Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
I’d be shocked if more than a few of my readers were familiar with J-pop group Kis-My-Ft2’s singles run — let alone their b-sides. But even if you’re not a J-pop fan and have no idea why this group’s name is so strange, I implore you to listen to “Freeze” anyway. I promise you’ll be hooked from the get-go.
The song is a collaboration with respected singer/guitarist Miyavi, who’s churned out quite a bit of excellent music himself. He not only co-wrote “Freeze”, but also forms the backbone of the instrumental with his signature rapid-fire guitar riffs. Rock influences aren’t new to Kis-My-Ft2’s repertoire (check out their excellent 2017 album, ‘Music Colosseum‘), but this explosive funk guitar sound is a revelation.
“Freeze” is remarkably simple, built upon three repeating melodic segments with few diversions. But, each piece fits perfectly together, bouncing from punky to polished and back again. I don’t want to spend too much time comparing K-pop and J-pop, as they’re very different industries in many ways. But, an adventurous track like “Freeze” makes me wonder if Korea still has room for exciting idol group experiments like this. We can only hope.
