[Review] Lim Kim - Love Game

2013's most unique voice in Lim Kim surprised us by coming back in blonde for her "Simple Mind" comeback. Lim Kim possesses a really charming voice that has various layers to it: sultry, stable, mature, and velvety. It served incredibly well for her debut song "All Right" and subsequent releases. I hope "Love Game" continues this trend.

Woah. The opening of "Love Game" is quite something. That instrumental lays the groundwork for Lim Kim's fierce vocals. The clapping combined with her voice is a treat to start off this song. As the pace picks up, the instrumental does as well but without getting too messy, something which hurt other songs before. Lim Kim does a very good job of sounding good and consistent, without being overshadowed by anything. However, I'm torn on the repetitive lyrics. On one side, it sure makes the song more catchy in general, but on the other, Lim Kim has such a dynamic voice it seems like a waste to not have interesting changes throughout. This is most evident in the bridge, where the notes sound good together but the lyrics make it seem more boring than it could be. In the end though, Lim Kim sounds too good to pass up the repetition of lyrics.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of "Love Game" is the choreography. Most soloists generally aren't renowned for their dancing, and Lim Kim is no exception but it's a pretty simple dance to accompany the song. Generally, the reason dance isn't as much of a focus is to let the vocals of the singer do the work. Lim Kim is generally stable on live performances so giving a simple choreography is a decent choice. Though I don't think she's one to be a standout dancer regardless.

This video is all sorts of uncomfortable, with men of various race creeping "discreetly" on Lim Kim as she goes about her...everyday life? Even that I'm not so sure on. While the lyrics of the chorus sort of make sense, I'm not that comfortable with the video in general. At least Lim Kim's acting and facial expressions have gotten better since her debut.

"Love Game" is an addiction. Lim Kim's serene vocals draw you in and you pretty much can't escape once you're caught. It's an excellent title track for the rest of her album, which is still full of other superb tracks.

[ Overall: 90 / 100 ]

[Review] KARA - Cupid

The order of reviews will be a little off for the next couple of reviews as I try to recollect my bearings. For today we'll take a look at KARA. After roster shakeups and stabilizing with "Mamma Mia" and Japanese promotions, these gorgeous ladies are back with "Cupid."

Seungyeon starts off the song and immediately I get the KARA vibes equivalent to the "Lupin" and "Pandora" releases. To me, these were some of their best songs so I was looking forward to the rest. The line distribution is rather mediocre to be honest, with Youngji getting pretty much no lines but that'll be touched upon later. Seungyeon and Gyuri handle the bulk of the vocals, especially the excellent work at the end of the song. Gyuri has such a voice that I don't know how to describe, but regardless she shines here in "Cupid," utilizing her high range and pristine voice. Gyuri's voice definitely is "imperial." Gyuri might be the goddess but as far as visuals go in "Cupid" she surrendered that title to Hara.

Speaking of, Hara is definitely the superstar of this comeback. Her vocal improvement since "Mamma Mia" is very evident and I'm proud to see her progress so far. She's stable, and she just sounds good. Most of the Hara we know is rather weak in the vocal department, so this is very much appreciated for both herself and her fans I'm sure. She is also stunning in this video. I generally prefer the darker hair for KARA but goddamn Hara looks flawless. Not to mention that "Cupid" is thankfully free of the tacky hairstyles that were seen in "Mamma Mia." It's kind of a disappointment that the dance was such a letdown, because it would've been another area where Hara could shine but beggars can't be choosers.

Youngji's primary appearance is in the rapping, which came as a surprise somewhat. I was surprised since I didn't expect this song to have a rap but at the same time, with all the other members having (hogging) all the lines it makes sense that she would show up with a rap. The rap itself isn't bad. She has good enunciation and flow, but her voice is really soft, which whether intentional or not, is disrupted heavily by the instrumental. If you're watching the video, it just looks like it's some awkward dance break with various shots of Youngji.

The seemingly random spray of English in all KARA songs makes another return in "Cupid." While I've never been a fan of it, it's something I have grown used to by now and isn't bad enough to make me cringe. What did though, is the disappointment of choreography. While it didn't make me cringe per se, this dance pales in comparison to the frantic moves of "Mamma Mia" which definitely helped KARA make a statement with that comeback. The choreography in "Cupid" is just boring. Nothing is impressive and a majority of the dance is them standing in place, shaking their hips, and then walking to a new position, rinse and repeat. I know the song isn't too upbeat but surely they could find something better than this. On top of that, the instrumental is pretty neat and is a shame the dance didn't live up to potential.

I'm rather pleased with "Cupid." The song is smooth and has incredible vocal work shared between Gyuri, Seungyeon, and Hara's rapid improvement. A good instrumental goes a long way helping the song though it does hurt the decent rap by Youngji. What kills "Cupid" is the lack of an interesting or impressive dance. Thankfully, we don't listen to music for the dance I suppose, but the final score will definitely drop because of the lackluster choreography. "Cupid" seems stronger than "Mamma Mia" outside of the dance category, and I might even say that this might have been a stronger comeback for this new KARA over "Mamma Mia."

[ Overall: 87 / 100 ]

[Review] Big Bang - Bae Bae

Well it's been a while. I have been falling behind on both music and reviews. My library hasn't been updated recently, and that is compounded with the lack of May reviews. But no more (may cheat with the release dates though). Let's get back to reviewing the other Big Bang title track.

...okay this one is a weird one. You can certainly feel G-Dragon's presence in the song as the various yelling and shenanigans from start to finish. The song structure is very erratic and is more resembling the disjointed Big Bang my friend mentioned in the "Loser" review. While "Loser" flowed into each part, "Bae Bae" jumps around and is trying to have a fun time while doing so. I'll refrain from commenting much on the visuals, outfits, and settings of the music video. I don't think any of it is supposed to make sense.

Starting off with G-Dragon's high pitched yelling around the room like the goof that he is. I don't really know what he's doing, but he seems to be enjoying himself and that's what matters I suppose. The rapping isn't anything impressive but similar to the rapping in "Fantastic Baby," it's used to generate hype and build into...a rather weak following. This is the weakness of these disjointed songs / songs with smaller songs in them. Oh well, maybe next time. G-Dragon was also the only one without a girl for the solo shots of the MV. Sucks to be you...?

Taeyang (and later on Daesung) have the mellow section(s) of the song that could be considered the chorus? I guess that's the only conclusion given the rapping elsewhere. The part itself (parts themselves?) sound good, but I question the hilarious wig Taeyang wore, combined with the amount of makeup, basically makes him prettier than the girl with him.

T.O.P...what the hell happened? I remember when you were very stoic and composed in practically every song (even "Fantastic Baby"). Now you've got creepy contacts and are strutting your stuff like you don't give a damn haha. His actual rapping is rather high, even with his low voice in the picture.

Daesung had no variation in his lyrics from Taeyang, so there isn't much to talk about here. That sand looks fake as hell though.

Seungri has a rather boring bridge, given that it's slower than all the other members' parts, and that the visuals are also rather tame. Though I actually think this is more of a strength. The wacky rappers got wacky scenes, while the solemn vocalists got appropriately tame scenes. It's a nice touch to an otherwise erratic song and video.

The last part of the song is not only the simplest with repetitive lyrics but also the strangest as the lyrics definitely don't make any sense and the video here is just...bizarre. Leave it to G-Dragon and Big Bang to come up with the stuff that they do.

While I said that "Loser" was a good setup for "Bae Bae," I might have only halfheartedly believed that. "Bae Bae" is a funny, funky, weird song alright but it doesn't really do Big Bang justice for me. My go-to all-out song from these guys is still definitely "Fantastic Baby." And that might be where "Bae Bae" suffers the most from. It's not nearly as hype, the song doesn't feel like a singular song, and the overall tone is dampened compared to that past hit.

[ Overall: 75 / 100 ]

[Review] Big Bang - Loser

"Big Bang, Big Bang, we back again one more time say no way, no way!" They're finally back and it's time to find out if another one of the pioneer groups from when I first got into Kpop has withstood the march of time and new groups or if my interest in their music has dissipated like a few other groups.

"Loser" is very reminiscent of "Blue," though much lighter on the instrumental and more focused on the emotions and vocals of each member. While this makes for a more mellow song compared to similar songs in the past like "Blue" and "Love Song," this makes "Loser" a good listen more often than the others. Taeyang and Daesung do a great job with their vocals and Daesung reaffirms his spot as one of the best male vocalists for his clear emotional voice. G-Dragon and T.O.P are also still pretty good rappers, and while "Loser" doesn't show their very best, they're still both very capable and this song is less about the rap than it is about the vocals. G-Dragon opens up the song while T.O.P glues the verses and chorus together. Seungri is sort of left out of the picture in the chorus, since his voice isn't distinct enough to stand out from the other mesh of voices, but I guess that's fine.

A friend of mine was telling me how she felt the Big Bang comeback was disjointed, less like a unit and more individual. More of a GD x Taeyang x TOP x Daesung x Seungri comeback than Big Bang. But I don't quite think this is the case. At least, not in this song. I've seen many disjointed songs before in terms of both members and song structure but this isn't one of them. None of the members' parts feel out of place at all, each part flows into the next rather well, and the light instrumental keeps everything in place. Big Bang wasn't looking to hit "Loser" out of the park, and this is just about what I'd expect in that regard. The wackier song was left for "Bae Bae."

"Loser" is a lovely ballad-esque song backed by the double power of Daesung and Taeyang's vocals. The other 3 members provide nice support in the raps and chorus but it's clear the star of this song was the non-rap verses, which I can only keep praising Daesung and Taeyang for. The video is just as sad and emotional as the lyrics / vocals provide, but man. Poor Daesung! He clearly got the worse parts, having the crap beat out of him for however long that took to film. Dunno how T.O.P also ended up with scars and wounds, too, I'm assuming his girl attacked him or something, too. This MV is setup just like "Blue" was which was a good video in its own right.

If "Loser" was the setup for the storm that was "Bae Bae," then I'm sure YG and Big Bang marketed everything to perfection. If this had been a single title track, I'm not sure I would have appreciated it as much, looking for a more wacky and wildly distinct Big Bang sound that "Loser" has but doesn't really polish as much as "Bae Bae" does. Still, it's a powerfully tame song for a quiet and lonely day.

[ Overall: 85 / 100 ]

[Recap] 2015 January-April: Debut

As May begins, I thought I'd introduce a new series that would be both light and reflective. Every 4 months (I'll call them trimesters), I'll compile and look back at all the reviewed songs in the months prior, and arrange them in a list from lowest to highest. Then I'll go through and talk about some of the songs, comparisons, placements, critiques, etc. It services as a nice recap of the releases / reviews thus far, and adds another type of writing on my blog.

January - April 2015 Rankings

14. miss A - Only You (70)
13. Minah - I Am A Woman Too (75)
12. Girls' Generation - Catch Me If You Can (77)
11. Amber - Shake That Brass (78)
10. HIGH4 - Day By Day (80)
9. BASTARZ - Zero For Conduct (80)
8. 9MUSES - Drama (80)
7. Rainbow - Black Swan (83)
6. Sonamoo - Deja Vu (87)
5. Mamamoo - Ahh Oop! (88)
4. FIESTAR - You're Pitiful (92)
3. EXID - Ah Yeah (92)
2. EXO - Call Me Baby (92)
1. 4minute - Crazy (93)

As far as placements and rankings go, this looks pretty accurate of my opinions per song. I'm a little surprised that "Catch Me If You Can" was better than both Minah and miss A's releases if only barely. The #11 through #7 area is just as I expect, and I'll talk more about the competed slots (tied scores) in a bit. The other surprise is that "Deja Vu" and "Ahh Oop!" were close in score. While "Deja Vu" was a solid release for Sonamoo, the Mamamoo girls (and eSNa) did a fantastic job with "Ahh Oop!" and probably deserved more points.

The only song that I think I underrated was Amber's "Shake That Brass." It's still a good song around the 80 mark but because I did a dance project on the song I kept the replay value low. On the other side, I think "Ah Yeah" is a slight step behind the other songs with 92 points but at this range calling something "overscored" when the actual difference is like 1 point doesn't really matter, especially since I no longer have specific categories for various aspects of each review.

HIGH4 is the weakest of the trio at 80 because it didn't offer as much in terms of both song and impact. "Drama" was more important as it represented 9MUSES' return after hiatus and had to prove themselves with yet more roster changes. BASTARZ falls in the middle for reasons explained in their individual review. Funny note is that all 3 songs had subpar videos thanks to acting: no acting, bizarre acting, and awkward acting. I'll let you guess which is which. As for the 92 trio, EXO had the cleanest song with good vocals and slick choreography which put them ahead. "Ah Yeah" is more addicting than "You're Pitiful," but the latter is a far more delicate and beautiful song. At current I'm more on the search for upbeat music and so EXID marks above, even despite the EXID hype train,

I believe the only April release that I was interested in covering that I didn't was "Joker" by Dal Shabet but I'll try and cover it under May right before the Big Bang releases. The first set of 2015 looks really solid so far, and as more high profile groups are making their returns (like the aforementioned Big Bang), this year looks to be really good as we near the midway.