I may have peeked ahead of time . . . but it was for good reason and I do not regret it.
Edit 1 (written halfway through): The universe has conspired against me. After a couple weeks (months) of the music scene disappointing me, it has decided to attack this week. There are SO MANY GOOD choices this week.
Edit 2 (at the end): It’s a long one folks, buckle up
Honorable Mentions:
I like the flip of the usual hip hop formula in Asol’s Bucket List, where the girl has the rap verse, and the guy has the chorus vocal. The rapping is not my favorite, so the song sadly doesn’t keep my attention, which is unfortunate when it has so many elements I like.
If you wanted a dose of anime intro this week, the indie scene is looking out for you with Unification Road March from Vanmal. It feels like Weezer mixed with the Burnout Syndromes. Which is a good mix in my books.
So, my pre watch this week came from PLT, because of course it did. So, Igoholic is amazing. More importantly, is anyone surprised? Moti has a great intro verse (with a sung rap part, which is one of my favorite mixed styles). Gaho and Jinwoo rock every chorus. Then June lowkey raps?!?! And then leads into the coolest part of the whole track (you will know when you hear it). And then Villain decides he doesn’t want to be shown up and kills it. And, because of course they are amazing, the live is just as amazing. (P.S. here is a live of Manitto that you should also absolutely listen to).
If you prefer your anime theme to be sung by women, then Dreamcatcher is back to give you exactly what you wanted. What is the same style that they have been doing the whole time, and for some reason I am all about it this time? Maybe I am just in the mood for the style, and need to go back through all their songs, but this is pretty great.
If nothing else, go at least watch parts of wetter’s Hello Sunshine. The MV does a good job of catching the vibe of the rock song. As for the song, I really like the verse, but not so much with the chorus.
I may be biased (who are we kidding, I am super biased), but Roy Kim has my favorite ballad of the week with The Hardest Part. Partially because his voice is one of my favorite things, partially because it is the simple acoustic tragedy style I can’t help but like. Also, holy shit, the lyrics . . . honestly, they have deeper plot than some tv shows. And he actually acts in his video (which, also, he’s so pretty in it), and the stories match up and . . . I’m rambling. Just go love this song too. Only for rainy days though (lucky me, living in Seattle and all that).
Next in the parade of amazing music is Park Sanhee with Over The Blue. I’m not sure how to describe the style. Maybe Taeyeon if she was a little more ballad-y and a little bit more indie. There are some amazing vocals (I love the ethereal part lots), and importantly interesting vocals throughout. Also, I love girls moving through their whole range, instead of just the top. Also, she is so unknown that her Instagram has like maybe 400 followers. It is a CRIME!!
If you liked Amber’s mixtape, you will like White Noise (which sounds like a lot of the tracks from it). That’s all I have to say about it (I’m hitting a good music coma). Okay, I will say the breakdown is inspired.
If you are wondering where the classic K-pop sound is hiding this week, it is in GOT7′s Lullaby, complete with box sets and questionable outfits and plot. I am not in love with the song as whole, because it feels just a bit too disjointed. The chorus though is wonderful.
So you know how groups formed from a show have sad ballads to announce their split up? The newest one is from UNI.T from The Unit which (controversial opinion) was the best competition show so far (fight me). Their sad ballad is Begin with the End, which is sung beautifully and would probably be a lot more emotional for me if I was a fan. If you feel like an actual release, produced by Brave sound no less, they also dropped I Mean, which is vocally stunning as expected, and is in a style I do not love, so I’m torn.
While Save Me, Save You is not my favorite WJSN track, I’m as shocked as everyone else that they still aren’t being paid?!?! Like, really? Starship literally only has 2 active groups right now.
Y’all. I am so torn about choosing a winner(s) right now. I have an honest to goodness 3 way tie, and I can’t choose one the drop . . .
I make my own rules, and I choose Igoholic from PLT for it’s hype-ness (is that a word? nope, but it is now), and The Hardest Part from Roy Kim for being emotional and BEAUTIFULLY sung (and beautiful all over), and Over The Blue from Park Sunhee for being criminally underrated (and also amazing).
