Finals kicked my butt and then I started thinking of some end of the year posts to do and forgot to get this up last week. But this week has some cool things coming up so keep your eyes open!
The usual housekeeping…
To keep these posts from being too long, there are 10 artists or less every week. If you see a recent comeback missing that you would like my feedback on, feel free to comment and I’ll try to get it in next week’s post.
Also 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 or hating on anyone. If I honestly dislike something, it won’t be featured on the site because I’m not in the business of being mean.
Boys Beware by mad tsai
This is such a fun pop song. Starting with just vocals that lead into a choir style ripple before any music enters is such a nice start. The vocals build tension, and the electric guitars ramp up at just the right moment to feel incredibly satisfying. You could easily add this song to a million playlists because it’s so quintessentially sassy pop that you just want to blast it and sing along. I added it to my Femme Fatale playlist because it just needs to be there.
Please Stop It by Yuri Park & DMITRYSFACE
This song gives Nick Cave meets NIN vibes in terms of sound. The music consists of mostly of that slick electric guitar, drums, and that deep bass. But you add the heavy gravel vocals mixing with the lyrics and this is the most sex-dripping rock song I have heard in a long time. Forget about Emo Rock, these two are reminding everyone that rockstars are also sex icons for a reason. The lyrics are not beating around the bush at all, so if that’s not your thing, skip to the next song. But they are so smooth with it, that it’s impressive nonetheless. I’m honestly surprised that the streams on this track are so low.
(TW: Flashing lights)
Delulu by Lexie Liu
The production on this is so chaotic and noisy, but it works with the frantic energy she’s trying to convey in the lyrics. Lexie sings in English and Mandarin and the way she weaves between the two, you almost don’t even realize she switched languages. But the way this song is so loud but so catchy, it’s almost addictive in the way it hits this pitch and stays there before dropping out at the perfect moment to keep the listener from feeling like it’s too much, before ramping back up again. You feel like you’re as antsy and frantic as she is waiting for the clueless boy to reply. So well done.
(TW: Flashy/quick editing)
미쳐버리겠다 (MAD) by BE’O
I love the way this song starts with that piano chord and his vocals. The song as a whole feels like Love Like Woe by The Ready Set meets K-Hip-Hop. It’s such a bouncy song, how do you stay still when this playing? The keys are so bouncy and light behind the rock band vibe and his scratchy vocals. I want to see this performed at a festival with the crowd jumping. The Korean title is more like “I’m going crazy” or “it’s driving me crazy” and it’s kinda funny because even the lyrics are in line with Love Like Woe which just helps it feel like a fun and bouncy song to blast at a party.
Wait by Dino
It’s cool how the music is largely percussion and ad libs with the main addition being that bloopy synth. I think it’s a synth anyway. I can’t tell if there are strings towards the end or if that’s effects. Maybe I’ll get better headphones for Christmas and can hear the details better. But in the meantime, the song almost feels like a Jazz Pop fusion with that particular piano and his melodies. The slightly breathy vocals with the harmonies and ad lips pushing them forward make for such a charming listening experience. And the bass drum adds this punchy quality to it and it’s just so easy to listen to on repeat. Everything weaves together into this classy package of a song.
(TW: Flashing lights)
Rebel by Kang Daniel
As someone with Pop Punk lyrics tattooed on my arm, this is such a vibe. It’s like listening to All Time Low in Japanese. Such a typical pop punk progression. But the call back and forth with himself was done really well. I have been enjoying listening to Kang Daniel skew a bit more pop punk with each release and the genre suits his voice very well. I think this vibe fits his vocals more than his more pop oriented tracks. You can have a lovely voice, but the right genre will really make it shine. And I think that’s what is happening here for me with Kang Daniel.
(TW: Flashy/Quick Editing)
COBAIN by Aleebi
I think the best part of this song is how smooth it is, but then there are the occasional lyrics like “Feel the desperation pull me through the void, Weighing on me like the Force.” You have to love a good Star Wars reference in a track that sounds like a depressed drug trip. The layered vocals and the echoed adlibs make this song feel so much larger than life than it would have felt without them. The beats themselves sound relatively simple, with the effects and the vocals pulling the attention. It works so well and makes the song feel like a big budget song. Super impressed by this track honestly.
God’s Game by Dove Cameron
Dove Cameron lives on my Femme Fatale playlist. Her voice tends to feel expensive, but this track feels extravagant. Perhaps it’s the richness and depth of her voice mixed with the echo that does it. But the track feels so expansive and full. It would be a cool track on a video game OST or high budget movie. But these lyrics are so sharp. “Are you only trying to hurt me, babe, so you can be my saving grace?” and “I try to fight to get you out of my brain, but like a blood stain, you remain.” Are such beautifully painful depictions, but delivered in her smooth and smokey vocals, it’s so clean.
Como Yo by Non Smokers Club
Como Yo is part of a double single release with Bonita. Both tracks are such a satisfying fusion of Latin Pop and KRnB, but the beat and the repetition in Como Yo makes it my favorite of the two. It is impossible to listen to Non-Smokers Club and sit still. They fuse so many sounds and vibes together to get this seamlessly smooth sound that makes you want to play it on repeat all night. Como Yo feels like a Latin track until you realize there is Korean, English, and Spanish together, plus a Saxophone playing around in the back. I wanna throw a party just to have an excuse to play this song and get the whole room moving.
Kiss of Death by Jhameel
I’ve been Listening Jhameel for over 10 years. I was stoked to see he’s still making music. Kiss of Death feels a bit like a return to his older style but at a matured level. I appreciate the way you can feel this is a one man show, without it feeling amateur. His vocals are always impressive and I love the way he plays with layering them on this track. As someone who’s been in the music scene for as long as he has, he needs his moment. If you’ve never heard of him, check out Feisty, White Lies, and Knock it Down for some older tracks that should have gotten more attention than they did.
Thank you for joining me! And I hope you leave a little lighter than when you arrived.
