There was no wrap up last week because Muse got stuck on KARD and forgot to check out other music. Oops!
What did I listen to last week to make up for it? Mostly much smaller artists, but they all left a big impression with me!
Replay – Tonliz featuring Youngcode
I will be reviewing this whole album because I love the songs I’ve listened to so far. Pop Punk is one of my favorite genres and this is giving me all the angst and drum beats I could want. He reminds me a bit of The Ready Set or even Vernon’s Black Eye (tw for flashing images). But his voice has this scratchy quality to it that is way more pleasant than I would expect it to be. I’m very interested in seeing where he goes from here. But I’ll get more into that in my album review. For now, just know that this song is an interesting track worthy of a spot on my playlist.
Butterfly – Route 1
First, I need everyone that reads this to go follow Route 1 on Instagram. SUZO’s voice is beautiful and emotive and LastMile knows how to work it into the production so well. The two of them together are magical. I’ve listened to this song at 15 times this week because I love everything about it. It feels like such a beautiful bridge between Korean and Western Pop. It feels like something that would have charted had it been with a big company. And the Indie feel it has just adds to the charm of song. Like the charm that older Billie Eilish songs, such as Ocean Eyes, had to them. I can’t even give a good review of this because I love it too much.
Whisper – Han
This track is the other side of the Indie vibe. the opening so strings heavy and that matches his melancholy so well. But then the drums and electric guitar just punch a hole in the song and you feel it, right in the gut. The production of this song is almost my favorite part. Han has a lovely and emotion filled voice. But the instrumental is so rich and layered. It changes so many times and still feels perfectly aligned with the song. Absolutely love it.
Come 2 Me – 0WAVE
The only group in this post today and they’re so smooth. This track makes me want to move. It’s the slow sad hip-hop that I love. Like I immediately was reminded of Problems by Sleepyhead and I’d Leave Me if I Could by Gill Chang & kodiak, in the best way possible of course. It’s mood music. Music you can blend hip-hop and contemporary dance styles with. It’s the kind of music that has soul and vibes. But it’s also hard for me to describe or explain because it’s just a feeling. The way they drop the background music out to let you hear the vocals glitch and the erratic nature of some of the instrumentation during the vocals, just for the rapping to have the background fall out and then be bass with that panning. 10/10 already on a playlist.
Love is Like a Wave – Yoon Seobin
The groovy guitar at the start sets the tone of this track and I am here for it. How can you listen to this and not dance? And it’s a good example of not needing to have a huge range or do vocal gymnastics to sound great on a song. I do think that towards the end, I would have personally preferred that the guitar and snare been lowered a bit in volume. They were basically the same volume as Yoon Seobin and I would have liked him to stand out instead of blend in. But aside from that, it’s a perfect summer groove song. Going on my playlist right now!
댕댕 – Mamamoo+
This song is so fun! But it is driving me crazy that I cannot place what the melody is reminding me off. Like it feels familiar in such a warm way. If that makes sense. That aside, it’s such an infectiously happy song. It feels like falling in love. The playful and bubbly upbeat vibe with the soft vocals and repetition. The production brings that playfulness out with the 8-bit sounds at the beginning and super erratic and bouncy hi-hat and snare beat. Definitely going on the playlist. But as a final note, I love that they each have their own style and vibe in the music video on top of it all.
Thank you for joining me! I hope you enjoyed these tracks as much as I did.
