Just A Little Fangirl Love

  Release date: 2024 September 28 Album tracklist: Carry on Album runtime: 3 minutes I like that Astro has become somewhat active recently. Not as a group, necessarily, but they're doing music related stuff and I love that for them. Oh! I see his name under composer, arranger, and lyricist. Well done, JinJin! Ooh, that's a funky guitar going on there. The guitars in general seem to be hanging out in place of pride through out the entire song, which I am so into, and they never lose their funk. There are moments when they take a brief break, moments which include a siren of all things, but otherwise, they just are perfectly there. They give the entire song a very disco air.  JinJin in this song reminds me of the two songs I've heard from RM. It's a very mellow, but no less powerful, rap that does the impossible: quiets my brain. I have not a clue what he's saying. Zero clue, except for the English during the refrain that is at his chillest, but that doesn't matte

  Release date: 2024 September 26 Album tracklist: Retro Romance Album runtime: 2 minutes Girl's Generation make you feel the heat! Sorry.  Every time I think about the group or hear/read the name mentioned anyway, that's what immediately and inevitably pops into my head, regardless of the circumstances. I feel like I know quite a bit about them and can quote some of their moments without actually knowing anything about them, so it's a very strange situation for me. And Hyo is not one of the members whose name I knew coming in to this review, This song reminds me a lot of the little bit of the group's songs that I've heard, but it also reminds me of later S.E.S. songs. I wouldn't call the 2000s retro because they weren't that long ago, but there is also a light 70's disco vibe to it that pops in occasionally, and that I'd call retro because it's half a century ago. Give or take. But it does sound very 2000s because of...well, something I noticed

  Release date: 2024 September 29 Album tracklist: Daydream (Feat. JUNNY), Stuck On You Album runtime: 5 minutes Am I a little peeved that we got three days' notice of this thing's existence before it was released? Yes. Is that just what BTOB does these days apparently? Also, yes. It's fine. It's all fine. It's not going to affect my anticipated enjoyment of it. Also, I'm side-eyeing that runtime. That cover art is flipping adorable. Anyway. Continue. There's a really cute part of the instrumentals during the chorus. On the words "find me in a daydream", instead of maintaining the rhythm that the guitar has been plinking out, it follows the rhythm of the words. I think it happens a little earlier in the chorus as well, during the "rhyming" section (it sounds like it's a six line chorus, so lines 3 and 6, even though the lines don't rhyme in the traditional sense with the words but they do with rhythm and syllables). I love the pre

Release date: 2024 September 27 Album tracklist: Focus, Tomorrow, Beautiful Night(AC Ver), Focus (Instrumental), Tomorrow (Instrumental), Beautiful Night(AC Ver) (Instrumental) Album runtime: 3 minutes  A new, three-member girl group has arrived! I think there's some history there, but honestly, I have no idea what it would be. There was a twitter post that mentioned something, if you're curious. But, they're all adults! The youngest one is 23 and a model, and the oldest one is also a member of the group Rumble-G (which is now a duo) and is the first Burmese artist to debut in South Korea. The middle member has the same birthday as NU'EST (March 15th) and, like the maknae, is a model. So, let's get to it! There is a lot happening in the instrumentals. It has moments where it quiets, but for the most part, it's a wall of sound that is a little distracting from the vocals. But there are some seriously interesting things happening in the instrumentals that make me

Release date: 2024 September 25 Album tracklist:  Go High,  Break, Run Away, Only You, Eau De Perfume, Plausible Theory Album runtime: 18 minutes  Whatever else can be said about Super Junior, I really appreciate that they took NU'EST under their wing like SHINee took Seventeen. Which is funny to me because the numbers are reversed here. With the older groups, it was big numbers adopting small numbers, and with the younger groups, it's small numbers adopting big numbers. But, because of that, regardless of anything else, I think of Super Junior fondly. Plus, I will almost always support older groups having comebacks. Was I expecting it to be all rap? Nope. Do I like rap yet? Not in general. But I can adjust to that. This is going to be a weird music video. I can sense it in my bones just from the instrumentals. Whoever were the producers did an excellent job of making that sound like they're singing in an active construction zone, while simultaneously being on a space ship.

Release date: 2024 September 26 Album tracklist:  POP UP, Morse Code, Ouroboros, Traffic Jam, Pity Punk Album runtime: 17 minutes  Okay. So this is a re-debut of a rock band which was formerly under the name "Saehamano". Possibly? I barely understand how kpop group debuts work, and bands baffle me. Still, they're all adults, and they get their name from the fact that they have three horses and a dragon in the band, which frankly is adorably sentimental. And they just debuted. So, here we go. The opening electric riffs sent me to a happy place emotionally. It reminds me really strongly of an AC/DC or Eric Clapton or a Bachman-Turner Overdrive song. There's something that all of those groups have in common and yes, it reminds me of the soundtrack to A Knight's Tale , which is one of my favorite movies and there for a while, a candidate for my favorite movie before Jurassic Park  came back on top and settled in. It hasn't moved. So the fact that this song opening

Release date: 2024 September 25 Album tracklist: OUR DAYS,  FOREVER YOUNG, BETTER WITH YOU, LEAN ON ME, MAGIC Album runtime: 16 minutes Those are so many capital letters and I really feel like I'm shouting at you all. I'd like to apologize for that. Also, that runtime means that the average song length is a bit over three minutes, which is excellent. I'm pretty sure XODIAC is a boy group, and for some reason, I have green associated with them. It's not NCT green; it's more of a dark lime. I get the feeling that this is more of a xikers sounding group than a TWS sounding group, and one of those two I generally like a lot better than the others, but we'll see. I was very wrong.  So there's something very interesting happening in otherwise pretty standard instrumentals. Normally, I would expect for the rapping sections to have that extra burst of energy by adding more instrumental tracks, though there are exceptions to this as is evident by the fact that I just

  Release date: 2024 September 24 Album tracklist: Why so pretty? , Why so pretty? (Inst.) Album runtime: 7 minutes I didn't know this was happening! I'm excited about this. So the song starts with a very playful organ, and then snapping. The snapping makes me so happy, because it's one of those things I can just do without having to pay much attention to the song, and since I spend a lot of time just vibing and not actively listening to the music I'm listening to, . It's also very upbeat and funky, though very minimalistic compared to what it could be. I'm not hearing much bass, if any, but there are enough interesting things and instruments happening that I can forgive it for not having that grounding sound. The fact that he included the instrumental track on this single brings me joy, because the instrumental, despite being surprisingly minimalistic, is definitely vibe-worthy. Actually, this reminds me of a musical, where this is the male lead taking a song t

  Release date: 2024 September 24 Album tracklist: Steady , 3 Minutes , Dunk Shot , On & On, Supercute, Skate, Hands Up - Korean Version Album runtime: 21 minutes I've been looking forward to the album because of how much I liked Dunk Shot . I'll have to do a review of 3 Minutes  as well, but that will be for when I have a moment and the releases cool down a little. In the meantime, let's see about this one! Oh, it's so cute! I know I normally do the instrumentals and stuff in this paragraph, but I got so distracted immediately from how cute they sound that I think my cuteness aggression got triggered. They're not the only boy group to recently debut that I've thought were cute, but this is the first one that actually made me start to laugh at my reaction. And, generally speaking, I think TWS are some of the cutest to recently debut, but I never kicked my feet for TWS. And yet, this song made me do just that. I don't know how I'm going to recover fro

Release date: 2024 October 21 Album tracklist:  Boyfriend , I, Bae,  Sunset Album runtime: 12 minutes  So at some  point, I saw something about them on...probably Instagram, because after KCon LA when I went to find them on YouTube, I found that I'd already followed them. I do not remember doing this, but apparently I really like them, even if I can never remember I do. I haven't found the song that I'm obsessed with yet, but it doesn't change that I like them. This is an acoustic song with an electric guitar. I'm almost positive that's not an acoustic. My ears were expecting one though. Still, it doesn't change the fact that it doesn't stay mellow and hug-like. It has spurts of energy through the chorus where the drums get to act up a little before settling right back down. This is a take-a-nap-to song. This is a wave-your-phone-flashlight-slowly song. Light sticks could work too since this is K-Pop after all, but there is something fundamentally "

  Release date: 2024 September 23 Album tracklist: Pleasure Shop , Overthink, Golden, I Know, Going Up, Novacaine Album runtime: 18 minutes Happy birthday even though this is a couple of days late! And not that I dislike all the capital letters, it just makes me feel like I'm shouting when I type them out unless they're an acronym, so the lack here? Thank you, Key. Ah, thumping EDM. How I've missed you! When did I decide I like that sound? I have no idea. The song doesn't start off with energy. We get a few lines and bars of chill and soothing with only synth and the cymbal before the drums start in, which is echoed later during the bridge. I do wish there was more of a bass to really grind everything else into, but I'm pretty clear with my love for a good bass. Even without it, though, I really enjoy the vibes of the song.  Key has a lovely voice. All of SHINee does, which is why the group itself is so impressive. But can we take a minute to talk about how catchy t

  Release date: 2024 September 23 Album tracklist: INTRO, Fake Idol , My Name is Malgeum , Let's Love, run! run! run!, Goodbye My Sadness, REBOUND, OUTRO Album runtime: 22 minutes Apparently Fake Idol was a pre-release and My Name is Malgeum  is the main event. Good to know. So part of me thinks the instrumentals sound like an anime theme song. And it would be for one that is kind of depressing, but has that super upbeat introduction to make you forget your heart is about to be ripped out of your chest. It also reminds me a lot, weirdly, of a game show. So that's a weird combination. I think it's the chord progression and the specific combination of piano and guitar that makes me think of anime theme song and game show. I'm fully into it. This is pretty awesome. I don't necessarily know that I have a lot to say about their vocals. I really like the tone they've got, which seems to be "ready to belt at any given notice", which matches the anime theme th

  Release date: 2024 September 23 Album tracklist: Losing Myself, Get Loose, Electric Shock , Come Back to Me (feat. CHUNG HA), 9 Lives Album runtime: 15 minutes I am mostly familiar with Kang Daniel because of Produce 101, but I expect a lot from him because the quality of the Wanna One members demands that. I understand he's also been going through some legal problems, so finding out he was putting out a new album made me pleased and surprised. I wish him well. Hello, piano! That's fun and spritely! I haven't looked at the lyrics yet, but for some reason, I have a feeling that this is one of those cheerful sounding songs that have kind of depressing lyrics. Actually, the instrumentals remind me of a musical. It's probably the piano doing the frequent arpeggio that sounds like rain falling. There's also a sense of drama during the chorus, something that I deeply appreciate. He didn't just give it a tone shift, he added more bombastic layers to drive energy forw

Release date: 2024 September 22 Album tracklist: A Cold Night, A Cold Night - Instrumental Album runtime: 7 minutes  This apparently was released on this day. I don't think I've ever even heard of this group, but I'm always into finding something new I might like, so I picked this one at random to review. A-ha! This is a single! And ID:EARTH is apparently a soloist. Interesting. Okay. Well, let's get to it! This isn't a complicated set of instrumentals. It's mellow. It's straightforward. It's steady. There's a section toward the end that makes it sound very science fiction. Actually, what it reminds me of is the soundtrack to Dangonronpa . Not the parts that stress me out, but the general exploring and chatting parts, before you have to solve a murder. And I appreciate being able to listen to just the instrumentals here. We have a drumkit, a keyboard/piano, and a synthesizer, and I think that's it. Simple. Chill. Nice. Her voice is lovely. It'

Release date: 2024 August 27 Album tracklist: Lucky you, LOVE ATTACK , New World, Pinball Album runtime: 11 minutes  I don't think I actually know anything about RESCENE. So this should be interesting. Oh, that's right! They're a 2024 debut! I remember hearing about it. Okay. There were apparently two music videos I missed over the last couple of weeks. I'll try to get around to them if I have a moment. And apparently this album came out, and this isn't the main title track. Judging by the popularity, I'd guess LOVE ATTACK is, and also because that's when the music video came out. Also, the runtime is a yikes for me. That's like an average of 2:45 a song. You know what the chorus of this song sounds like? It sounds like Touch by Katseye. I couldn't figure it out until I let my hands do the choreography they wanted to, and then I recognized it. And to make sure I wasn't losing it, which is entirely possible, I listened to that one up until the cho

Release date: 2024 September 20 Album tracklist: SAD SONG , It's Alright, Last Call, Welcome To, All You, WASP, SAD SONG (English Version) Album runtime: 22 minutes  Everything I've seen of P1Harmony tells me that I'd really enjoy them if I actually sat down and went through their discography. They perform well live. They're funny. Soul is a member of the group, and we both love potatoes. And that one video where three of them went of Joon and Brian's show lives in my brain rent free because both sets were just so  funny. The older generation was shocking to the younger. The younger generation had a swag that baffled the older. It was all good. So very, very good. I don't know how else I'd describe the piano going on through the instrumentals other than "latin wild west saloon".  I was trying to figure out a better way to put it, but that's all I could come up with. Which means, aesthetically, SAD SONG  and Arriba  by ATEEZ vibe together and wo

  Release date: 2024 September 20 Album tracklist: Push Your Love,  Starry Night , Starry Night - [ENG version],  SOS , SOS - [ENG version], Gravity Album runtime: 18 minutes And here the group has re-debuted. Theseus's ship has sailed once more. The company had better know that there are going to be eyes on them and this group. I, personally, don't want to witness another B.A.P situation, so hopefully that's not what's going on. It almost sounds like there's a plucked cello in the instrumentals. It's very subtle, very soft, but I don't know if it's a plucked bass guitar or a cello. I'm going to go with a bass guitar because the likelihood of that actually being a cello is probably low. It's the most intriguing part of the instrumentals, as the rest of it feels a little standard. Not that I don't like it. This doesn't need to be a cinematic soundtrack with twenty different tracks layered together, because that's not what kind of song

  Release date: 2024 September 19 Album tracklist: GGUM Album runtime: 2 minutes Well, I don't know about the rest of you all, but that is a short song. I know it rounds up to three minutes, but that's a technicality, and it doesn't feel right to add almost half a minute to the runtime. Despite not being able to identify his voice in the context of TxT, I have somewhat high expectations for this song. Correct me if I'm wrong, but mixtapes don't count as debuts, right? If they do, you'll need to let me know so I can adjust this and tag appropriately.  Why does this sound exactly like battle music from a JRPG? I could swear I've heard the instrumentals somewhere, because my brain is trying to filter that out the way it does battle music. That's not a bad thing. It just makes this task slightly more difficult. The bass and the synth are two of the most present sounds . I just realized which video game the keyboard reminds me of! It reminds me of the game Sh

Release date: 2024 September 19 Album tracklist: Goodbye With You, Teddy Bear , Dear Precious One Our Shimmering Days, Over, Bad Criminal Album runtime: 16 minutes  Since most of the members of Pentagon left CUBE, and we're coming up on the one year anniversary of that, there's been a somewhat dramatic uptick in business among the members (something that is echoed in their sunbaenim group, BTOB). On the other hand, we also have impending military enlistments, and it's anyone's guess when the remaining three members who will need to enlist will. In the meantime, we have a bunch of solo debuts and the most recent one of those is Jinho, the eldest and the one I know as the one who enlisted mid-Road to Kingdom and made me cry. Teddy Bear  is the shortest song on the album. It still averages out to over three minutes a song on average, but that's only because two of the songs are almost four. This is such a mellow jazz that normally I wouldn't even call it jazz. Or m

Release date: 2024 September 19 Album tracklist: Road, HWASA, NA,  EGO, OK NEXT, just wanna have some fun, O Album runtime: 20 minutes  It's always a pleasure to listen to Hwasa, even if it's been some time since she released a new album. Last year's I Love My Body  was, as far as I'm concerned, a perfect match for her, so it'll be interesting to see where she goes from there.  This is kind of a strange phenomenon where I can actively be listening to NA , and forget that I'm hearing instrumentals. I don't think it's because they're necessarily weak. I just think they blend into the background to support Hwasa's voice so well, that they fuzz out. It's not a bad thing. If she were playing one of the instruments, then I'd be alarmed by the imbalance there, but since she isn't, the point is to highlight her voice. Which they're very effective at doing. And that's even more interesting considering the chorus is actually doing notic

Release date: 2024 September 06 Album tracklist: Run Away, Heartbreak in Heaven (feat. PENIEL of BTOB), Lazy Baby (feat. PH-1), Losing Sleep, One Love, Fly Album runtime: 19 minutes  I don't know a lot about TWICE. I know they're a JYP group. I get them mixed up with Itzy a lot. Mostly, when I think of them, I think of the Kelly Clarkson interview where Kelly took the time to find out how to pronounce Tzuyu's name. But I do have a couple of Twice's songs in my regular listening playlist. Also, just as a side note, love that Peniel showed up for one of her songs. Depending on when she was a trainee, they may have been trainees together when Peniel was at JYP. And I think that's cute. Starting with only Tzuyu's voice and a piano reminds of Total Eclipse of the Heart  by Bonnie Tyler. Actually, this song seems to get quite a bit of inspiration from that song, but as if Bonnie Tyler had recorded more of a dance version and added more synth. From the piano, Run Away

Release date: 2024 September 06 Album tracklist: Good Morning, Pineapple Slice , Rendez-Vous, Cold Heart, Woo, Truth Be Told Album runtime: 19 minutes I'm deeply impressed with the fact that Baekhyun is on his fourth mini album as a soloist despite having been part of an active group for the past twelve years. 2012 was such a good year for the K-Pop debut crop. There were a lot that beat the seven year curse and are still together, or recently got back together, and with EXO getting ready to fully reunite post-military enlistments within the next year, I imagine that will be a time of celebration for the fans. In the meantime, we have solo careers and partial group releases. The runtime on this album is a little worrisome. I don't know what it is about the musical trend right now that sees so many songs, especially title tracks, with the 70s vibe, but my love for Scooby-Doo requires me to love the groovy sound. This one is kind of a grungy 70s with more synth that requires head

Release date: 2024 September 06 Album tracklist: Watch Out,  Witch , BACK OFF,  Bittersweet , Sandcastle , Hang Around Album runtime: 17 minutes I was holding out on my decision for my favorite track of the album until this video came out. Witch  might be my favorite title track so far, and I love it so much , but there are actually two tracks from Watch Out that I love more: Bittersweet  and Sandcastle . Two very different songs, I know, but they just hit my brain in the exact, right way. But, it bears repeating that the entire album is no-skip for me. Whole thing. Fabulous. Do I love that the two spookiest songs were chosen for the title tracks? Abso-freaking-lutely. Give me more spooky songs from kpop. Coincidentally, this is also why I love Monster  by Seventeen's hip hop unit, and the sole reason why I now like the obviously rap heavy songs they do. I find it a little funny that it required me to see them perform it before I liked it. Much like with xikers! I'm pretty cons

  Release date: 2024 September 02 Album tracklist: Fanaticism,  TTYL ,  Cotton Candy , Confessions , Hocus Pocus, Secret Diary Album runtime: 18 minutes Third and...last one from the album? I'm getting pretty familiar with their music, at least from here. I liked one. I was okay with the other. Let's see how this one is. Good runtime. I dig that. Oh, I really like the beat here. It's punchy and gritty and surprisingly industrial. At a high enough volume, these instrumentals are going to rattle my bones and make me want my earplugs, and I couldn't be more here for it. And then the switch at 2:24 that pretends to soften the song, but what it really does is gently guide you onto the rug, only for the rug to then be yanked out from underneath you with the science fiction warbling over that dubstep that then follows. There are a couple of sections that remind me of a steampunk lullaby. The genres in this song. I think I'm in love a little bit. I think my favorite thing a

Release date: 2024 September 20 Album tracklist: Push Your Love, Starry Night , Starry Night - [ENG version], SOS , SOS - [ENG version], Gravity Album runtime: 18 minutes I think I've figured out how I'm going to deal with pre-releases for my reviews. It does involve me updating them post-album drop, but that is the best way for me to keep things straight. Also, I'm endlessly entertained by the fact that there isn't a single way to mark different versions of the same song. I had a moment where I was annoyed by this, but then I decided to just enjoy that I don't have to type out the same thing every single time I run into albums like this. At least they usually stay consistent within the album itself. I thank them for that. I also don't know how I feel about FIFTY FIFTY's situation. Obviously it's a mess, what with the lineup changes and the legal battle, but I also kind of feel like the group called FIFTY FIFTY is actually the ship of Theseus. 24K saw an

  Release date: 2024 September 09 Album tracklist:  Dangerous , Gonna Be A Rock, SKIT,  Nice Guy , 20, Call Me, Nice Guy (English Vers.) Album runtime: 18 minutes Am I reviewing this after the title track? Yes. So if you're reading this before the review for the title track of 19.99, well, that's fine. That's my fault. This song is funky, and it belongs in a 1970s/1980s' police comedy movie, but it must also be a parody. It specifically belongs in the fight scene where things should be going terribly wrong, but they're failing so well, that they're actually succeeding in a ludicrous series of events.  That feels incredibly specific, but that's what the instrumentals are saying. I really don't have more than that to say. I have a feeling that I'm going to be disappointed by the music video because I love the vibes of the song so much. Vocally, they remind me of a group of teenagers who are swaggering around because they think they're top dog, but

  Release date: 2024 September 14 Album tracklist: Sweet! (feat. Lina Cooper and Joohyoung) , Feeling (feat. BLKZEN) , Seasons (feat. Alina Kay), Tonight, Sucker for You (feat. BLKZEN and laebin), Feeling (Inst.), Sweet! (Inst.) Album runtime: 22 minutes Now that  is a proper runtime for an album, even if we eliminate the two instrumentals. So, while we wait for the group to resume activities, we get this. I managed to catch him when he was doing a live on Instagram a few weeks back, and he was showing off his vocals. I believe my response to was was "What the crap, my dude? Why haven't other people found you before?" And this simply proves my response correct. Him and Vari, man. Why do the ones with the interesting stage names have the best vocals? Everyone, stop where you are! The guitar is loud and in front! In fact, the sound of the instrumentals reminds me more of Day6 and Onewe than it does K-Pop.  This is mellow rock at its best, and the section of brief acapella