Here are 5 songs released in the last 2 weeks. Sometimes they’re new artists, sometimes they’re seasoned artists. If you see a recent release missing that you would like my feedback on, feel free to comment and it might find its way into a future post or video.
An important note: I am studying music production and often talk about the production of songs. I also mention other songs or artists that come to mind. This isn’t to compare talent, but to provide a reference point to what I’m hearing or describing. I will often critique, but please don’t confuse this with being negative. If I honestly dislike something, it won’t be featured on the site because I’m not in the business of being mean.
As always, the tracks are in chronological order by release date (of the video). So as to not look like there is a favorite. ^^
And I know this is a boy heavy list, I’ll make up for it with a girl heavy one later. I promise!
GOAT by Number_i
Japan is always doing the most with their music and this is so interesting. It’s noisy and loud. But it’s also groovy somehow. It’s like NCT 127 turned up to 11 and then make it weirder. I don’t know that I could listen to this on regular rotation but it’s such an interesting listening experience. Like the producer went ham on this production. The rewinding and record skips, the glitchy feel, the sound dropping out to just ringing. And then the video editor couldn’t be outdone by the producer and went crazy as well. It’s so bizarre and chaotic, but I love it.
(TW: Flashing lights and Flashy editing)
Burn Up by DXMON
This is a pre-debut track (they debut on 1/17 if you vibe with this track) and it feels like if ATEEZ and NCT had a baby and it took after ATEEZ more. It’s got that shouty singing and that pounding bass. I love that tinny, what I am assuming is a steel drum pack, throughout the song. It lightens the song just enough to not feel too aggressive. But the vocals hitting on the horn is incredibly satisfying to listen to. It’s such a bouncy song, that I found myself grooving to it the entire time I was writing this. I am intrigued enough to keep them on my radar and check out their actual debut. I’m curious to see where their sound goes from here.
(TW: Flashing lights and flashy editing)
MATZ by ATEEZ (Hongjoong & Seonghwa)
Speaking of ATEEZ. I know the song actually released in November, but the MV is how I heard it, so we’re covering it here. There are some super interesting things they do with this track that I want to talk about. For starters, the juxtaposition of their vocal tones is perfect. But I really want to zoom in on the beginning of this track. We start with that rhythmic droning horn. Then we move in Seonghwa kinda sing chanting in a similar droning fashion. And then the sound drops out to let Hongjoong run with it for a moment before punching back in. That is such a cool start to a song. It sets the tone in such a fresh way. Overall the layering of the highs and lows was amazingly well down. And I like the hints of early 2000’s hip-hop vibes thrown in with things like ad libs and whatnot. It was a really cool track.
need you now by BAD !DEA
This is their debut track and this so smooth and satisfying. The members are located in UK, Singapore, and South Korea. I love the hummed harmonies during the deeper rap, followed by falsetto harmonies during the melodic singing. It creates this friction that somehow glides over you at the same time. The fact that after the phone call intro with the rain effects we only a guitar until about 45 seconds in is so simple and yet so effective. You don’t need more than that to get the feeling across. The entire track just builds upon itself with this very emotional vibe. I immediately added it to my rainy day playlist. But that ending, fading out to the end of the conversation with that pained 꺼져, really ties it all back in. Their voices work so well together and I cannot wait for what else they’re planning to release because this is too good!
Oh Mymy : 7s by TWS
We’re doing the dance practice instead of the video because the video has content in the beginning, but this is also a pre-release (they debut on 1/22 if you vibe with this track). Completely different vibe than the other tracks on here, I know. My bad. But I love the strings in the beginning. It was giving Disney musical for a moment and then the beat hits and it’s such a cute and fun track. They do a lot of contact choreography and lyrically relevant moves which is characteristic of Pledis’s style. Everyone knows I love my chants, so it’s no surprise that I vibe with that part of the song. But I think one of the most interesting elements of this track is how much I like it despite the crazy amount of shifts it takes. Like I’m willing to bet that this track is utilizing elements of the other songs that will be on their debut release and that’s way it’s sonically 3-4 different songs rolled into one track. We’ll see on the 22nd, I guess!
Thank you for joining me! And I hope you leave a little lighter than when you arrived. ^^
