Yapping ab Yves cuz I loved her new album:
I can really hear the Caroline Polachek and Oklou influence! I'm glad Yves is making music she loves and i hope that as she keeps experimenting it becomes more her own cuz rn it's fairly standard for the genre. Watching Yves' development has been soooo awesome and fascinating as an orbit who's been here since 2021. I was soooo in love with Loop as an electro & dance pop fan and i rly didn't expect that from Yves! I did didn't do much for me outside of Viola, Dim, Bird, & See u in hell tbhhhh. I think she rly started finding what works for her w the Soft Error b sides instead of the more genre-jumbly previous albums, and that electro sound is just becoming more refined in Nail. I think Soft Error is still my favorite album tho, the progression throughout dyfilit is next level. White Cat is soooo good even if it's a little 'sharp' for my taste, I think the buildups are really well done. Soap might be the catchiest song ever written esp that end part. Aibo is in my top 3 Loona songs EVER idek what to say about it. Study is my least favorite tbh but it's not a bad listen at all. And obviously mom is so sweet and well-composed, I just wish they let Yves use the lyrics she wrote. And Ex Machina... I don't even have words it's just an insane song... makes me feel like I'm watching a nuclear fallout or smth. Weirdly, I feel like Nail is more mainstream than Soft Error excluding Nail and Halo.
Nail is a really interesting next step for Yves' musical direction imo. For the first time, there's no guitar song 🥲 but Yves' musical influences showing through so clearly just say that she knows what she wants to make. It's really bouba compared to her past kiki.
I've been looping 'It' all day - the way the vocal melody and instrumental melody kinda play with each other and don't exactly match is soooo Yves and I eat it up every time. The chorus is so catchy and I think this is where the Polachek influence really came to my attention LOL but I like the lyrics a lot and the vocal chops are absolutely doing it for me. I could've done without the strings tbh but maybe that's just my preference. This whole song is so cohesive overall and there's a super addictive push-pull feeling to it. A tier track fr.
Halo took a minute for me to really get but I'm an absolute sucker for long, slow development tracks so... I think the diff instrumentals coming in one at a time is done so well here and the way her voice fades in is sooooooooo 😚 It's kinda mid imo until the 1 minute mark when those train-whistle synths hit and then I could literally start walking on air. The pitched down/up vocals also hit sooo good and the beat staying consistent throughout lets the song change formats without losing that consistent kinda monotone feeling. That bit at the end with the door closing and the walking does an amazing job at taking u somewhere and the breathing worked sooo well. It was funny seeing people talk ab her 'moaning on the track' cuz my immediate thought was that it was a callback to her drowning in those Loop promo videos LMFAO. I've been making a tutting choreo in my head all day. B+ tier?
Nail also had to grow on me just cuz it's so empty! I'm a simple girl, I like my instrumentals layered and synthy. This track is kinda kiki actually. The vocal progression is really good but I do wish the verse and prechorus had more of an instrumental change! I don't know how I feel about that intro's vocal filter though lmfaooo she kinda sounds like a member of alvin and the chipmunks 😭 It's so catchy though and I think it's really great that we've got an established yves 'sound' now. Also, I don't think I've ever heard a song with more impactful pauses. The chorus totally blows me away every time I listen, it's just so well made and all the different elements blend and contrast so nicely. Idk who Lolo Zouai is butttt her verse is fun. Don't think her voice is my taste and that bit where the instrumental fades out is kinda cornball but it's worth it for the line 'I got yves by my side'! The outro goes soooo hard, kinda reminds me of Sophie and the choreography is so good. I can't wait for Nail stages, A tier 🍎
^ Also the way these 3 work in a row is so jghjfkhgjkshjk i made a playlist thats just these 3 so I can loop that progression
Break It is probably my least fav which is CRAZY bc I adore lexie liu but it's so basiccccc 😭 I love a fun pop moment (streamed tf out of looble) but I feel like nothing about this track is grabbing me or making me want to loop it. Maybe it's just that I was hoping for smth like Lexie's Teenage Ramble but 😭 first Yves song i don't really wanna listen to sorryyyy C tier
Birth is good but for some reason if I'm not listening to it I couldn't tell u what it sounds like at all. I feel like it's just "mom Oklou version" which is fine but it's not doing much for me. I'm bopping my head but secretly I want to put Aibo on instead also C tier...
Agh I'm just so happy every time I see Yves' artistic identity evolving she could make something I literally hated and I would still be like She's One Of Kpops Top Most Interesting Soloists No One Is Doing It Like Her. Fuck it im engdu!!!!
The reception to this album has been pretty weird tbh. Kpop fans aren't used to experimental music that isn't just shitty bg rapping, pots and pans, and pinterest alt fits, while electro pop fans don't want to admit that sometimes kpop hits, so Yves is kinda getting it from both sides. It's so dumb yall if u don't wanna listen just don't listen 💀 Yves is happily making music she loves why are u trying to make her feel bad ab that??
A main critique I've seen is that it's standard and doesn't introduce anything new but I feel like that's just a weird critique to make here cuz Yves has only been doing this genre for like 5 songs and she's still tryna unlearn all that toxic kpop idol culture (not that paix per mil doesn't reinforce some of it DPMOOO) 😭 not to mention that her title tracks HAVE been pretty innovative even if the bsides are more blueprinty. Also why does she have to reinvent the genre lmfao she's still exploring her niche
Also how crazy is it that she's only been solo for 2 years but already worked with pinkpantheress twice, lexie liu, lolo zouai, bratty, lil cherry, rebecca black and underscores?? Manifesting f5ve ninajirachi and iiso collabs pleek
Wish I could see her live but I do not have that kind of money #unemployedchild