Just A Little Fangirl Love

Release date: 2026 September 18 Album track list: Open Your Eyes Album runtime: 3 mi nutes  It's partway though September and I don't think I've reviewed a song from September yet. Starting with Close Your Eyes and their song called "Open Your Eyes" feels a little bit funny for me. Which is why I'm doing it. Also, the maknae turns eighteen at the end of the month, so this is the last time I'll probably need to bring up any of their ages. Not that I have been because I haven't needed to. But still. This makes it official. Why does the instrumental sound like the preset on a keyboard? There are a lot of instruments going on in here and it's a little distracting with exactly how much is going on. Jaunty little tune, though, despite how discordant it is. But it's very jazzy at the same time, so discordant is sometimes the name of the game anyway. But goodness, there are a lot of instruments. As an instrumental-only, I would absolutely be jamming ha...

Release date: 2026 July 22 Album tracklist: SNEAKERS , TO THE MOON, BACK, If I could Album runtime: 11  minutes  I decided to pick this song for an extra stage, since I've been so haphazard with literally everything the last little bit and I'm so far behind, so I'm going to do a review of this one. It's a good way to force me to do it. I almost was lazy and picked a song I know I did a review for, but since that song has gotten wins, I would rather point out the smaller groups. Although I will also point out how nauseating the runtime is. Less than two-and-a-half minutes. There's still something slightly pastel-like about the song, but it's kind of a daffodil yellow. This is a very bright song without too much weighing it down, but without a strong sense of playfulness that I wish that I could hear. It feels like the song wants to be playful but was forced to be a bit more constrained. The whistling and the little woops in the background help a lot, but instead...

Release date: 2026 May 28 Album tracklist: ALIVE, SHOW H.O.W, Told U So, TEA , My Vision, Skit.exe, Lost in Proof , ($.$) , Close To Me , One Beat, Dive With Me Album runtime: 28 minutes  I decided to drop this song as an extra stage, which means that it needs a review. We're not on Underage Protocol and I'm going to stop saying that as soon as I'm done with all the songs they've done stuff for from their debut album. And I love the strategy the company has for them. Yes. This is good. This group is not immediately unemployed after debut (Cough...Pledis...Cough...). I also just realized that I missed another b-side, and considering that this is a younger group and needs attention, I'll add it back to the ever-growing list of backlog. This is a fun build of an instrumental. Instead of throwing the skittering beat at us right from the start, it layers the plinking and the playfulness in first. Then we get the piano there during the bridge to give a similar melody, but...

Release date: 2026 August 20 Album tracklist: Tonight , Echoes of Us Album runtime: 8  minutes  Ah, I'm so late with this. I'm glad that he's dropping new music because his voice is gorgeous and it's important to the ecosystem of K-Pop that he continues to release music. But I'm also starting to get a little concerned about the girl group he's got at his company. The boys have been getting a lot of attention lately, which as fresh debuts, is their due, but the girls are due for a comeback and I've heard neither hide nor hair of one. Unless they're getting a full album. In which case, carry on. Take a few more months. Stunning runtime on both the single and the title track though. I love that. This is such a retro rock song from the 80s that the instrumental sounds like something my mom would have listened to as a teenager. We've got the good elements of a rock song: drums, a sick guitar solo, delicious synthy goodness, and a little bit of a keyboard ...

Release date: 2026 August 19 Album tracklist: MIXIN' THANGS - FLW$ Version, V.V.$, $TAY THE NIGHT - FLW$ Version ,  A$K, BOTTLE$ - FLW$ Version, COUNT IT UP, DA$H, Y.O.U,  BOTTLE$ , MIXIN' THANGS, VAMO$, $TAY THE NIGHT Album runtime: 16 minutes  Well, this is an interesting development with this group. They're now independent, which is curious enough, but they're independent with their former CEO serving as their creative director and main producer. That part has me raising my eyebrows and tilting my head. Curious. Very curious. On top of that, one of the members has left the group. She's the main vocalist of the group, so that's a blow to the others and they'll have to step up. I'm fully supportive of the decision to leave as she decided she didn't like the idol lifestyle with the training and the hours well-enough to stay, which is completely fair. I applaud her for realizing it fairly early and bowing out. And we're on Underage Protocol until ...

 The final song of my little triptych of Sober songs to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of BIGBANG's debut, and I went with a contemporary soloist. Girls' Generation is only a year younger than BIGBANG and occupies much the same role as BIGBANG does in the canon, just on the girl group side. So it really worked out that there is a soloist from Girls' Generation that has a song with the same name as Sober because that also gives us a different texture to look at. Plus, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that the impact Girls' Generation and its members have had on the industry cannot be hyped enough, especially when their activity has slowed down a little and I've seen younger or newer fans mistakenly dismiss them just because they're not pulling the streaming or release numbers like the streaming farms for some of the other groups. But that's why I do the research and hand y'all the results: to make the context around the last 30...