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loonarii · 7 months ago

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Ari's K-Pop Roundup: May 2024 (aespa, NewJeans, IVE, tripleS, YVES, ARTMS + MORE)

sorry this one was a little late - it was partly due to my personal life being a bit hectic at the moment, and partly due to the amount of stuff I wanted to say about this month's releases. check out last month's installment here, and happy pride month :)))

Supernova + Armageddon - aespa

Instant classic. 'Drama' in all its electric cyber-crush glory is a tough act to follow, but 'Supernova' holds it's ground from the first second and starts being fucking iconic in the next five.

Dem Jointz is all over this track, I love how he gets to go a little wild with the complexity of his production when working with groups like aespa and NCT. The beat bounces and booms, taking the listener on an intergalactic roller coaster ride of dance-pop rhythm, with the aespa girls as our celestial guides. 'Supernova' is a masterclass in vocal mixing and ad libs, Ningning's vocals sound especially addictive on this track, low and oozing confidence. It's an instant hit, and one of aespa's best.

While 'Supernova' feels very much in aespa's usual territory, 'Armageddon' takes a few more risks - it's slightly less dancepop, a little more edgy; less first-listen club banger and more third listen unexpected groove. Don't get me wrong, it definitely maintains the hallmarks of an aespa title track: full of unplaceable futuristic synths, tin-can trap beats, and a deep sliding baseline, but something about that half time chorus and the switch up to focus on the members lower registers more feels so confident. 'Armageddon' depicts an aespa utterly assured in their abilities as idols, musicians, entertainers, and performers, and regardless of it you liked the song or not, I think it is clear to anyone from this title track that aespa have far from reached their peak, and they still have much more to do in this industry.

Frustratingly, the album did not live up to the quality of the titles that represent it. There are a few stand out hits, like 'Bahama', which pulls off y3k h2o just add water mermaidcore effortlessly, as well as 'Set The Tone' a classic aespa style track evocative of the 'Drama' and 'Savage' EPs in sound, and 'Licorice' which apparently is controversial to enjoy, but I can't help but love its bounce and rhythm; but much of the rest of the tracklist fell short. I couldn't help but notice a lack of coherence both in the sound and concept of this era. The album feels like a hodgepodge of tracks rather than a deliberate project - there aren't any through lines between tracks other than aespa's flagship futuristic production style (which isn't actually present on every track but whatever), and each song seems to be appealing to different scenarios of streaming music - BAHAMA is for a summer beach date, but Supernova is for the club, but then Live My Life is for a disney channel original movie starring Demi Lovato?? The overall vibe seems to be disjointed.

This is a problem I have with a lot of aespa's releases since the 'Savage' EP - on the EP or mini album or album or whatever around 65-90% of the tracks are certified bangers, life changing hits, and then there are a few dull fillers to pad the runtime. I know there is a pressure for groups to release something twice a year or so, but I think aespa is at a point in their career where they can certainly afford to release an album once a year if it's for the sake of quality music.

Great titles, poor b-sides - aespa deserves more than a top-heavy album, SM take more than six months next time you want to make an album for them I beg.

How Sweet - NewJeans

It's been a rough couple of months over at HYBE, and considering how sick we are of it as fans and listeners, I can't even imagine how exhausted the members are of the whole ordeal. Being at the centre of one of k-pop's biggest company dramas in history in the middle of your comeback season isn't for the weak, but NewJeans make it look easy. They are back, stronger than ever, with yet another instant classic.

'How Sweet' is the complementary reversal of 'Bubblegum', capitalizing on the members gorgeous lower registers and pairing them with a 90s hip-hop vibe, featuring their signature NewJeans production flairs as always. I've seen a little bit of criticism that this song feels too much like 'ETA', (which I think is a bizarre comparison, it much more sounds like a lovechild of 'OMG' and 'Ditto') but I don't think that groups releasing music in their established sound is a bad thing at all. NewJeans aren't rookies anymore, they have more than proved themselves to be a force to be reckoned with both on the charts and on the stage, and with the korean general public and bunnies themselves consistently loving the NewJeans sonic identity it makes no sense for them to abandon it entirely. They've grown a lot since 'Attention' and 'Hype Boy', and their performance of this song shows that clearly.

The girls' vocals on this song are to die for, every line they deliver exudes confidence and assurance in their capabilities. Danielle and Hanni's little chant of 'Toxic loverrrrr you're no betterrrrr, 거기 숨지 말고 얼른 나와, you little demon in my storyline, don't knock on my door, I'll see you out' is adorable and SO catchy, Danielle's delivery in that outro with her Aussie accent being a highlight of the song as a whole.

Yet another banger from (in my opinion) the most exciting kpop group out right now - it is becoming clearer and clearer to me that the day NewJeans release a bad song is the day pigs fly.

Girls Never Die - tripleS (<ASSEMBLE24>)

The final lineup for tripleS is here, and with it, one of the groups best songs to date. Juggling 24 members in one song is feat few have successfully managed, but tripleS expertly uses the plethora of voices they have at their disposal to deliver a title track as hypnotic as it is anthemic.

'Girls Never Die' has all the hallmarks of a tripleS song we've grown to adore, from y3k style production to the classic 'lalala' hook in the chorus - sonically it both calls back to the groups humble beginnings with Acid Angel From Asia's 'Generation', and looks to the future of the group with its united 24 members. The verses tend to lose me a little, but although they are dull, they are thankfully short, and the chorus is a stunner. The finale of the track is a triumph, the final refrain of 'girls never die 절대 never cry' closing the song giving the effect of a battle cry - to me 'Girls Never Die' says tripleS are here to shake things up in the industry, and release fun music while doing it.

I've enjoyed many a tripleS project before this, with the +(KR)ystal Eyes EP and the 2023 ASSEMBLE album being real highlights. '<ASSEMBLE24>' is immediately one of ( if not their best) albums, b-sides such as 'Beyond the Beyond', 'White Soul Sneakers', and ESPECIALLY 'Chiyu' bringing the heat fully.

tripleS are one to watch, and while I have genuinely no clue what 'decentralized kpop idol group' means or what the fuck an objekt is, trust when I say I will be watching.

Accendio - IVE (IVE SWITCH)

After the exciting return of an IVE that is worthy of their hitmaker epithet with 'HEYA', I was intrigued to see what 'Accendio' would bring to the table other than a matching cherry-red wig moment for the members (which was iconic btw.)

'Accendio' borrows some ideas from garage, but generally just feels very kpop - it's functionally the epicentre of the sounds of the industry right now; a little bit tripleS, a little bit (G)-IDLE, but 100% IVE. It has an ethereal quality, but in the sense of a fallen angel, with the lyrics bringing a sense of Catholic guilt (not sure why this is becoming a trend right now but sure!). The chorus is half high-fashion girlpop with their chant of 'watch me, don't touch me; love me, don't hurt me', and half rhythmic acid trip with the onomatopoeia and the refrain of '주문 걸어, accendio'; it's a highly successful marriage of opposites. To me it recalls the sound of their Japanese single 'WAVE' which I personally loved, and while 'HEYA' is technically a more advanced kpop song production-wise, 'Accendio' just has a pace and rhythm to it that 'HEYA' lacks, making it feel more exciting and engaging.

It's actually kind of crazy how good the rest of the album is, like IVE's b-sides have never been criminally bad, but this is wild. Potentially a niche reference for you 4th gen stans, but 'Blue Heart' and 'Ice Queen' are to 'Accendio' what 'Clue' and 'Note' are to SHINee's 'Sherlock'. 'Blue Heart' expands on that vogueish, runway style sound from the first part of the 'Accendio' chorus, and 'Ice Queen' explores that gossamer flowy sound from the refrain. I doubt this was intentional, but I love any sense of sonic consistency in kpop albums (@rinas4ki this kind of what we were talking about) and all three tracks are very successful.

'WOW' is a little bit of a wildcard, an acoustic style girly type of track that sounds like the kind of thing SM used to force aespa to sing, but it works very well for IVE. That post chorus of 'wowowow' is very cute. 'RESET' also has a little bit of a garage sound, and reminds me a lot of Yves debut (which will be discussed below), and while it is pretty catchy, it isn't especially memorable, especially in the context of IVE's discography and the quality of the other tracks on this mini album, but it is still worth a listen for sure.

Overall I am very impressed with IVE this time around, 'HEYA' is very enjoyable, 'Accendio' is even more enjoyable, and the b-sides don't put a spanner in the works at all, in fact they in many ways boost the overall quality of the comeback, a feat frustratingly rare in the kpop scene. If you missed the 'IVE SWITCH' album this month, I would definitely recommend giving it a listen.

LOOP - YVES (LOOP)

It feels good knowing all 12 members of LOONA have redebuted after leaving BBC, and what a way to end it. Yves has always been one of my biases in LOONA, and this solo debut proves exactly why she's so special.

'LOOP' is a uk garage style kpop classic, and while Lil Cherry's rap occasionally wanders into questionable territory, Yves' vocals melded with the gorgeous Pink Pantheress style production (no she didn't actually produce it, but a girl can dream, right?) make the track the hit it is. I've seen the use of 8-bit sounding vocal processing being criticised online, but I personally love the computerized sound it brings - with Yves lilting 'ooh's and refrain of 'yeah I'm lost but I like it' 'LOOP' creates an atmosphere of a virtual euphoria.

'LOOP' is great and all, but for me the real star of the album is the beautiful, the stunning, the AWE INSPIRING, 'DIORAMA'. It's so effortless in it's production and that chorus is so subtle yet addictive, it's seriously good. 'DIORAMA' has been on repeat since it's release, I can definitely see this one finding a spot high on my top kpop tracks of 2024 list.

The mini album as a whole is amazing, Yves is such an exciting soloist, she clearly has a lot she wants to achieve, and 'LOOP' is evidence of that.

Virtual Angel - ARTMS (Dall)

WARNING - PLEASE READ: If you wish to support ARTMS after reading this review, please be warned that the music video for 'Virtual Angel' contains repeated flashing scenes, and has been reported to trigger seizures, epilepsy and headaches in a small minority of viewers - even the 'Human Eye Ver.' has some flashing elements. Please stay safe!

I think i speak for all orbits when I say we had big expectations for 'Dall'. Both of the Loossemble albums so far have been excellent, Chuu and Yves have been bringing it in their solo projects, and everything we've heard out of Modhaus concerning Loona has been incredible - for ARTMS to stumble with this album would be immensely frustrating. Fortunately, they did not stumble at all, they smashed through the finish line of the Loona redebuts, and elevated the groups post-BBC discography to another level of excellence.

'Dall' is an album that is difficult to put into words. It has the essence of Loona beyond just having Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry and Haseul involved, it is genuinely quite moving how it echoes that 'Hi High' sound from so long ago. I say this as a joke a lot, but 'Dall' is genuinely an album that feels like an ascension to another plane of existence - it is euphoric and ethereal, especially in the context of the fight the members and orbits have put up since 2022.

I consider 'Girl Front' the gold standard for Loona songs, and 'Virtual Angel' genuinely comes close to snatching that crown. The whole album is so fucking good, and while I would usually go through the charade of describing every track and its genre influences and whether the hook is catchy or not, I refuse for this album - I will not steal the experience from you of hearing this album for the first time.

So yeah, this is probably a mildly shit review, but PLEASE go stream this album, if there was any post BBC Loona album you were going to listen to, let it be this one (but also the Odd Eye Circle album lmao). 'Virtual Angel' is a triumph, 'Dall' is a triumph, 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy', 'Sparkle' and 'Unf/Air' ESPECIALLY are triumphs.

In conclusion... stan loona.

MINI REVIEWS:

Taxi Blurr - Jay Park (feat. Natty of KISS OF LIFE): i may not like Jay Park, but Natty is and always will be my girl, so here we are. I really love the 90s r&b style of this track, and Natty especially sounds amazing on it - her vocal colour is so beautiful. The two's voices blend really well in my opinion, the harmonies in the bridge are satisfying as hell.

Mona Lisa - Soojin (formerly (G)-IDLE)): questionable album titles aside, Soojin is back with her second comeback post leaving (G)-IDLE. This song is frustrating because it's not really offensively bad in any sense, but it is also not really especially good in any sense either. The budget for the MV is kind of crazy, but I wish they had put some of that into the making of the actual song.

No Biggie + Algorhythm - ITZY: (requested by @a-moth-to-the-light) If you've been on my blog before, you will know that JYP's direction of ITZY's korean releases has been irking me for a while, but somehow when ITZY gets on that plane and lands in Japan I am always obsessed. I'm into pretty much all of their Japanese releases, like Ringo went triple platinum in my mental chart. 'No Biggie' is really cool actually, super catchy and Yuna sounds amazing on it - it feels very laid back and relevant to the 2024 music space, something that ITZY's korean singles seem to struggle with. 'Algorhythm' is also SO GOOD, in production, style, and vocal performance. The music video and song also have major old red velvet vibes, which I love. ITZY - please stay in Japan a little longer, the discography over there is so solid. I miss Lia so much though, I hope she's doing well.

LOST! - RM (BTS): I really appreciate namjoon's artistry, and I actually enjoyed his 2022 album 'Indigo', quite a bit, but this song just doesn't work for me. I have heard from others that the album is something special tho, so if i have a spare half hour I might give it a listen.

나의 이름은 (ROTY) - YOUNG POSSE: I would like to redact my previous statements on young posse, I get it now, and this song is so fun. Very 2000s, very y2k, beautiful production, great raps from everyone, what more could you want.

Supernatural - A.C.E: Saw a GIF from the music video on my dash and decided to check it out, and I was severely impressed. 'Supernatural' is not an ear-splitting noisy headache of a track I have come to expect from kpop boy groups, it's a light hearted, classic Bruno Mars style pop hit. Good music and a well produced fun concept? I need to check out this group more.

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skymusicreviews · 6 years ago

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Bebe Rexha - Expectations | Album Review

Expectations is the long awaited, LONG delayed debut album by singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha. She has a long repertoire of hits: "I Can't Stop Drinking About You", "Take Me Home", "Hey Mama", "Me, Myself, and I", her most recent and biggest hit, #2 single "Meant To Be", not to mention all of the other hits that she's penned for other artists. She's dropped three EPs, including the two-part All Your Fault EP; apparently, there was supposed to be a third part that was replaced by this album. Her career as a star spans back to 2014, and it's a wonder that it's taken her so long to drop an album, but here it is, on June 22, 2018. Can it live up to our Expectations?

Expectations tends to stick to Bebe's pop roots, but the span of styles used on this album is quite diverse. Like most new pop girl albums (Anne Marie and Camila Cabello, for example), Expectations consists of a few tracks that exist mostly to show off Bebe's voice, a few tracks that seem more engineered to be hits, and a few tracks that are just Bebe doing whatever she wants.

The album starts with "Ferrari", one of those aforementioned opportunities to show off her voice. To anyone not familiar with Bebe, this is a great introduction to her vocal range; it seems to purposefully include just about every aspect of her voice. The verses have her slower, almost spoken word tones, the prechorus raises to her near-falsetto, the rather strange chorus consists of Bebe belting "I'm a Ferrari, pulled off on Mulholland Drive", and of course, the post-chorus has Rexha using her signature nonlexical "ooohs". This is all improved on the minimalist instrumental, consisting of drums in the chorus and a sparse guitar for the rest of the track. It's a rather interesting concept, to have a full vocal showcase to introduce the album, but I can't fault it.

"I'm A Mess" showcases Rexha's penchant for explosive hooks; it's a bittersweet, almost satirical take on the trope of self-deprecative songs. "Everything's going to be alright / Everything's going to be okay / it's going to be a good, good life / that's what my therapist say"; this is self-awareness at its best. There are some rather weird production quirks in this song, with the choir effect and the dog barking in the background, and these just serve to further cement my opinion that this song is meant to be satire. Still, the powerful chorus and the pure charisma makes this song sound like a potential hit to me, and I wouldn't mind that much at all.

Skipping around a bit, I'd like to address the two rap features. Well, rap isn't the best descriptor; both of the artists featured kind of just sing in a "rap voice"? "2 Souls on Fire", which automatically loses some points from having a number in the title for no reason, is a slightly hispanic tinged western-pop-trap song that honestly can't quite fit in a category, between the guitar melody and the hi hat rolls. Bebe lends one of her best vocal performances on this track, and Quavo sounds very suitable, surprisingly. Still, this whole song just feels too slow, like a buildup towards nothing. It's slightly better at 1.25x speed, but it just doesn't have the impact that it needs. "Steady", featuring Tory Lanez, is even worth. The lyrics are uncreative, it's backed by a very average trap beat, and Tory acts far more as a feature than a duet, unlike Quavo (plus, his voice is nowhere near as interesting). Furthermore, he drops one of the worst lines I've heard all year, "I'm going to keep it 78 plus 22 with you". The chorus is a nice piece of chill pop, but that's the only really memorable part of that track.

"Shining Star", the only explicit song on the album, has SO much wasted potential. The production, again, is very guitar supported; Bebe obviously has a preference. Bebe's voice is great throughout; the second chorus really works with that exotic flavor that her voice has. I'm always a big fan of songs that tell stories, and the story of two completely opposite lovers works so well. However, apparently, Bebe didn't ever take a literature class, because this story has a beginning and a middle, but no end. Instead, she wastes the first minute of the song with a long lo-fi intro, ending the song with another long outro. This song could've been a lot more, even though the current product is satisfactory.

There definitely is some hit potential in this album. We're reminded of the lead single of this entire All Your Fault and Expectations era with Bebe's inclusion of "I Got You". I still adore this song; in fact, I think it's even better now that so much time has passed. Quoting my first review of this song, I still think that the best part about this song is that you expect an instrumental "pop drop" the first time you listen to it, but it ends up pulling a bait and switch and going to a fierce, almost rapped chorus, as Bebe affirms that "we can get high, oh na na na/ we can get low, oh na na na". The explosive chorus is just a delight to listen to, and I've noticed so much more about the production that works so well. I think that "I Got You" is probably one of Bebe's best songs ever, and I daresay that it's pretty much a perfect pop song. Not a perfect song, mind you, but it has the charisma, the freshness, the memorability, the positive message, and the staying power that all pop songs should have.

Furthermore, Expectations includes "Meant to Be", Bebe's biggest hit with a #2 Billboard 100 peak and 31 weeks at #1 on the country chart (and counting!). I... do not like this song much at all. Featuring Florida Georgia Line, it's apparently country just because they sing in "country voices"; there's not even a guitar in this song. It's trite and repetitive and I really don't get the popularity of this one when Bebe has so much better. Even worse, while this album is diverse, there is still a certain tone to it and this just doesn't work in that niche.

Bebe also makes sure to include some homages to her original darker sound. "Mine" is a great piece of pop trap and it's totally a bop. Though the production is kind of generic, with those signature hazy trap moans, there are some pleasing reversed synths and the 808s add impact perfectly. "Mine" is the most sexual song on the album, but I think that Bebe does a really good job at the concept. "Don't Get Any Closer" has an extremely bleak feel, and that's exactly what Bebe wants. This is personified by the extreme contrast between the high, almost monotone intonation of Bebe's voice and the distorted bass during the chorus. It's a neat effect; I just wish that it had a bit more payoff. It almost seems to tease an actual payoff with an abruptly stopping crescendo of drums at the end of the song, which is rather annoying.

My final highlights will be the two piano ballads, "Grace" and "Pillow", that are conveniently placed right next to each other in the tracklist. They both sound surprisingly sincere, especially "Pillow". I'm not one for piano ballads, but someone Bebe is able to pack enough emotion into each track to keep me entertained. Bebe just has a wonderful feel for intonation and how it should work. It's hard for me to say much about songs like this, but I definitely do enjoy them both, even if it's not likely that I listen to them just because of their nature as ballads.

Overall, Expectations is a formidable product, and though it certainly has quite a few shortcomings, I enjoyed it. It's pretty much what I expected from Bebe, so I suppose the album name worked. The album is incredibly diverse, so I suppose there's something here for everyone, but she does sacrifice some of the cohesiveness with this concept. Other than "I Got You", there aren't any amazing songs on here, but other than "Meant to Be", I don't think there are really any bad songs on here. Bebe has shown with the All Your Fault project that she has a lot more potential for great songs, with tracks like "(Not) the One" and "Gateway Drug". I personally think that Bebe's totally unique voice works better with a darker tone, but songs like "I Got You" and "Grace" prove that she's very versatile. Though the album's release sales weren't at all amazing, I think that Bebe still has enough potential to be a top tier popstar. I look forward to hearing what Bebe releases in the future.