this should have been unlistenable saccharine nonsense but it's actually quite enjoyable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQMg8-Ku3JI

eternity - "i'm real

this is totally baffling, i think the concept for the group is their faces are all generated with AI tech or something? but the end result there is really bad lol. and the music is bizarre, an uncanny valley of a pop song to go with the video? everything about it is just slightly off in a fascinating way

been a couple of months since anything caught my ears.
liked this tho

DPR LIVE - HULA HOOPS(ft Beenzino, Hwasa)

also

E.SO - ORGEL

THE BOYZ - THRILL RIDE

WEEEKLY - HOLIDAY PARTY

ROCKET PUNCH - BUBBLE UP

yeah there were a few months where it seemed like there were no good songs at all, but now everything's sounding great again! Really like that Weeekly track, and "Bubble Up" reminds me of early Twice.

Love this AKMU song with IU, bit of a departure in sound for both the group and YG: NAKKA

Members of SISTAR continue making awesome summer jams post-disbandment: HYOLYN & DASOM - Summer or Summer

SF9 keeping my k-pop garage house dreams alive: SF9 - Tear Drop

Just a fun track: HYO - Second (feat. BIBI)

xposts to ufo

i finally watched that eternity video and oh my, that is terrifying but yeah weirdly compelling at the same time. I feel like there's a semblance of a decent song in there but the vocals/visuals are all wrong lol

that's a terrific group of tracks. love the beat drop in the sf9, and the hyo is glorious as well. i am a bit of an iu agnostic but am feeling that akmu collab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9RzZpV460k

new red velvet is fun, not their most exciting but it's solid

the whole mini is really good

"Queendom" was a bit disappointing I thought, but will check out the mini.

I ended up listening to the AKMU collabs EP, and it's pretty decent if a little bit all over the place, stylistically. They always have such lovely melodies. And amazed that YG allowed them to shoot videos for every song lol.

Like this one: Hey Kid, Close Your Eyes (feat. Lee Sun Hee)

found 'queendom' the track to be meh, but enjoyed the mini.

stray kids' new one is a tad disappointing in that it's basically a retread of "God's Menu", but it's still pretty good. they definitely have settled into a signature sound: maximalist horns (helpfully telegraphed here by the lyric "horns get louder and grander, honk honk"), nonsense punctuating sounds, shifting tempos, intensity dialed up to 11.

also, their new album is titled "NOEASY" in case anyone suggests they aren't self-aware.

STRAY KIDS - Thunderous

new brave girls is nice and catchy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZECe-55HY

yeah it's fun

I really like the Red Velvet mini! Pushing and Pulling is maybe their most openly spicy track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYNU9D3mV68

Personally I like Knock Knock the best, Red Velvet are so good at RnB, that track really plays to their strengths as vocalists I think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1VghRUV508

I do like how even in Queendom, which is like mostly straightforward pop, they throw a couple jazzy chords in a short chromatic run on the chorus (on that "Bling Bling" part). This is just what kpop is like now.

I really like the Brave Girls track! Finally a worthy follow up to the viral hit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3FVZNbm31w

i love it...

the guitar hook sounds vaguely familiar, it's probably from a popular song right?

but they just did such a good job with this!

also don't think anyone posted this, but it's probably the got the hook that's been stuck in my head the most this summer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzOjwL7IP_o

And just catching up, but that AKMU track is incredible!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMwJtMJLXE0

lol the CL album is apparently finally coming out in october after what, 6 years? this actually plays to her strengths for once

that's better than her previous tracks but still don't love it. lol @ her roping in John Malkovich for this though

Yeah i'm not too into this. She sounds good but the lyrics are like... already at the level of BTS Butter reaching for the most casual listener when she hasn't really broken into the market yet outside out the kpop and industry circles. If that makes sense.

Like way too obviously aware of the mainstream listener.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLlnf3dVzWU

thank you youtube recommendation engine

4 member vers of BTOB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-rD_vr_2xQ

the instrumental bridge at about 3min is really cool!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja0MZQOWl1w

stayc - "stereotype"

one of the stronger girl group singles this year

a change of pace, v beach house/snow patrol to my ears

NELL - BEAUTIFUL JEOPARDY

ballad of the year imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbIJV4aJRIA

The most divisive of kpop groups back with another jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPdWvnAAurg

rolling up for the final 5 seconds of your music vid

JESSI - COLD BLOODED(with SWF)

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=lisa+lalisa&view=detail&mid=4B2D07A38DF623B1A5B54B2D07A38DF623B1A5B5&FORM=VRRTAP&PC=EMMX04

i still don't really know what to make of "savage", there's some nice sound design i guess but the song just isn't there. it's fragmented in a bad way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-kl89T3Tnw

this (ichillin' - "fresh") would be great rather than just good if they made it a little hookier but there's still a lot to like here

love this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9jhxOwcaw0

billlie - "ring x ring" is pretty decent

^ A Kim Eana / Lee Minsoo joint

CHUNG HA - KILLING ME

also some christmas music

STRAY KIDS - CHRISTMAS EVE

found the new everglow song 'pirate' quite dizzying,to my ears there are at least 5 or 6 different bits of songs incorporated and unfortunately i only liked a couple of them. styling immaculate tho.

EVERGLOW - PIRATE