Song Review: TAN – Hyper Tonic
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
9h ago
Though it has yet to be officially confirmed by their agency, there have been reports that this will be TAN’s final comeback. Hopefully that doesn’t end up being the case, but Hyper Tonic is bittersweet for more than one reason. It’s likely the last new song we’ll hear from the late, great producer Shinsadong Tiger. Fortunately, it’s a total victory, grabbing the baton from last year’s excellent Heartbeat. Hyper Tonic continues to develop a scuzzy electro sound, calling to mind classics from K-pop’s second generation. Those who love SHINee’s work and, more recently, NCT 127’s Superhuman and Mi ..read more
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Song Review: Candy Shop – Good Girl
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
1d ago
Of all the new girl groups debuting this week, I was most looking forward to Candy Shop. This is more to do with the song production of K-pop legend Brave Brothers than anything else. Candy Shop is his agency’s first new girl group after Brave Girls (now BB Girls) departed last year. The only thing giving me pause is the fact that Brave Brothers often gives his best material away to other agencies (exhibit A: TRENDZ’s excellent Go Up!). Brave Sound songs tend to exist in one of two realms. We have the upbeat party starters (my favorites!) and the more subdued slow burns. The latter can also be ..read more
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Song Review: UNIS – Superwoman
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
1d ago
“New K-Pop Girl Group Week” rolls on with the debut of UNIS. They were formed through SBS reality show Universe Ticket and include members of Cignature and PRIKIL (a J-pop group). They’re a “project group,” which presumably means they’ll only promote for a limited time. That makes the quality of their music all the more important. Superwoman gets UNIS off to an underwhelming start. It’s fine the way most current girl group music is “fine” these days, but fails to rise above a hushed energy. It actually reminds me of IZ*ONE’s 2018 debut if that song had been drained of all its intensity. Superw ..read more
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Song Review: Super Junior-D&E – GGB
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
2d ago
As covered in my review of pre-release Rose, Super Junior-D&E’s GGB has been mired in controversy over the implications of its title. As a foreign listener without the cultural context to be offended, it’s easier for me to ignore this and focus on the merits of the song itself, though I don’t understand why the guys couldn’t have done some simple editing to make GGB eligible for music show promotions. The funny thing is, if you had no idea about the controversy surrounding this comeback, the music certainly wouldn’t clue you in. At a surface level, GGB is a feel-good summer pop track, boun ..read more
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Song Review: BoA – Emptiness
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
2d ago
SM Entertainment is in full swing this week, releasing a new NCT Dream mini album yesterday and a new single from K-pop legend BoA today. New BoA music is always something to celebrate, even if her promotions are usually more subdued these days. The sound of new single Emptiness (정말, 없니?) echoes this approach, harnessing a restrained energy inspired by Afrobeat. Given Tyla’s global success, I imagine K-pop will be experimenting with Afrobeat rhythms more often this year. After all, the industry loves nothing more than a global trend! I wouldn’t have expected BoA in particular to embrace this s ..read more
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Song Review: Rescene – UhUh
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
2d ago
Newly-debuting girl group Rescene are apparently fans of the two-syllable onomatopoeia song title. After delivering pre-release YoYo late last month, they’re back with their official debut UhUh. Neither of these titles inspire much confidence, but the songs have been stronger than those sound effects suggest. Though UhUh is a mixed bag, its highlights outweigh its missteps. UhUh is at its best when it throws everything at us at once. Its chorus is split into several sections. The first hinges on that “uh uh” effect we were promised, but the next segment brings in brassy synths for a heartier a ..read more
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Song Review: AMPERS&ONE – Broken Heart
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
2d ago
It’s a well-worn K-pop trope for bright, happy-go-lucky boy groups to eventually turn dark, brooding and shouty. However, this transformation usually doesn’t happen within the space of a one comeback! After bursting into listeners’ hearts with the buoyant On And On last November, AMPERS&ONE have already succumbed to mind-numbing shout-chanting on new single Broken Heart. Though this shift in sound is not unexpected, it’s still depressing. Not only does it mean the group won’t be pursuing their own identifiable sound, but it also suggests a hit-or-miss quality control when it comes to song ..read more
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Song Review: ME:I – Click
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
3d ago
I don’t know why the name “ME:I” makes me giggle, but it does. It sounds like something you’d come up with from a random K-pop name generator. In fact, ME:I are a J-pop act, formed through the latest season of Produce 101 Japan. But like their predecessors JO1 and INI, they’re essentially a Japanese act buoyed by Korean management. Debut single Click feels like a bridge between the two markets, stuck somewhere in the middle. Looking at the charts, Japan is currently experiencing a golden age of boy groups while much of its girl group success comes from crossover K-pop acts. Given the cachet of ..read more
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Song Review: ILLIT – Magnetic
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
3d ago
HYBE’s empire continues to grow with the debut of new girl group ILLIT. They’re under subsidiary Belift Lab and formed through the series R U Next?. They’re the first of a few new girl groups emerging this week, and their debut single Magnetic feels perfectly in line with current trends. HYBE (and specifically, NewJeans) have almost single-handedly re-written K-pop’s girl group sound, and your experience with Magnetic will likely hinge on how you feel about that. The song opens with the soft electronic atmosphere that has come to define this new era, but quickly grows into something more sprig ..read more
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Song Review: NCT Dream – Smoothie
The Bias List | K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
by Nick
3d ago
We’ve long since crossed the threshold of having definable NCT units with their own sound and purpose. Instead, the past five or six years have seen the rise of a standard SM Entertainment style, and when the agency does release a song that embraces a different sound it feels almost revelatory. Unfortunately, the only revelatory thing about NCT Dream’s new single Smoothie is how obnoxious and devoid of original ideas it is. NCT Dream have some bangers in their discography and are at their best when eschewing the usual gruff NCT textures for shots of colorful melody. Smoothie doesn’t seem inter ..read more
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