Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
A lot of actually quite pleasant stuff this week, but also a lot of stuff that just sorta stops at that point.
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SECRET NUMBER – “DOXA”
Here’s a rarity, an idol group song where I liked the quasi-rap/rap sections better than the vocals ones, as the effects they used were puzzling. That was a problem since the song goes for an anthemic vibe, and in addition to sounding weird it also never delivers the melodic heft necessary for that to work.
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CIX – “Save Me Kill Me”
Nothing wrong with this safe and pleasant effort with a timeless sound, but there’s nothing to differentiate it from many others in this mold.
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AB6IX – “LOSER”
I think this might be my favorite single from them and definitely in this post, as there’s a lot of fun here even if WOODZ already did a vastly superior version of this in “Chaser”. Wouldn’t be surprised if this grows on me.
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BOYNEXTDOOR – “Serenade”
Man, they are struggling at some points and are trying to pass it off as quirky or something. I actually don’t mind the general vibe they’re going for, as it’s fresh, but none of the members standout at all. At least this melody shows some promise, but a lot of songs from them require charisma and/or unique vocals to make work, and they haven’t shown the ability to do this yet.
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The Boyz – “Delicious”
Gonna give them credit for choosing something that at least could be possibly seen as fun and bright, unlike many of their choices in the past years. It’s just missing any kind interesting melody or element that takes it above “oh nice”.
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P1Harmony – “Jump”
A pretty typical K-pop release in that if you like the group or if you’re a fan, then it’s harmless fun and easy enough to enjoy at concerts or something. However, if you’re a hag like me that listens to every Korean music release of the year, then it’s pretty forgettable.
