Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Lim Kim is an artist who has established a vocal styling all her own, and she’s cultivated a good amount of singles that highlight her strengths, whether that be the simple folk charm of “Rain” or the breezy pop masterpiece that is “Goodbye 20.” But what is impressive about “Awoo,” Lim Kim’s recently-dropped music video for her third mini-album ‘Simple Mind,’ is how different it sounds from Lim Kim’s past work and how the project still plays to Lim Kim’s unique and quirky strengths.
The folk-inflections of Lim Kim’s work are smartly placed front and center for “Awoo”, but there’s some brilliant production tricks that keep “Awoo” from sounding anything near boilerplate. The slight EDM influences, record scratches, and hallowing of Lim Kim’s vocals give the song a slightly disorienting sound that is ever-so-slightly off kilter and plays into the whimsical nature of Lim Kim’s work. At the same time, the plodding thumps of the bass line make “Awoo” into a surprisingly workable banger, especially given Lim Kim’s more delicate inflections that are still thankfully kept intact on the track. The resulting R&B/pop/electronica song isn’t too far off from what Tinashe recently did with her amazing ‘Amethyst‘ mixtape (if anything, Lim Kim’s voice has always sounded like it would do quite well in the West), especially given the heavy emphasis on atmosphere on “Awoo.”
“Awoo” may not have the insane addictive qualities of some of the best K-pop out there, but it is infinitely replayable and one could rock out to it all day without tiring of Lim Kim’s spaced-out voice.
The music video for “Awoo” is fine, even if it’s nothing particularly noteworthy.
The video makes great use of color, with oppressive pastel greens and pinks dominating the video but being offset by punches of bold color that keep things visually interesting. It also makes for an interesting visual theme where most of the bold color comes from “real” things, like the cat, the real strawberry cake, the goldfish, and the plants. The direction and editing keep things purposefully still, and the creation of movement is left up to the momentum of the cuts between takes and the interspersion of sped-up scenes. The resulting video looks part-indie flick, part art-piece. It suits a song that seems to start and stop in halts, and helps create a cohesive music video that seems to strive for understatedness. What “Awoo” lacks in impact it makes up for in consistency.
As for Lim Kim, the pastels unfortunately kind of wash out her blonde hair, but the singer looks as great as ever.
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“Awoo” is a departure from Lim Kim’s more musically organic roots, but it works both as an evolution for her sound and a reflection of a more Western-oriented music scene.
