Just A Little Fangirl Love

Release date: 2025 May 21 Album tracklist: Goodbye & Hello , Pinch Me, New Heights - ENG Version Album runtime: 10  minutes  Maybe I'm just being sensitive, but the title of this digital single puts my hackles up. Could simply be the time of year combined with the title, but I also don't like the implication right now. Not for these guys. Also, weekends are a great time right now for me to hit some of my backlog, and while I know this is a relatively older song, I really like VANNER and want to make sure that I give them the attention they deserve. Even if it's late. Also, Junny is on the credits as composer and lyricist, so that's super exciting. This is a pretty soft and chill song. I just want you all to know this. The beat is actually pretty slow and when more volume is wanted, more instruments are added rather than an increase in the dynamics. But even when more volume is created, it's never aggressive or relentlessly energetic. I'm not entirely sure wh...

Release date: 2025 May 19 Album tracklist: In Chaos, ROCK STAR , Miracle, Last VoW, Goal In,  Album runtime: 17  minutes  There's another song of his that I need to do, but for now, I'll be satisfied with this one. I've decided that I really like his voice, having gone back through his discography a little, and given what he said on his show with Changsub, this album in particular will likely be right up my wheelhouse: namely, rock. Also evidenced by the name, but it is what it is. Okay. So. On to the second gen legend. What's funny about this is I know it's going to be classified as rock. Jaejoong, again, said as much during their discussion of their mutual love of rock music. I wouldn't necessarily disagree with that. I would like to add that this is tapping into some country instincts that are very well-developed in me, so much so that I'm having to actively remember that this song is going to be labeled rock. If there isn't an acoustic guitar in the ...

Release date: 2025 May 24 Album tracklist: JUMP OFF, DREAMING , MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, HYSTERIA 444, ONLY U Album runtime: 16  minutes  Yes, the title of the debut album for the brand-new rock band duo is "Debut". I chuckled about it. I also had a bit of a difficult time finding anything about this duo. I had to go into the song credits to get names, and then I had to hunt them down individually. It turns out that the duo consists of E Hyuk, who originally debuted in 2003 with the band Open Head but didn't hit his stride until 2005 with Norazo, and Jungmo, not to be confused with the Cravity member and who debuted in 2004 in the band TRAX or TraxX. So you get information I didn't have when I started writing the review, but it should give you some expectations for the song. And there's only one song that isn't over three minutes, and it's still closer to three minutes than some recent title tracks. So I'm all about this. It was a struggle to focus down...

Release date: 2025 May 19 Album tracklist: Chocolate , Elevator , Lemonade, Love Comes Back, No Problem, Black Dreams, Late Night Calls Album runtime: 20  minutes  Yes, I'm finally getting to this one. Yes, I'm doing the pre-release instead of the title track. But this has been sitting in my drafts for ages and it's finally bothered me enough to do it. I would however like to report that I have about half the members of EXO that I can identify by face and name. My goal is to get all of them down before Sehun is discharged.   The song is remarkably consistent, instrumentals-wise. It's so steady that even when the science fiction warbling is occasionally popping in, it's unsurprising, as though that was the only option available to the song. Even when the vocals above are doing fairly interesting things, the instrumentals are reliably solid. That does mean that the song has fewer variations than I like to see, even with the three minute runtime, but the style is such ...

Release date: 2025 May 29 Album tracklist: Radar  Album runtime: 3  minutes  Congrats on your solo debut! This guy is incredible. Also, fun fact, I was rewatching Produce 101 S2 a couple of months ago because I wanted to see who else I recognized other than my NU'EST boys and I wanted to actually pay attention to the future members of Wanna One and who did I see? This dude. I may have squeaked in surprise, and after his performance on R oad to Kingdom: Ace of Ace , I think he's got a lot of potential as a soloist. I get one of my favorite sound effects! The echoey underwater breathing! It's definitely because of my love of FFX, but I do love it when that sound shows up in songs. Radar actually has a lot of interesting things going on in the instrumentals because we also get something like a telephone ringing to join the driving bass and the occasional science fiction warbles. It's also got a substantial section where the bass, which is basically the entirety of the ins...

Release date: 2025 May 28 Album tracklist: Songbird (Korean Ver.), Everlasting , Rise Again, Love You Like That, Love In Memory, Still You, HAPPY ME!, Born To Be, Run Like This, Moebius, LOG, Stand By Me (Korean Ver.)  Album runtime: 39  minutes  I think this might be my first review for these guys, which is fun because I've got a few of their songs in my one beloved playlist because they just generally hit my brain right. 2015 debut and if you were looking to get into them, now would be the time as this is the first release with the entire group post-military.  Strings are here! That's it. I'm sold. Amazing song. One of my top releases for the month. It's a little funny that I'm so easily pleased, but I really am a simple Fangirl at heart. Good news is we don't just have the strings. We've got my favorite triumvirate as well, with the piano, guitar, and drums, which is kind of requisite for a band. I really like how the intro and outro mimic each other with...

Release date: 2025 May 28 Album tracklist: Sacrifice, 2 Months , Attitude, Good Luck Album runtime: 11 minutes  First subunit from my girls, Dreamcatcher, one of the active girl groups that I listen to! For the record, I am always on the lookout for other groups like them! I keep finding girl groups I really like, get all excited and then the excitement deflates because I read the "d" word. Sadness. But! I'm very excited for this first subunit from them! There is a hollow echoey quality to the instrumentals that in a different song would be delicate and fairylike. This is not that song. It's also got a pretty strong afrobeat with a decent amount of variation to keep my currently uncaffeinated brain focused on the instrumentals when this isn't exactly my favorite style of song, but that's okay. It's a little bit too disjointed for my taste but there is a lot of texture, which is something that I do appreciate. This is the kind of song where it could be quit...

Release date: 2025 May 19 Album tracklist: Odyssey, Bag Bad Back , Ember to Solar , Fly Up , Show Me Love, Passage, Midnight Mirage, The End of the Day, Inside My Love, Another Life Album runtime: 29 minutes  I've been putting this off because I'm still so deeply angry with SM over their handling of the situation, and I don't think I'd be nearly this angry if they'd just dropped him from the group rather than the bait and switch they pulled. Just dropping him, that's what SM does. Fine. Whatever. But announcing his return and then almost immediately going "Just kidding!", it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes me feel so bad for the group and the fans, and him most of all. Anyway, this is their first full album, which normally would be something to celebrate. Whoo. Congrats. More enthusiasm for the wins though! I'm putting this review on Underage Protocol. I'm so annoyed by this song because it's so stinking good. The instrumentals are...

Release date: 2025 May 27 Album tracklist: Can I Love You, Can I Love You - inst. Album runtime: 7 minutes  I love this pair, and not just because they literally made me cry when I watched Peak Time because they performed Hello by NU'EST for their first round. Full-blown tears. I had to pause it while I recovered. I'm such a sap. Anywho, I'm pleased to be hearing from them again, because they need and deserve all the love and attention. They really do. I'd also really like to hear them live to gauge if they're as good as I think they are, but that's on a third list of goals based on the likeliness of that. I'm absolutely being spoiled right now. Guitar is the leading lady of the instrumentals, although the piano spends nearly as much time in the spotlight but it's not as loud about it if that's the correct word. The song is soft and gorgeous, with my favorite trio of instruments: guitar, piano, and strings. I'm genuinely really happy about the fa...

Release date: 2025 May 27 Album tracklist: Red Sneakers, Never Ending Story, October 4th, Last Scene (Feat. Wonstein), A Beautiful Person (Feat. Balming Tiger), Square's dream Album runtime: 22 minutes  I'm trying out something different with writing these because I actually have a tried and true method for my writing that I haven't been using for the last ten months or so. I write faster and more easily when I can handwrite things. Also, airplanes (as long as someone isn't wearing a cologne or a perfume that makes me nauseated) are an excellent time to write these. Apparently, I've never looked at IU's homepage on Spotify because I didn't realize how often she's worked with BTS or BTS members. Huh. That's pretty cool. I mean, I thought she was pretty cool before this, but I also  really just like it when there are collaborations of people I recognize. The runtime makes me very happy.  Wow, this is incredibly Disney-esque. I think I heard both "...

Release date: 2025 May 26 Album tracklist: Motion, Motion - Instrumental Album runtime: 7 minutes  I have a friend who will be super happy that he released this. I haven't heard it yet, but B.A.P are some of her babies, so I can't imagine she won't be excited. She, like me, really loves the 2012 groups and I think it's hilarious that we didn't originally bond over kpop, but D&D (our characters became joined at the hip rather quickly and also produce probably 90% of the chaos in the party, druid and barbarian. Who would have thought?) I know they  can't go by the name B.A.P, but there's nothing that says I can't call them that. He might actually have been the one to say that in the one clip I saw during promotions for Bang&Jung&Yoo&Moon. All I know is TS Entertainment sucks. Royally. But I also know that this man's voice is in the basement and it sends shivers down my spine. Okay, I'm down with this. Smooth R&B, I'm pretty ...

Release date: 2025 May 26 Album tracklist:  TILT , What's Your Problem?, Irresistible, Girl Next Door, Trampoline, Heaven Album runtime: 17 minutes  I've already seen some of the photoshoots/concept art/performance shots because it turns out that one of the blogs I follow over on Tumblr is a huge RV fan. And wow. I've avoided the actual song so far, but it is time. Hopefully Red Velvet as a whole group can have a proper comeback soon, but in the meantime, I'm very excited for the Reveluvs and this subunit. The runtime does make me squint at SM a little. I do not like that. But at least the title track is over three minutes. That intro feels very 1940s/1950s. Anyway. That is an incredibly strong beat through a lot of the song, but the piano solo sections are wandering into the magical realm of possibilities. We don't get the piano as much as I'd like, but recognizing that it does seem designated soothes that a little. Also, the song has a lot of different texture...

Release date: 2025 May 25 Album tracklist: Poet | Artist , Starlight Album runtime: 6 minutes  I wanted to take a second to let this song rest a little before I did a review on it because that's where I am sanity-wise. Seventeen years active in the industry is more years than some of the recent debuts have had alive on the planet, and I'm so proud of SHINee for being able to stick together this long. Also, I'm a little excited to be able to use the forward slash button on the keyboard. I never get to use it. I don't even know what | is actually called, that's how little I get to use it. It's just the fun symbol. So as a completely unrelated note while I try to distract myself from the emotions of this song, thank you for that, whichever member of SHINee named the song like this. On a more serious note, this song was written by Jonghyun, and the other members left his voice in during the bridge, so all five of them got to participate in their seventeenth annivers...

Release date: 2025 May 26 Album tracklist: FREEZE , Skip It!, Before The Sun Explodes, Electricity, Complicated!!, Code Red, How We KickFlip Album runtime: 19 minutes  When I saw on the comeback schedule who else released songs on this day, not going to lie, I flinched. Because it's unfortunate timing to get caught between SHINee's first release as a group in...two years? and on their anniversary, Seventeen's tenth anniversary, and Irene and Seulgi's first comeback in years. It's really unfortunate timing for them. Still, I wish them luck and that they get good experience and if possible, a win. I'm not exactly going to hold my breath because of the big, established fandoms with something to prove to their groups, but I could be wrong and I hope I will be. The runtime is no bueno though. Come on, JYPE. Do better. This reminds me a little of, like, Disney Channel Rock, or teen romcom rock from the 90s, early 00s. Needless to say, really enjoying it. It's got ...

Release date: 2025 May 19 Album tracklist: FREE (Intro), TEA , FACT$, PURRFECT , New Phone (Interlude), D.I.M.M , TOUCH IT, SHINE (Outro) Album runtime: 18 minutes  So apparently this group actually had their debut last month, so I'm leaving that draft in there so I remember to do it. It's the debut. Obviously I'm going to cover it now that I know it's the debut. I think this might also be the group debuting under the western producer, now that I think about it. And this song is almost four minutes long, so I am all about that, no matter what's going on in the song. Unfortunately, this is going under Underage Protocol because the maknae turns sixteen at the end of this month, which is after their debut. Shame. They were so close. Literally only about a month. Alas. There's also a boy group called VVS, and I missed one of their releases last year, so I'll have to rectify that, and also make it clear which one I'm talking about. And another also, Vanner...

Release date: 2025 May 26 Album tracklist: HBD, THUNDER , Bad Influence (Prod. by Pharrell Williams), Skyfall (The8 Solo), Fortunate Change (Joshua  Solo), 99.9% (Wonwoo  Solo), Raindrops (Seungkwan  Solo), Damage (Hoshi  Solo) (feat. Timbaland), Shake It Off (Mingyu  Solo), Happy Virus (DK Solo), Destiny (Woozi  Solo), Shining Star (Vernon  Solo), Gemini (Jun Solo), Trigger (Dino  Solo), Coincidence (Jeonghan  Solo), Jungle (SCoups  Solo) Album runtime: 49 minutes  Hopefully I can be less stressed now that Seventeen has successfully hit their ten year anniversary. They got as big and dramatic a celebration as I hoped they would, ever since I heard what NU'EST had had planned for them until... This is a happy post. Genuinely, though, this might end up being incredibly healing as an event for me, and everyone looks so good for this comeback. I'm a little sad that Jeonghan and Wonwoo weren't able to perform with the rest of the group ...

Release date: 2025 May 16 Album tracklist: Don't Say You Love Me; Nothing Without Your Love; Loser (feat. Yena); Rope It; With the Clouds; Background; To Me, Today Album runtime: 20 minutes  My mother has actually been pestering me a little about this song, which is funny because I've been working for months on her with BTS and she finally found a member she likes. Thinks his voice is gorgeous. Don't worry. I'll continue working on her. She may be a little stubborn, but I am just as stubborn and more patient. The album runtime is a lot better than I've been seeing out of HYBE, so I appreciate that even if it's under the three minute mark I want to be seeing. However, the title track song itself comes in at just three minutes, so it has successfully met my bare minimum! Had to turn up my volume a little bit for this, which is fine. It does mean that this is an inherently quiet song. There isn't a whole lot of variation to the song, but considering how much of...

Release date: 2025 May 12 Album tracklist:  I will be your flower , I will be your flower (Inst.) Album runtime: 7 minutes  My man, Changsub. I'm patiently waiting for his return to activities with BTOB. It's fine. I know this is going to be a great song. Also, fun fact that I literally just learned because after watching the music video, such as it is, for this, I found out that Changsub was on Jaefriends , and I was like "Sold. I love Jaejoong. Man is a boss." So I did that instead of my next review. And I found out something really cool about this song. So Changsub did a cover of a Roy Kim song for a concert. Roy Kim contacted Changsub and praised the cover as well as asking if it would be alright if he (Roy Kim) sent him (Changsub) a song. This is that song.  Instrumental track, so I'm happy as a clam. I'm reminded a lot of the soundtrack to the 1980 Anne of Green Gables with that intro, but it's generally so gloriously cinematic that I could cry. We...

Release date: 2025 May 13 Album tracklist: 123-78; I Feel Good ; Step By Step; Is That True?; Next Mistake; IF I SAY, I LOVE YOU ; I Feel Good (Eng Version) Album runtime: 17 minutes  Well, well, well. I've been seeing this song recommended to me all over the place and I was resisting it. (I am intending to actually sit down and watch some of those stages because I've heard some good stuff about them.) I did double check on ages because they're still fairly young, but maknae turned eighteen last year, so we're golden. Not so golden on the album runtime, bur it's a perpetual disappointment from HYBE groups for me across the board lately. Doesn't mean I'm not going to comment on it, because I'd like to make sure people are aware that HYBE has been stiffing their fans, but it is what it is. The rock elements to the song are large and in charge here, but it's also surprisingly mellow. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say the song is in the vicinity of...

Release date: 2025 May 19 Album tracklist: Good Thing , Girlfriend , Love Tease, Chain, Unstoppable, If You Want Album runtime: 17 minutes  Another group to succumb to the lure of the less than three minute song. Two and a half minutes long. Shame. However, with this year being their seventh anniversary and the name change, there's probably going to be a bit of a shift in equilibrium for the group, so that's fine. I'm willing to be a little more flexible here. Also, if I reversed that so it's song title first, it becomes "Good thing we are idle", which is kind of a clever use of language. Also, I do intend to get to Girlfriend at some point. May need someone to remind me that I want to do that. The video games vibe that I'm getting off this song are making me laugh a little. It belongs in an action side-scroller, but it needs to be gothic in the literary sense of the word. One that comes to mind is Castlevania , which makes it even cooler, because imagine...