Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Man, I forgot how many releases there were gonna be. Should’ve been more on the ball with these but … well, I got other shit going on.
Anyway, I thought a lot of releases were perfectly good, and for the ones I skipped, well I just didn’t have much to say about them.
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Jung Yong Hwa (CNBLUE) – “Your City”
The whistling during the chorus was a bit annoying when I just wanted to hear his vocal, but other than that, a perfectly cromulent and pleasant rock-pop song that should probably get more attention than it will. Parts of the chorus also oddly reminded me of Blackstreet‘s “Don’t Leave Me“.
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mimiirose – “FLIRTING”
Reminds me of early KARD a bit in terms of production, and while it meanders a bit more than it should, their vocals showcase the potential of this group should they get consistent releases.
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D.O. (EXO) – “Somebody”
Since we already know he can sing, a no-frills track that doesn’t do much interesting is disappointing, but that’s clearly the music he likes so … yeah.
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FANTASY BOYS – “New Tomorrow”
Enjoyed this despite it feeling very much like a survival show single, if you get what I mean. It’s upbeat and melodic enough to have broad appeal, but also feels limited by the need to get everybody parts so fans don’t flip out. Doing that is overrated because it can hurt the execution of the song, but it’s still good.
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JUST B – “MEDUSA”
Another song that hails from the “Black Skinhead” school of drums, and obviously the rock stuff is appealing to me. Still, for the most part it feels oddly empty and only really has one section where I feel it’s utilized correctly. While the hook is solid, it also repeats a lot and the chorus gets quieter when it should shift into the next gear. It’s almost like a song for those who like some heaviness but don’t actually like rock.
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Lim Young Woong – “Do Or Die”
Straying from trot-pop to do anonymous K-pop dance track with an EDM beat I’m certain I’ve heard like 500 times before is somewhat odd. A lot of people seemed to have appreciated this because it was him doing something different, but I’m not sure if this was released by a boy group anybody would care.
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LIGHTSUM – “Honey Or Spice”
I feel like if XG did this, people on Stan Twitter would go nuts. Take that how you want. I do wish the chorus built on the pre-chorus instead of downshifting, cause that made it feel flat until that great hooky post-chorus. Still my favorite title track from them so far, and not far away from great, in general.
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Lee Hyori – “HOODIE E BANBAJI”
Even in her heyday, carrying lazy coffee shop tracks vocally was never her forte for a reason, so doing it now is a odd choice.
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KINGDOM – “COUP D’ETAT”
Unfortunately, this is a typical shouty, posturing boy group track, and the only interesting elements in it are the Middle Eastern tones. However, because I respect their commitment to the concept, I will always at least give them some kind of promo (even though this is also their worst MV yet).
