HEADLINES
+(90's) R&B makes a sophisticated reappearance
+Handful of nicely well-rounded pop albums surprise audience acclimated to singles. The best have a defined identity, sonic coherency and particularity. I include Royal Pirates, 15&, TaeYang, Winner, f(x)
+Hip hop gains a little momentum.
+T-shirt rock gains some momentum too.
THE YEAR SO FAR
15& - Sugar
"Sugar", the title track from duo 15& is crazy good. Full of rhythmic suspense, intricate arrangement, compositional luxuriousness, there's just a lot right going on. And the girls are more than just holding their own vocally. If you've been missing 90's divas and sassy brassy funkiness, this solid album is the listen. JYP feeling inspired much?
History - "Psycho"
History works a harmonically dense vocal style in Psycho, recalling Shinee or Vixx but without the emotional resolution. The song is a minimalist/maximalist marriage of Prince with Max Martin where all the kpop flash is miniaturized - softening all the hard edges and making breathing room for details to shimmer. The result is seductive opulence rather than blingy bangy hedonism. Compare to: silky debut single Dreamer, who is Queen at the Rose Parade, and surprisingly, similarly understated.
TaeYang - "Eyes Nose Lips"
TaeYang gets lost in a good way on this hauntingly melodic ballad from Rise. The album takes cues from Miguel's hazy R&B - with a touch of urban neon on top of the hipster - and is a touch dancier as as befits Big Bang's resident twinkle toes. The elegant update is a hawt sound and look for Taeyang who never quite fit in the gangster art show or had much personality as a white t-shirt crooner. Seriously. Whoever is working overtime at YG on these ballads (Winner, 2ne1) should be getting a raise. See also: "1AM"
Infinite - "Back"
Infinite in Infinite mode - strange oriental instrumentation, searing electrified metal, wall of unified vocal, and unconventional melodic twists covered in your classic rain drenched asian melodrama with arpeggiated roof top string lights draped all over. Bonus: 2PM "Heartbeat" style interpretive dance video.
f(x) - Red Light
Another great album, following on the heels of Pink Tape, which was a really, really great album. "Red Light" maintains a layer of experimentation over the density of production we've come to expect from f(x) - an exacting chemistry between pop/electro edginess. Cameo references to 90's pop rock. See: "Butterfly" (ethereal Nine Inch Nails), "Milk" (hypnotic and coy Cleopatra come on), "All Night" (pre "Janet" Janet)
Beast - "We up"
Winner - "Empty"
"G-G-G-Give it to me..."
Beast brings attitude and goes funky during their post-pubescent transition period. We don't love the heaviness as much as the brittle heart orchestral angst but it certainly gets those guys (ahem Joker) dancing, and the songs are damn infectious hook-wise. See also: "No More" (orchestral lullaby for loneliness), "Good Luck" (beware that beastly thick compression).
An album that includes all the variety of songs types you would expect from a boy band, but tonally well-balanced. Vocals are carefully arranged with an egalitarian hand and perfectly tempered to each personality we got to know on the show. The overall sound is YG flavored, but gentler. Mellow is what I'd call Winner. Romantic even. And while these adjectives might seem pejorative, in this case, they belie a savvy, smart, kind of restraint.
Jay Park - "Metronome"
Should be rightly credited as Metronome by Simon D with Jay Park (ft. Gray) over beats (that sound straight) from The-Dream.
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