2016 TREND LEGEND
+ Dance Pop or Korea's infatuation with EDM, a synonym for Electronica, a term the West Rejected
+ More and Darker 90's R&B in digital clothing
+ SM Kingdom
+ Girls, Girls, Girls
+ Hip Hop = BeWhy, Hash Swan
+ Sexy
Exo - Ex'act (Album)
In the past, f(x) consistently pulled off the dance/pop marriage - with credit rightly going to SM for overall concept. The direction in the case of Exo, leverages heretofore disparate strengths - boyish edginess, epic bombast, and urban soul - into one sophisticated persona. Ex'act is an ode to urban music that gracefully avoids retro pitfalls - embellishing essential characteristics yet preserving a sense balance. The moving parts feel very whole. Harmonic choral textures blossom into cold, digital dancefloor volumes and boom bap spaces. Lush pop melodies flower over familiar dance composition. References shade into each other fluidly.
- "Lucky One" - modernized electro disco strung on a sexy Michael Jackson vibe
- "Monster" - epic bad boy bombast emphasized by spare rubbery beats and elevated by a lush, worship-me chorus
- "Artificial Love" - throbby, seductive UK house springs a trap that feels inevitable on the hapless
- "Cloud 9" - late 90's swagger R&B, but looser, swoony and more romantic, this is "change in the pockets beats, daydreamy vocal scribbling." ref. Bobby Valentino
- "Heaven" - chunky piano chords, cavernous hip hop beats and dense production pave the sidewalk for earthy chorus. ref. Mary J Blige
- "White Noise" - very groovy, slightly dirty, wonky house
- "One and Only" - R&B confessional sprinkled with squee synths
- "They Never Know" - minor key body roll gets to business with an instrumental two step chorus. ref. Silk meets Craig David.
- "Stronger" - the improvisational quality of the composition makes this ballad an ideal show off piece. ref. Jodeci Unplugged.
Each song strikes a unique duet with it's own touchstones, but the dance-centric "Artificial Love" and "They Never Know", as well as R&B-styled "Cloud 9" and "Stronger" are probably my favorites, with "Monster" or "Lucky One" sort of crowning the collection. A few apropos additions round out the Repackage, including the DJ Mustard derivative "Lotto", a passable champagne banger that is too catchy to dismiss.
The real Repackage gem however is LDN Noise's "Creeper Bass Remix" of "Monster". We've heard LDN Noise's sweaty-dancefloor influenced pop before, some prettier than others, see "View" or "4 Walls" where the rearrangement creates a focused case study of one particular sound. In the "Monster" remix, they tease with soul chords into a big house breakdown festooned with synth sirens over harmonic verses that escalate through EQ'ed chanting, drum builds and time stretching, only to lurch down a maaaaasive drop into juicy, bouncy, speed garage and spacious, growly, bassline territory post dub step style.
EXO & LDN Noise - "Monster (Creeper Bass Remix)"
"London Night-o"NCT 127 - "Firetruck", NCT U - "The 7th Sense"
"7th Sense" was a surprisingly knowing appeal to contemporary notions of cool, but LDN Noise's "Firetruck" rode all the perfectly timed drops to the more satisfying climax and a UK Funky house comedown.
Soca "Sobangcha!"
DEAN officially ruled the roost last year with various production projects and superb 130 mood:TRBL to set the mood for Korea's 90's to aughts R&B revival (admittedly a personal sweet spot), but modernized. There's so much to love on this bouncy duet, from the proggy arrangement, the splashing/crashing forward motion in the production, the gradual transformation from coy crooning to sing-song to pop rap, all layered with a lightness that reads as complete narrative. Relaxed and sweet, Heize has never sounded better than in conversation with Dean's heartthrob exclamations.
Crush - "Woo Ah"
A silky drip drop of controlled, plinky synth cascading into a seductively wonky slow jam and descending into a woozy refractory outro.
G. Soul - "Far, far Away"
Stretched thin, micro-vibrato vocals and nimble styling elevates a simple pop melody over laidback reggae beats. I slept on 2015's Dirty, another pop album authentically derived from house traditions. G. Soul is winner of my favorite newly discovered artist of the year.
Babylon ft. Dok2 - "Between Us"
Update to early/mid 2000's swag ballads with knee melting chorus, and backed by an equally impressive B-side. First heard Babylon on Zico's "Boys and Girls", a song which in retrospect should have made it onto last years list for sheer fun quotient.
Zico - "I am you, You are Me"
Unexpectedly wistful and romantic mid-tempo slow jam, delivered by one of Korea's more respected idol rappers (with a mid-song rap cameo played by himself).
Vixx - "Milky Way"
A callback to "Touch" by Omarion, "Don't Stop" is my favorite Shinee song from their new album. 1of1 works overly hard at early 90's retro and random other stuff but never really transcends the references. In that respect, Exo got the better deal from SM this year. However, the most effortless retro goes to Vixx for "Milky Way", a shimmery throwback that doesn't try hard enough to ever miss the mark.
Hyolyn ft Jay Park - "One Step"
The breathy vocals and daydreamy intimacy grew on me slowly and stealthily until "One Step" had somehow become the defacto mental soundtrack for waffle weekends. I suppose the topical likeness to Mariah Carey's "Underneath the Stars", a favorite from the Daydream album, reinforces the aura of self pleasuring diva vu.
Block B - "A Few Years Later"
Rubbery beats and arpeggiated interstitial melodies slide into each other on separate yet parallel temporal rails as a perfect mash up. This is pop songwriting at an ambitious and very subtle high.
Twice - "TT", "Cheer Up"
While Black Pink moderately filled the shoes of (finally) officially defunct 2ne1, I.O.I concluded a long string of forgettable releases with an overly frantic, "Very, Very, Very", and Unicorn penciled in for f(x) with very good "Blink Blink" (presaged by also very good "Huk" in 2015), JYP's girl group released the catchiest-catchphrase-iest girl group songs of the year including "Cheer Up" (aka "Shy, Shy, Shy") and unusual Halloween freestyle "TT". Twice has a lock on the cheer squad head cock and coy/cheeky insouciance they first promoted in "Ooh-Ahh", because the music supports their puffy sticker visuals with a strange confetti of cartoon sounds and fickle beat change mashups. It was hard to deny them attention this year, and therefore this spot gives way grudgingly before the same weird-cute aesthetic that was Got7's "Just Right".
Oh My Girl - "Liar Liar"
A satisfyingly straightforward counterpoint to Red Velvet's busy "Russian Roulette" in the bubblegum department.
Cosmic Girls - "Secret"
A standard girl group staple performs the magic trick of weightlessness, and exceeds its own charm quotient as the chorus ramps up subtly and takes off melodically into the stratosphere.
Winner - "Baby, Baby"
Doo wop soul
Snuper - Platonic Love
Nails the references.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Nu-est - "Overcome", "Love Paint"
Reminiscent of awkward early Vixx, with overblown bishi concept videos
Luna - "Free Somebody"
U-Kiss - "Stalker"
Sexyback fart beats meets Shinee meets Ne-Yo
Jay Park - "Aquaman", "Solo" (2015)
Cha Cha Mode
Seventeen SVT - "Check-in"
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