[REVIEW] One for the girls!!! (Part 3: EvoL)

[L>R: Jucy, J-DA, Hayana, Say & Yull] So “EVOL” or Effective Voice Of Ladies… I really anticipated these girls’ music. I’m a Block.B fan, and I like BNS’ overall style. Cho PD really knows what he’s doing (don’t quite get how Lee-U fits in there, but I wish him well! ^^). So let’s check out EvoL’s “Let Me Explode” ne?

[TRACK 1: 폭파해줘 (Let Me Explode)]

Evol’s style is so strong. It’s rare to find a female group in k-pop with rapping as strong as a rap based male group. The lyrics are about claiming originality while copying. The girls talk about how they’ll break the trends and they can’t tell the difference between the others except their “packaging”. They’ve got a lot of confidence singing and rapping about this, and they don’t disappoint. They’re the most original female group (or group in general) I’ve seen in recent k-pop. They don’t try to be cute, or have a ‘sexy concept’ they sing lyrics that matter. There IS a lot of repetition in the song, but the verses and choruses have an interesting flow. It’s a really energetic and strong song!

[TRACK 2: I’m Sorry]

Considering the rap foundation that BNS was built on, you wouldn’t expect such a mellow ballad type song. But if you observe Block.B’s music you’ll see BNS has a lot of music genres to offer, and EvoL is no exception. I like that the rappers can rap with such a deep tone. It creates a nice contrast to the vocalists’ higher tones. It gives the group a little independence! They don’t NEED a male rapper/singer to feature, they can create the perfect balance within their own group. The rapping is soft enough to flow nicely between the vocal verses, and the singing has the perfect level of emotion and beautiful background vocals. Looking at the lyrics, it’s a really emotional love song about a girl being hurt by seeing that the guy she’s interested in likes another girl. EvoL may have a strong image, but it doesn’t mean they can’t excel at sad love ballads! It’s a relaxing song with amazing guitar riffs.

[TRACK 3: Magnet]

A personal favourite! So strong and powerful! The beats of the music are heavy and the rapping matches it well! This song could have easily been dominated by their talented rappers, but the vocalists are powerful and ace the chorus/bridge. You can hear the determination and confidence oozing out if this song!!! Every group should have a song to say “Here we are! We will make it! Keep your eyes on us!” a song to show everyone what they’re all about, and REALLY showcase their talents. And when a song is as good as Magnet is… I really respect the group. The layers of vocals work so well! It’s like an underground rap battle at some parts, then others are like: listen to these vocals and just TRY and beat that then! These girls really sound amazing together. The almost choir like background vocals really bring out the intensity of the song and surprisingly merge well.

[TRACK 4: 우린 좀 달라 (We’re a bit different)] *title song*

It’s a dance/party type song. Not my favourite but still a good song. I’m not crazy about the way the chorus was done, but I like how the rappers’ styles here were like an allusion to the Block.B boys. I really like the way that they didn’t just sing something like: “…boy come and dance with me” like most groups do. Most of them turn it into some flirty/begging song to call some dude. Evol’s song is like: “Girls, it’s okay to be different. Don’t think you have to be so stuck in a certain style, just let yourself go!” They only mention ‘boy’ once just to say “we got flow, be honest boy”. Evol ARE the type of group that should be a role model to girls.

[TRACK 5: 1.2.3.4.5]

This is a really sweet song with some great harmonizing! It’s surprisingly cute and the rapping is just perfect in between. Once again the vocals are strong and emotive and they almost sound like a completely different group! They really did well with this debut, showing that they can handle a range of songs.

So… who’s loving the EVOLution of K-pop girl groups?

[REVIEW] One for the girls!!! (Part 2: Brave Girls)

So… Brave Girls? I heard they were pretty good. I was reluctant as usual because I don’t like most of the girl groups (for various reasons) but I think they’re becoming more varied these days.

[Mini Album 1: The Difference]

The intro is… interesting? It really kinda introduces the members (vaguely though ^^”).I don’t like “So Sexy”. It’s overly repetitive with not much lyrical content. But… a song I WOULD recommend is “아나요”. It’s a nice slow song, very nice vocals and soft rapping. It’s a nice easy listening song (which I love).

[Mini Album 2: Back To Da Future]

Positive music change in this release! “툭하면 (feat. Skul1)” has a mellow reggae beat throughout which goes well with the girls’ strong vocals. I don’t often hear such varied music styles in MAINSTREAM k-pop to be honest, so it’s a nice break. A personal favourite of mine: “비가 내리면”. It’s one of those really emotive songs that also have a nice dance beat. I love the composition and the lyrics it’s a great song! A nice ballad by Eun Young here “너무 아파 (feat. Maboos)”. I’m always intrigued by groups that release solos early. Sometimes it’s great to showcase their talents, and Eun Young’s voice really deserved the attention! I like how they added the acoustic of “아나요”, it gives the song a different feel!

[Mini Album 3: Re-Issue]

I think they keep improving as they go on! They completely changed their image here and show a strong image for females. Wearing suits doesn’t make them any less feminine and of course it won’t change their vocal or dance ability! The intro is pretty clever. The reference the the 1st release is saying like: “Do you remember us? We’re so different from that now!” The title song: “요즘 너” is epic!!! I was very happy to see the talented backing singers and band actually IN the video (give credit where it’s due ne? ^^) After such a powerful dance song, we need a break ne? And in comes “말 없이” (another favourite of mine). It’s a really nice song that you could relax with, but it’s such a sad song ne~ “I’ll be fine, even if it hurts.” TT^TT The remix of “요즘 너” showcases the lovely vocals in the song in an almost acapella setting (just light piano in the background).

My fave songs: “아나요” + “비가 내리면” + “말 없이”
And of course… here’s the MV for “요즘 너” enjoy!!! ^^

So… anyone feeling better about k-pop girl groups yet?

[Review] Infinite, Dalmatian & ZE:A Dance Stage!

I can never watch this too many times!!! It aired about a year ago, but I was watching some dance stages and wanted to share my thoughts on this one! ♥

I love this video for 4 reasons:

1. Infinite’s slick R&B style
2. Dalmatian’s powerful Hip-Hop style
3. ZE:A’s cool K-pop style
4. K-POP COLLABORATION!!!

Infinite ace the synchronisation! They have been highly praised for their dance skills since debut, and well deserved too!!! Infinite’s “H-couple” (I SERIOUSLY CAN’T GET OVER THAT NAME!!!!! XDDD) are totally stylish, confident and precision dancers! Hoya and Dongwoo really led the performance!!

Dalmatian in pink. Pink… yes, pink! Why not dalmatian spots? XD But to be honest, not many people can wear a full pastely pink outfit and look so powerful and hardcore when dancing!!! I’m not an expert in dance styles or terminology… but Dalmatian’s style seems way more freestyle(?) O.o I can’t think of the word. But I loved it! We never {really} get to see much dance from Dalmatian, but WOW!!! They were so dynamic! O.O

*sigh* I’m mildly disappointed that ZE:A danced to their OWN song. I mean… it kinda makes it less challenging for them. But in my opinion, I just don’t see them {collectively} on the same dance level as Dalmatian & Infinite anyway~ so I’ll glide past it. *shrugs* I didn’t understand the point of the eye-masks either! The silver masks were cool though! ^^ (I’m sure most people will think of the Jabbawockeez at this point ne?) I’ve gotta say… I found it interesting with the EXTREMELY formal suits and everything. Their moves seemed a little staggered, but the ending looked PERFECT!!!

The group dance at the end pretty much made it for me! The way Kevin owned the stage (and the camera XDDD) and Hoya’s freestyle looked like some serious krumping! And come on!!! There’s what… 22 of ‘em in total? Yeah, 22 pretty much in synchronisation? That’s some nice choreo and good practice ne?

Yeah. So now you’ve heard me rant, check out the vid! ^^

So, what did you think?

「MV」 Sweet Revenge: Rule Breaker

Oh oh, oh oh, oh~ I am the breaker! O,<
Oh oh, oh oh, oh~ do-doing what I want!!!

Yah!!! Everybody step aside~ talent coming through ne!!! These girls are epic! Check out their previous stuff too!!! *so talented* Who needs to do typical girl group dances when you have instruments? Not them! Sweet Revenge are so totally stylish too! *I should just shut up and let you guys listen to the song ne?* XDDD Btw… I’m loving their group name!

So… what did you think?

A music catch-up and わたしの　リバウンド　「My Rebound」

こんいちわ～！！！ Hi everyone! I’ve really been M.I.A on here for a while ne? *oh well* I didn’t review a lot of things I wanted to but here’s my “Summery summary” *aish with the puns* >.<”

MBLAQ’s “Mona Lisa”: 5.7/6
Infinite’s “Over The Top”: Not over the top to me! 8.9/10
Chi Chi - Longer: Song = 90% / Dance = 50% / MV = 75% / Remixes: 70%
AS “red” - In the night sky: 75% / Hollywood: 60%
Teen Top’s “Roman”: 4.75/5 *surprisingly good*
ZE:A “special single” - Intro: 100%  omo~♥ / Watch Out!!: 100% Summer Fun!! / Why: 95% / Heart for Two: 85%
Super Junior’s “Mr. Simple”: 9/12 [not so into 3 or 4 of the songs this time but +1 for Tae Wan Mi, +1 for Mr.Simple MV intro song and +1 for SUPER MAN (finally we get the full version after how long? Wasn’t it revealed at Gayodaejun? XP)]

These are all opinions based on how much I enjoyed the songs, how often I’d be likely to repeat them and overall content/quality. And now here’s my special recommendations!

MBLAQ

• Moreugesseoyo - MBLAQ obviously worked really hard on this mini album!!! I loved it almost more than their album! XDDD The musical concept of this mini album is really strong! I actually liked every other song on the album better than Mona Lisa, but I picked this song out because of Mir’s little comedy feature! XD

Infinite

• Julia - Inspirits called Julia MUST be happy right now ne? XD *lucky* This song is really amazing! I loved all of their previous songs but this one… so beautiful ne? ♥
• Because - I thought I’d love “Crying” most out of the ‘solos’ since my mind screamed: “Hoya naekkeo haja!!!” when I first heard it! XD It’s very reminiscent of Epik High’s Umbrella (I think it may even have a sample from that song O.o) BUT… it was Sunggyu’s solo that really captured my attention! I never expected a song like this… it was just *wow* I appreciate his voice in the group even more now! I love this song, one of my fave Infinite songs! I even had it on replay in the car! XD

Teen Top

• Beautiful Girl - I *unexpectedly* really loved Teen Top’s mini album!!! Each song was like a scenario and a view on ‘love’. Beautiful girl is such a fun song and watching them perform it, they looked like they were having fun too!!! ^^ I wasn’t much of an “Andromeda”(O.o?) before but this mini album may have made me a proper fan!

ZE:A

• Why - This song is just too fun! X] This time round ZE:A captured the fun of friendship, cute summer crushes and lots of summer fun memories!!!!! ^^

Super Junior

• Haebaragi - This song reminds me of growing sunflowers as a child back when they were my favourite flower ♥ And it also reminds me of summers / sunny days and watching Wei Xiao PASTA!!! *good times* keke~* ^^
• Opera - Don’t ask! I love it!!! There’s something really compelling about the music and the way it has been sung! Ah~ the drops and rises in the flow of the music and the chaotic overlapping melodies!!! It’s just so intriguing!!! ^^ 
• Y - Written by Donghae from real life experiences apparently! I loved it before I even knew that~ it just seemed really deep and emotional ne!!! Sou touching~♥

Okay so last music mentions go to:

• Koda Kumi since I’ve started listening to more of her stuff and *YAY Kumi!* Of course she’s awesome!!! ^^
• Yanghwajin band labelmates of F.cuz. They’re a great band!!! I’m anticipating a formal debut and hope many people support them! ^^ They’ve got an OST song already and have done some awesome rock-esque covers of some really popular K-pop songs! *hell… they even made me listen to their version of Miss A’s Bad Girl Good Girl!!!* XDDD
• And finally to all 4 members of F.CUZ I want to wish you luck in the future! I’ll support both Lee-U and F.cuz and wish them all the best for their final fan meeting tomorrow as four! 8’<

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Sou to bring this to a lighter note! I’ve “rebounded” back in the drama scene and watching another Mokomichi Hayami drama (I admit… I’m a Moko-fangirl *sighs*) This drama has CAKE so it’s a MUST for me!!! *I heart caeki* Anyone who’s ever felt… unhappy about their weight should probably watch this! I’m on EP4 and my fave lines so far are: absolutely ANYTHING in “Muumin” keke~ and “Body weight has nothing to do with the weight of love”. Yes Aibu Saki takes the lead role here and for you Zettai Kareshi fans it’s like a little like a walk down memory lane! ^^

Sooo…. ^^ anyone else seen “Rebound”?