August 2024 Wrap-Up: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

 This is going to be the least filled out of these. In the future, I'll be more on top of releases, but considering I started this near the end of the month, I'm going to give myself a pass.

Top Releases of the Month:

• Moonbyul's Is This Love?- I'm really not joking when I say that if this song isn't one of my top listens of the year, I'm going to be really sad. It's basically perfect and...I want more of this. Give me more interesting musical techniques, I beg of the industry.
• B.A.P's Gone- I just want to wrap myself up in the song and pretend like everything is okay. Is it? I don't know, but what I do know is the fact that they managed to come back together after all the trauma they went through together, even if they aren't fully back together yet, gives me hope for all the groups that didn't deserve what happened to them (and the handful of my small groups that are struggling right now).

Honorable Mentions:

• xikers's Tsuki (Lunatic)- I may do a review of this one even though it isn't actually in Korean, but they were my second/third group (depending on how you count) and it feels horrifically disloyal not to mention how much I love this song. Actually, I loved the entire single. All three songs. In fact, I was a teeny bit angry about the fact that it isn't in Korean, because I love it so much more than the Korean title tracks, but I absolutely do not have the time nor inclination to learn Japanese for it. Stunning song. Knew they could do it. (Also, LOOK AT HOW LONG IT IS! IT'S AN ACTUAL SONG!) Ugh, and the music video is so good. It's not complicated or flashy. But it's just such a solid video. Wow. How have they not gotten a win yet?
  
  
  
  
• Craxy's Masquerade- A July release it may be, but it's been a repeat offender this month in my listening history. I. Freaking. Love it. Every time it shows up in my extensive playlist, more often than not, I'm putting it on repeat and just vibing to it. I'm a huge Phantom of the Opera fan, and one of my favorite songs is, you guessed it, Masquerade. And this song vibes with that one. 
  
  
  
  
• Baekho's Thanksful for You- This is a blast from the past. Part of the NU'EST W debut album (W.Here), I'm pretty sure that this was a Woozi present for all the crap Baekho had gone through in the past year. But also, it's been a comfort listen for me now that the other three members are starting to announce their enlistments, which I'm not handling exceptionally well, but I could be handling this a whole lot worst. He doesn't have the world's most soothing voice, but I also don't know what witchcraft Woozi performed to make him sound like he does. Dunno. It's been a comfort song while I deal with the reality of NU'EST enlisting.
  
  
  
  
• TWS's plot twist- I wasn't super sold on plot twist when it was released. I liked it. But I liked other songs from the album more. Really it wasn't until hey! hey! that I found a song to hook me in as a fan. But also, literally watching them perform plot twist at KCon, and hearing the entire audience sing along with them, sent me into tears because of how proud of them I was. And now every time I hear this song, I'm reminded of how proud I am of them. So I've been listening to it a lot. Because I'm really proud of them.
  
  

• SHINee's Everybody- This song is another one that is practically perfect. I was rewatching SHINee World IV and went "Wow. I really love this song." There are several others by SHINee that I'm super down with, but this is the one I had on repeat for like two days this month. It's fine. Carry on.