Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Better late than never, I suppose.
Though “Love” doesn’t get a music video that actually features PSY and Taeyang in it, I’m happy that the song is still garnering some promotion. When PSY’s album was released back in May, it was heralded by a pair of title tracks that stuck to his tried and true formula, but were all the more boring and forgettable for it. What made this even more frustrating is that the album included a track that felt very much like a song-of-summer-worldwide-smash: That song is “Love“, and it really should have led the entire campaign.
Like many of his lesser-known tracks, “Love” removes the shtick from PSY’s novelty persona and presents him as the actual artist he is. The instrumental rides on a trendy, international-leaning electro beat that percolates somewhere between tropical pop and anthemic festival fare. Nothing about the production is particularly groundbreaking or even dynamic, but the straightforwardness of the beat actually gives “Love” a classic, inclusive charm. It feels as if it could work in any country, at any time over the past few decades.
Much of this is thanks to Taeyang’s warm, inviting hook. It’s the kind of simple pop melody that seems throwaway the first time you hear it, but drills into your head with each repeated listen until it transforms into a kind of mantra. His unmistakable vocals compliment the more reserved rap style PSY works with here. Thankfully, there is no English-language catch-phrasing to be found in the sincere verses, which gives “Love” a sense of authenticity missing from either of the tracks he released in May. It may have been hanging around for over two months now, but there’s still time for this “Love” to take over the summer.
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