Just A Little Fangirl Love

Release date: 2025 August 12 Album tracklist: Surf Album runtime: 3 minutes  Well, I was going to sleep after I did the VANNER review, but as it turns out, I need to emotionally recover, or at least make it so that I'm not crying as I'm trying to sleep because I don't need my eyes to be that red and puffy at work tomorrow. So instead, I'm going to focus on NCT Wish, because they got a win, so I need to write a review for this anyway and having a good distraction will help. Focusing on something happy, no matter how small, is a powerful tool. And I like NCT Wish, anyway. Such a summery song. The instrumental does make me laugh a little bit because the instrumental track for this song reminds me a lot of a theme song for a comedy set in the 70s. Though, to be fair\, it doesn't have to be a full comedy because it also reminds me a little of Hawaii Five-O  or Magnum, P.I . Though, to be fair the latter one is mostly from the 80s, but my point still stands. It's summ...

Release date: 2025 September 1 Album tracklist:  Do What I Want , N the Front, Savior, Tuscan Leather, Catch Me Now, Fire & Ice Album runtime: 19 minutes  I was actually really excited to see them at KCon. They're on my list of groups I want to get into, and now I can identify and put names to most of them. I'm not sure that I can recognize them outside of the context of "Monsta X" but as long as I have that, I think we're good. I think this may also be their first post-military release? We have two weeks until the album comes out, and also, happy tenth, Monsta X! I'm a little late because they're about a week older than Seventeen, but this is the first song they've released in at least a year given that this is my first review for them. Unless I missed one somewhere. Also, they have a pretty big discography and if anyone wanted to send me a song to cover via The Form, that would be great. Oh! That's right! They re-recorded a bunch of songs and...

Release Date: 2025 August 22 Album tracklist:  Album runtime:  minutes  Sometimes I write this opening introduction blurb after I've written the meat of the review. Usually I do this first, as in this case because I'm hoping to get some of my initial, lingering frustrations out so that I can try to be more objective for when I'm listening to the actual song. Address the emotions so that they can be better set aside. So, unfortunately, right now it doesn't matter if I like this group or not. I cannot listen to them recreationally until their maknae is eighteen. There is a single member over the age of eighteen (James, 20, formerly of Trainee A, so I'm happy to see him finally debuting), and the other four have already had their birthdays, so we're left with two seventeen-year-olds and two sixteen-year-olds. This is why I have my other rule of majority adults, because just like NU'EST would have been disqualified from me listening to them the first year and a ...

 I haven't done a lot of the Big 3 groups in these, which is fine. I like that because while they've done a lot of groups, they haven't done all the groups and there are a lot of very good groups that aren't from one of the Big 3 companies. But I'm also not going to discriminate against a bigger group because though they've had more opportunities to grow because of the weight behind them, that doesn't mean they don't also deserve their renown. And so, thank you to whoever tossed Red Velvet at me from The Form. They're one of those groups that while I haven't heard a lot of their songs, the ones I have heard, I've loved ( Red Flavor is my absolute jam), so this opportunity for me to deep dive into one I haven't heard is awesome. Also, find me surprised that while looking up this song, I found out that the group did an OST for Hotel Del Luna , which was almost the second K-Drama I ever watched and could have sent me on an entirely differen...

 This one is a little bit different. It does come from The Form, so that's exciting, but, well, this song isn't my normal fare for a GH song. For one, Yoo Jae Suk isn't a K-Pop artist, he's a comedian as far as I know. EXO, yes. They're definitely K-Pop, but this is new territory. Still! That's okay! The more variety, the better! I just don't know how long this one is going to be, and I feel bad for that right now, but I'm not going to extend it any further than it needs to be. Interestingly, looking up the background to this song suddenly makes GoSe and LOVE Story make more sense. I love learning about the original references to things. This is why I like context and why you all get to suffer through my ramblings of context, because I enjoy being able to contextualize things. I very much am not  a follower of the "art can exist as is and independent of reader influence and author intent" schools of literary criticism.  Okay, so this song came ...

Release date: 2018 September 04 Album tracklist: ADDICT, Siren , Curve, Black Pearl, Gashina , Heroine , Secret Tape Album runtime: 20 minutes  This, dear reader, was submitted into The Form as a regular review, and I saw it when I went looking for my next GH or BBS post. Thank you very much!! I think I'll add a paragraph at the end of the review to dedicate to the fangirling as this was a submission and whoever the submitter was (thank you!!) was lovingly verbose about it, so I'll return the favor.  Wonder Girls is a second gen girl group active for ten years until they disbanded in 2017. Like several of their generational predecessors, the group had several lineup changes, including when Sunmi left the group to pursue her acting career, though she did rejoin it later and stay through the end of the group's lifespan. Heroine is the second of the singles that ultimately became pre-releases for this album, Warning, released in 2018. Also, my dude Teddy had a hand in the lyr...

  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 This was a surprise, but one I'm okay with. I guess the fans love this song so much that the company did a music video for it. That honestly bodes well for the group. You know, I can see why. The grinding synth is a really good counterpoint for their voices and the frequency with which the instrumentals drop away to properly showcase their voices is more than I would have expected, but the real highlight is the bridge. We get quiet, but then we get strong, pounding bursts that launch the song forward to the end. That bridge transforms this song, I swear. It's so amazing. Their voices are genuinely lovely, and I am here for this. I hope this one was a strong contender for the title track, because, ignoring the fact that I like the song better than either of the other two, they simply sound good singi...

Release date: 2024 November 11 Album tracklist: Goodbye Album runtime: 3 minutes  I'm very excited for the amount of singles and albums he's been putting out since September. With this one, that puts it at an album with two music videos and two singles. Which is more than some groups put out in a year I admire the work ethic and love of music, but I'm also starting to get a little worried for him. How long has he been sitting on these songs, and can he maintain the release momentum without burning out?  The combination of the percussion and the high-pitched piano-like music gives the song unexpected depth and a dreamy quality. It also reminds me of 1940s jazz. I know it isn't jazz, because it doesn't have any of the correct characteristics, but because of the effects at the beginning, the production reminds me of the age, and the popular music at the time was often jazz or jazz-adjacent. The instrumentals are pretty stripped down, consisting primarily of a, dare I s...

Release date: 2024 September 06 Album tracklist: Watch Out,  Witch , BACK OFF,  Bittersweet , Sandcastle , Hang Around Album runtime: 17 minutes  Did my favorite track from the album get a video? Yes, indeed it did, which means it qualifies for a review. Also, I apparently decided on this one as my favorite right at the moment of writing this, so yay, me? But mostly yay, roadys! In the world of xikers's discography, a mellow instrumental track is a rare thing, which makes it all the more precious. The thumping of the drums is notable during the chorus and the refrain especially, because of their prominence. Even though there is percussion in other sections, the drums here go hard and there's very little else happening in the instrumentals to take away from that sound, as well as their voices. It's a xikers song so it can't be completely mellow (at least not yet, I'm waiting for a ballad), but it's mellow enough that this is their hug song. In light of the fact t...

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  He has been a busy bee the last month or so. My goodness. First, he debuted as a soloist. Then he dropped a single , which I thought would be the extent of the business for a minute. A minute was about all he gave us before he delivered this! One of those second title track things! And now I'm starting to wonder how soon we'll get a full group something. One of the members is participating in the survival show Starlight Boys , so unless they do it without him, it won't be until after that's finished. I'm also now wondering if I should expect another single in the next couple of weeks, which, for the record, I am completely down for. Well, I don't know about you, but I'm of the opinion that Vahn is a huge fan ...

  Release date: 2024 September 30 Album tracklist: NEMONEMO , Sugar, It was love Album runtime: 9 minutes This was my random-selection-on-the-comeback-schedule for a review. Could I have chosen an October release? Yes. Did I? Obviously not, but I figure I might have other days where they're slow, and I can randomly select from October releases then. She appears to be a soloist.  This is so incredibly J-Pop sounding. I don't realize how much I actually like that style until I hear it again. Obviously stems from my years of watching anime. I didn't watch a lot of different anime, for the record, but I did rewatch a lot of anime. So this sound sends me straight back to middle and high school. Alternatively, this could come straight out of some very specific Japanese video games. We've got a very funky sound with the synths and crashing cymbals. I have yet to spell that correctly on the first try. But there's a very, very specific sequence of beeps at the beginning and ...

Release date: 2024 September 28 Album tracklist: Just Better , Just Better (Inst.) Album runtime: 6 minutes  We got two singles this month! I put off doing this review because the last time I did one, I got the Jeonghan news. I'm aware that I was subconsciously trying to avoid the risk of more bad news because I absolutely am superstitious, but I attribute at least part of that to the fact that I've been an athlete since I was five and almost every athlete I've ever known has been weirdly superstitious. Except Jack. He didn't have any weird, little rituals. But, this is A.C.E. They have incredible voices and they deserve so much more recognition than they have. So here I am. And this is an English track! Not only is this an English track, but it reminds me of Avril Lavigne, specifically of Girlfriend  and Sk8er Boi . Just Better is a less aggressive version of that. I'm also hearing strong shades of Teenage Dirtbag  and I'm Just a Kid  in the instrumentals, so i...

Release date: 2024 September 30 Album tracklist:  Rush of Joy , Play Album runtime: 6 minutes  The best part of doing this is getting to know a little bit groups that I previously knew only by name. WHIB could have, for all I know, debuted twenty years ago or at the beginning of 2024. I have no idea. I'm pretty sure they're a boy group, but I'm not positive, so this should be interesting. That runtime was also rounded up to the six minutes. Ah, boy group that seems to have debuted last year. Nice. I'm noticing a trend with a lot of the recent debuts, and this may be what sets fifth generation apart from fourth because I was very much struggling to differentiate the two, and other recent releases, that there seems to be a heavy disco influence and the guitar becoming more prevalent. I'm also hearing a lot of happy songs, but the ones who are debuting now, likely became trainees during the pandemic, or were trainees through the pandemic which is different in many ways...

Release date: 2024 September 30 Album tracklist: Revolver, Automatic , New Heights, Blossom, Xcellerate, Be Together Album runtime: 18 minutes   One of the things I like least about K-Pop is finding out how tragic the stories of some of these groups are. As much as I like other aspects, those tragedies remind me of why I decided not to stick it out as a sociology major in college.  Such is the case with VANNER, an idol group that had to work normal jobs to be able to afford to be an idol group with a CEO who also had to work a normal job to be able to afford doing anything with said idol group. And then they barely had time to be an idol group. The pandemic hit them hard. But they didn't give up. Oof. Anyway. Automatic starts off reminding me of an old radio broadcast. I know that technically that would be part of the vocals, but I'm putting it here because that wouldn't necessarily be something that would have to be performed if performed live. That could be part of a bac...

  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 pr...

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 shi...

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...