WOOAH “Blush” Wow, the Y2K sound is strong here, this sounds like a bunch of old Anime OST’s from the early 2000s. I like it, just wish the chorus was a bit more fleshed out. Same thing for QWER, taking the j-pop route. ONF “Bye My Monster” Great chorus, the dynamics between the verses, chorus and bridge were also really nice. The strings in the instrumental had that sorely missed 2nd gen melodramatic feel. Meanwhile, KISS OF LIFE’s “Midas Touch” goes for the 2003 Britney Spears sound. DRIPPIN “Beautiful MAZE” The simple drum and bass beat gets boring quick, because we’ve heard so many girl ..read more

BABYMONSTER “SHEESH” This is basically 2NE1 3.0 but stale. It’s very Teddy coded, lacking innovation in its formulaic buildup, and has an obnoxious hook - with lyrics that don’t match teenagers. TXT “Deja Vu” This was kinda underwhelming, I can’t say it was bad, like with most of TXT’s music, it just leaves me cold. The r'n'b trap beat sounds very 2010’s, but the chorus is just boring. Lucas “Renegade” After being accused of SA, he was kicked out of the NCT universe, but SM thought, now it’s time for his grand solo debut! The beat carries this track, since Lucas can’t rap nor sing ..read more

ILLIT “Magnetic” If you told me this was NewJeans’ comeback, I would have believed you no questions asked. But this is ILLIT’s debut. The song is fine, kinda like most drum and bass songs k-pop companies have put out the past two years. Nothing special, also like most drum and bass songs, except this one is slightly more boring. NCT DREAM “Smoothie“ My god, what even is going on in this track? So many beat changes, even for an NCT release, this was a rollercoaster of sounds. I’m not a fan of mixx-pop in general, but this should be hard to digest even for fans. BoA “Emptiness” BoA has been s ..read more

n.SSign “Funk Jam” This is straight up 90’s r'n'b and the guys got the vocals to pull of this sound. Really nice to hear something more funky and jazzy from a young boy group. Young Posse “XXL” And we’re not leaving the 90’s. This seems to be a tribute to Seo Taiji’s “Come Back Home”, which is a cool idea, but besides the engaging chorus, the mv is also hip and a rare concept for k-pop idols. TNX “Fuego” Nothing about this song stands out. PSY’s musical genius is not coming through with his first boy group. Maybe he’s more suited to producing for soloists. Same thing for Purple Kiss, who so ..read more

Kim Namjoo “Bad” Apink Namjoo’s debut is quite a lot, she tried a few too many things at once. The instrumental is bombastic and loud, then at 0:53 there’s big beat change to calm things down, until I realized that was the chorus. Strange choice to make the verses chaotic, and the chorus be the most underwhelming part. The last 30 seconds are the climax of the song, but because the verses are already so packed with synths and brass, it’s more exhausting than exiting, especially considering the track is only 2:40 long. THE BOYZ “Nectar” I’ve been complaining about TBZ not finding a good title ..read more

LUN8 “Super Power” Fantagio’s rookie boy group is putting out the kind of tracks young ASTRO was putting out, so I like it. It’s fresh and the chorus is super catchy. I can also appreciate a song that is longer than 3 minutes in this economy! Wendy “Wish you hell” Red Velvet’s Wendy went with a self-empowering concept using some horror elements. The chorus is very pop but at the same time a little too repetitive. NiziU also seems to have released a watered down version of “Heartris”. YooA “Rooftop” This really sounds like all the songs mid-2000’s idols would put out, even the music video is ..read more

Chungha feat. Hongjoong of ATEEZ “Eenie Meenie” I don’t know what I expected from Chungha after her two-year hiatus, but this was so underwhelming, I can’t believe it. The chorus is just repeating eenie meenie miney mo under a dull beat. The feature added nothing either. TEMPEST “Lighthouse” Average boy group fanfare. There’s absolutely nothing novel or unique about this. What’s the point of all the 4th and 5th gen groups releasing a million songs if they follow the same trends ALL the time. HIGHLIGHT “Body" Here we have the exact opposite example, a unique and novel release by veterans. I ..read more

ICHILLIN’ “On my lips” I wasn’t feeling the song until the part at 1:12 hit, I really like the piano chords and the talk singing works for once - then the bland chorus with strange chants in the background makes a comeback and the song goes back to boring and repetitive. xikers “We Don’t Stop” Combining rap and rock is a very early 2000’s thing - it sucked then and it sucks now. Also doesn’t help that the rappers sound like they inhaled some helium. The beat changes remind me of the worst aspects of mix-pop. If you want rock, Xdinary Heroes just released a cool OST “Wego Wego”. Lim Hyunsik ..read more

RESCENE “YoYo” This sounds great, kinda of remind me of LOONA’s early tracks, and just when I was grooving to it, the song’s over… Taking the short song format to the next level. Daesung “Falling Slowly” Daesung is back after a long time. The track reminds me of older BigBang ballads, but without the annoying voice of GD. So this is already better than most BigBang songs. Cha Eunwoo “You’re the best” The difference between a soloist that can sing (Daesung) and one that can’t (Eunwoo) couldn’t be more stark. This is a ballad as well, but without the dynamic melodies and soothing vocals. His ..read more

NCT WISH “Wish” This is NCT’s Japanese subunit, the songs they release are available in both Japanese and Korean, so I guess they will be promoted like WayV. The song doesn’t have a strong hook, but the instrumental has some interesting sections, the cupid concept is also cute. CRAVITY “Love or Die” I like the fast pace but overall, the song is too generic and sounds like every other drum and bass release of the past months. Meanwhile, PLAVE is generic in the mid-tempo k-pop ballad genre. TRI.BE “Diamond” First of all, R.I.P to Shinsadong Tiger (legendary k-pop producer). His girl group TRI ..read more