Music Monday: Supporting Women's Rights and Wrongs

Happy spooky month! While I’m not doing any sort of dedicated horror related thing for this month like I have (and tried) in the past, I am focusing on getting back to creating posts more regularly. I’ve missed posting!

For the first Monday of October I thought it would be fitting to share some themed music that you can have on rotation during the month. I have a Halloween mix that is my normal go to, but I really wanted to create one that is all female.

Note: The list is varied and features level of scare/gore from mild gothic to heavy blood. Please be aware of that before watching the music videos!

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YouTube Playlist:

Spotify Playlist:

Tracklist:

+Red Velvet - Peek-A-Boo
+Dreamcatcher - Fly High
+Lee Jung Hyun - V
+Billlie - RING RING
+JeA - Dear Rude
+9MUSES - Remember
+NATURE - Girls
+DreamNote - GHOST
+LADIES CODE - Hate You
+SUNMI - You can’t sit with us
+SunnyHill - Midnight Circus
+Pink Fantasy - Poison
+DaHye - Bad Blood
+2NE1 - IT HURTS
+PIXY - Wings
+Minhye J - Knock Knock
+PURPLE KISS - Sweet Juice
+CLC - Devil
+Puer Kim -Manyo Maash
+BIBI - Animal Farm
+GFRIEND - Apple
+IU - Lost Child
+CRAXY - Poison Rose
+EXID - Every Night
+Seori - Trigger

Happy listening :)

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Music Highlights: 4.22.2024

At work I was thinking about how sad I was that I haven’t done these music posts in a while. And even when I tried it was only one and then I just left. I really liked doing them, but to be fair I was doing them when I was layed off and had more time to just mindlessly listen to a bunch of music. But I want to change that so maybe we can find a way to do these and work lol. Below is mostly stuff that has released fairly recently, but I will throw in some older things that I want to touch on.

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+The Poles - Stargazing

A long-time fave The Poles came out with their EP Anomalies in the oddity space. The whole album is good, but I particularly loved Stargazing.

+ Solji - Western Sky

My girl. My fave. My ult bias. One of the best singers in kpop Solji came out with a new single Western Sky. During the MBC duet festival Solji sang this with Du Jinsu and now has a studio version.

+Band Maid - Bestie

Band Maid can do no wrong in my eyes.

+eaJ - Mad

eaJ has a lot of music coming out soon (like Friendly Fire!!) and we have to wait for it, but Mad has been on repeat for the past month getting me through it.

+Seungmin - Phobia (I'm the Queen in This Life OST)

This is such a great rock ballad for Seungmin. I’d love to hear more of this from him.

+Gyuna - Lava (Hide OST)

I found this on a random TikTok (she’s the sister of one of the New Jeans girls), and instantly fell in love. I’m not watching the drama but it’s now making me want to.

+VINCIT - KO

VINCIT releases such little music that it makes things a torturous wait. The wait is over with KO

+ONEWE - Beautiful Ashes

ONEWE is finally back full-member from the military and are really aiming to take away DAY6’s hold on me. It’s a good try. A great try even. Beautiful Ashes is the title which I love, but I think my favorite on the album is Shoot It Out. Still deciding.

+Chansung - Into the Fire

Chansung has a jdrama out, a kdrama out, and he released Into the Fire single with AK-69 and Changmin. All for me.

+Jun. K - Command C+Me

And Jun. K decided he would also join by releasing the Korean version of Command C+Me

+Jun Doohee - Sway

Jun Doohee’s Bad Flower is one of my top songs of 2020, and he quickly became a new favorite. His new single is Sway and everyone should be listening to it.

+Rolling Quartz - Stand Up

Rolling Quartz also came out with new music with Stand Up.

+DAY6 - Welcome to the Show

I’m in a weird conflicted place where I absolutely loved the DAY6 comeback but am also devastated that I don’t get to hear Jae’s voice with them. This is what I get for making them the only thing that got me through my deep depressive spot during COVID. I will get through it - hopefully, but now I’m just…kinda sad and happy to see them around at the same time. Grief and emotions are weird. Sad Ending was my favorite from the album, but the title is also great.

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Album Review: Dreamcatcher's Apocalypse: Save Us

Now that I’ve had several days to process this release, I’m finally ready to talk about Dreamcatcher’s second full album: Apocalypse: Save Us. This comeback’s theme is focused on the Earth dying and trying to save it, but the general theme of the album is a bit more relaxed. We get the usual array of Dreamcatcher b-sides, but a new and welcome switch-up is solos from every member. Not only are there solos, but each member worked on them in some capacity in the writing and producing and it overall gave a different vibe to the album as it’s less about being cohesive and more about showcasing their personal musical tastes. Overall, I really enjoyed it. I had some reservations with the main title when I first heard the preview, but it was resolved once it finally came out, and loved that we got to see such variety within the solos in music tastes. Dreamcatcher is also starting to trend towards a city pop sound in a lot of their songs, and I welcome it with open arms. All-in-all the album is fantastic and I really enjoyed it.

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01. Intro: Save Us

Dreamcatcher’s musical intros and outros always work so great with the overall theme of the album and give a fun introduction to the album itself. This one is no different with just enough creepiness to remind us that we are still listening to a Dreamcatcher album, even if a bit lighter and away from their horror elements. Little things, like adding the abrupt changing of the sound of the cassette changing, is fun and gives it a great theatrical vibe. I know not everyone loves them, and they are largely skipped, but I like to make time for them.

02. Locked Inside a Door

I feel like ‘Locked Inside a Door’ is the counterpart to the last album’s ‘Black Or White’. It’s fun with a great staccato beat which adds a bit to the overall feel of the song. Out of all the types of music they play within their b-sides, this is what fits all of their voices equally and really focuses on what they are capable of vocally. It’s a hard task to do with music, especially with a group that has clear vocal ranges, and this song lands exactly where they are all comfortable. This song allows for someone like Siyeon to be able to bring background variants with her vocal runs while others that aren’t used as much in vocal lines, like Handong’s bridge that moves into SuA’s part, bring a good union of their voices. Dreamcatcher also tends to be a good theatrical group, and it really shines when there’s a song they all can interpret vocally and have fun and get into.

03. Maison (Main Title)

My first thoughts still apply, even after the many (many) replays of this song: I had a lot of fun with it. I was worried after hearing the previews, but that quickly diminished when I pushed play. The constant rock line that stays throughout most of the song from the first note, JiU and Siyeon’s second bridge backed by a messy/crunchy piano line all combine to create this cyber-punk-without-punk vibe. It’s got video game qualities and fits the theme even without the lyrics.

Dami is a fantastic rapper, her vocal quality works so well with what she’s been able to do and while other comebacks have had some great rap sections (‘Boca’, I’m looking at you), I’ve always felt that her sections tend to get prematurely cut and feel a little awkward as a result. Not here, as this was the best rap part we’ve gotten on the main title from her. The switch to focusing Gahyeon on the higher “La Maison” part was a good direction. While I do think she still is working on her higher register and head voice (you can hear this more in the live versions of the song, as she struggles a bit), she has a way of making it haunting and not overpowering during the recording and gives a nice tone change and overall different vibe to that section that would be a bit lost without it. Combine all that with an earworm of a chorus that I’m constantly playing in my head, what’s really not to love?

04. Starlight

I really love DC’s turn into 80’s synth/city-pop. We saw this in the last mini-album Summer Holiday, and I welcome the continuation into DC’s city-pop/retro era. Out of all the groups that have been trying to get into city-pop I think DC is the underdog that is poised to take that spot. The genre fits all of their various vocal timbres extremely well in ways that you don’t expect and is a great contrast to their heavy rock-based main titles. A lot of the girls already have a higher whistle tone that is perfect for this type of music, but Dami’s parts in this song are exceptional, with her deeper contrasting richness that just melts with everything and then Handong follows matching her tone to create the perfect section. I love songs that make me feel like a specific time or place, and this song makes me feel like I’m on my roller skates just freely circling the rink without a care in the world, and even at the end the song just disappears into the air, the equivalent of a perfect fade to black. Out of all the group b-sides on this album, ‘Starlight’ takes it for me. Every time I listen to it I love it more.

05. Together

‘Together’ is a really great follow-up to ‘Starlight’. It doesn’t lean as heavily into the retro-pop as much as it - a more airy cousin - but still carries it and they both work together as a duo. I do find that where it’s lacking is that it’s a bit too repetitive and am not attached to the chorus, finding it ‘meh’ comparatively. But my absolute favorite part is Siyeon’s during the bridge. She toes the line of going into her chest voice out of the light and airy head voice but never does. I can’t begin to describe how amazing that control is. I could just repeat those 10ish seconds multiple times and not get sick of it.

06. Always

There always has to be one ballad on a DC album. I don’t have much pull to this one. It’s simple, sweet, and fine, but it doesn’t grab me like their other ballads. While I don’t think Dreamcatcher does ballads poorly in terms of technique, I do find them a bit boring on a whole (and I’m a ballad person). Maybe it’s because I find that their more theatrical or raw/upbeat emotional songs pull me in more or they all kind of stay in the same space and begin to be a bit too repetitive? Overall it’s not my favorite in terms of the overall album, but not bad in any real respect.

07. Skit: The Seven Doors

I’m a theatre person. I like the split of “acts” as we transition out of the group songs into the solo songs. It’s a fun blend of the first several songs and a hint at what we’re about to get with the solos.

08. Cherry (JiU’s Solo)

JiU’s voice is just perfection with city-pop, and am so glad that she picked this route in her solo. Her soprano voice and the way she lives in that head voice perfectly go with the wistfulness of the genre and the way she’s able to throw the notes out at the end of phrases just adds such a great addition to the background beat and adds a fun layer. ‘Cherry’ is the perfect summer song with an incredibly addictive upbeat chorus and verses that make you want to just bop your head. We got a taste of city pop JiU in ‘Starlight’ and this is the explosion of it.

09. No Dot (SuA’s Solo)

Out of all the songs, this is the one during the preview that I picked up on the most. It’s the darkest and grittiest of the solos, but perfectly SuA. It’s sexy with a great beat. I love that we get more of her rapping - which was her position in the beginning and has since been pulled out - a nice thing to hear again. SuA has a good adaptable voice and this song is a good reflection of that as she kind of plays around with a lot of musical elements, from the grungy rock to pop to a slew of other genres and it creates a messy but balanced song.

10. Entrancing (Siyeon’s Solo)

Did Siyeon give me a Final Fantasy song? Did she? I can’t get over it. It’s light and mystical and fantastical and I’m in love. Dare I say this is my favorite song off of the album? A beautiful sweeping feel combined with her higher head voice and you have the perfect combination. I feel like I need to say more if I’m declaring this as my favorite song off of the album, but I don’t know how to describe my love of it. This is a song you’d hear coming from Yoko Kanno. I don’t know what I was expecting from her, but it wasn’t this and I’m so glad to be surprised.

11. Winter (Handong’s Solo)

Handong has one of my favorite voices in the group and I was really excited for this song just so I can have a full song of her singing. Sadly, the song didn’t grab me like I thought it would. Handong’s voice is great in it, and it’s light and sweet, it’s just a bit lacking. While the song on a whole misses me a bit in its grasp, the last sections are where she truly shines in the song as she starts to wrap it up. When she transitions out of singing in Korean to Chinese - in a capella - it makes the song and is such a beautiful touch and blending of who she is.

12. For (Yoohyeon’s Solo)

I wasn’t expecting this song from Yoohyeon, I was expecting her to go a bit more pop-centered (a la Taylor Swift) knowing her love of the genre, and I kind of love that she went this direction. What other kpop album out right now has a song like this? It’s light, playful, and fun with great 50’s swing and a touch of musical theatre. I love when Yoohyeon swings up into the higher notes. It’s so pretty and light and wonderful.

13. Beauty Full (Dami’s Solo)

Who would have thought Dami would hit us with the 2000s pop-punk hit? The song is just fun. It makes you want to just jump around and dance. I just love it. I love how upbeat it is, I love that out of all the girls Dami was the one to stick closer to a rock sound but did something completely different than DC on a whole would do. I love that it’s something completely unpredictable.

14. Playground (Gahyeon’s Solo)

I was waiting for someone in the group to go the IU route and should have known that Gahyeon would rise up to the challenge. In contrast, this song is youthful and fun on the other end of the spectrum than Dami’s. Fitting for the maknae to have a song that not only is titled ‘Playground’ but feels like one. The song, more than anything else, fits her voice and we get a tone that she doesn’t normally get to play with during other DC tracks, at least not one that stands out. Gahyeon’s voice has gotten better over the years and this solo is a testament to that. Is it one of my favorite songs off the album? No, but that’s ok. You can hear how much fun she’s having with it and it adds to the song.

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Music Highlights 8.23.21

This post is filled with returning favorites, including a lot of my favorite 2nd gen women. Music has been good.

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

-We Are the Night came out with a new single, ‘Summer Fiction’.

-Fei has a very special place in my heart. She’s my bias in Miss A, one of the first girl groups I really fell hard for. It’s been a while since she’s released music and I’m very glad she has. My only complaint for ‘Stalker’ is that the background beats are too loud. I haven’t been able to get ahold of the song outside of YouTube, though, so there is a chance it’s not that present in the recording. Despite that, I really love the song and the MV.

-Hyolyn and Dasom did what they do best, and put out a great summer bop. Watching them do the dance on TikTok with the other members has been fun.

I really don’t need to add TXT to my too long music list, but as this is now the second release I’ve liked I might be losing that battle.

-I really liked Jenyer’s last release and was excited to hear more. And then she announced she was going to be featuring her former 4Minute member, Gayoon, on the single. I don’t know what happened in the universe that made it so we got Miss A, SISTAR, and 4Minute former member comebacks all in a span of two weeks, but I’m not complaining.

-I think this might be my favorite Lucy title track.

-I really like the lead singer’s voice, and I think it lends really well to the water/summer feeling of the songs, almost like waves. Adding the group to my every growing list to look more into.

-You really can’t go wrong with Standing Egg.

-Another group who can do no wrong for me, Yorushika. I think at this point if you haven’t listened to them yet just means we can’t be friends.

-Seori and eaJ (Jae from DAY6) came out with another collab. It’s the perfect song to throw on during a drive..

-Summer isn’t really my favorite season, but I still can’t seem to stop myself from adding all the summer songs.

Upcoming ▹▹▹

CL single, ‘Spicy’ (24th)
Ben&Ben album, Pebble House Vol 1 (29th)
The Black Skirts Japanese album, Team Baby (29th)
NELL album, Moments In Between (2nd)

Artist Spotlight ▹▹▹
Since the indie rock singer The Black Skirts will be releasing his first full Japanese album the end of this week, it seems fitting to focus a bit of attention on him. I’ve posted about him before, and I know the relatively he’s a bit more popular than a lot of the other indie artists I focus on, but if you haven’t listened to his work, specifically the 2017 Team Baby, you are really missing out on some solid music. The title track, ‘Everything’ was one of the first indie songs I listened to and still one of my favorites.

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Album Review: Dreamcatcher's Summer Holiday

For as much as I love Dreamcatcher, you would have thought that at this point I would have written an album review and yet this is the first one. Dreamcatcher knows and loves me, apparently, as they’ve put out a music video that just works for my Korean Summer Horror.

I’m a sucker for anything theatrical, and it’s one of the driving forces on why I love Dreamcatcher so much. They stick to a theme and do it well, and I think their collaboration with LEEZ and Ollounder pays off because they seem to like to work on these more theatrical pieces (you hear this in some of their other works with other artists such as ATEEZ), and they get to play around a lot with the musical styles because Dreamcatcher can pull off different styles. They are just inherently doing a different thing than most of kpop, and it allows a lot of creative freedom. Summer Holiday while a stand-alone album, incorporates a lot of Dreamcatcher’s earlier songs and sounds, with a lot of the nods seen especially in the title track. Each of the b-side tracks have their own summer flare to them, and while they work really well as singular songs they make up a really great full roundup of summer feelings, almost like the emotions you go through having a summer fling.

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01. Intro

I love that the ‘Intro’ sounds like it’s at an abandoned theme park, or a boardwalk with the wind/water sounds in the background. The emptiness of hearing the echoing of the single pair of footsteps ties in nicely with the creepiness of the title and is a great way to introduce ‘BEcause’. If I were to make a story based on this alone, it’s the opening of a store on the boardwalk. The bell ringing sounds like a door opening, the empty steps around the store with no customers; opening it up for the summer season.

02. BEcause (title)

I don’t want to go too deep into the music video and keep this centered on the song, but I will say that this is currently my favorite music video they’ve put out. It’s objectively their best, with probably the most budget put behind it. But besides that, part of what I like about the music video is how well it pairs with the song. While I do think a lot of their other releases work well, this one is the closest to what is going on with the song specifically with music elements and I think that it really creates a great musical experience. They use a lot of their doppelganger personas in the music video (which is a reoccurring theme from other music videos, despite this album being a one-off and not necessarily part of any of the arcs), but I think it plays into the doll-like actions they have and kind of mimics the playfulness of a carnival/vaudeville song.

Dami’s rap works really well with its mechanical run-down distortion and crunchy noise that help play into that fake doll/doppelganger concept and the added background sound clips are great with the song’s obsessive love lyrics. The chorus isn’t as strong as we normally see in their songs, but I really liked that it’s more reserved. It leans into that melodic carnival/music toy music and their voices kind of match. When I first saw their teasers I thought that maybe this comeback would be about sirens, and in a way the song does with its haunting and luring melody. SuA having a lot of the heavier rock belting is a nice change, I’ve always thought her voice was great in that range and allowed ‘BEcause’ to be different than some of the other songs that use Siyeon’s vocals in those areas and allowed Siyeon to get the softer melodies.

03. Airplane

While ‘Airplane’ might not be my favorite off the album, it has been growing on me the more I replay it. It’s a lot brighter and happier and really strays away from the carnival/creepy to a happier summer holiday. It’s got some 80’s synth underlying, but it’s really is closer to some older kpop groups. Dreamcatcher is a fan of groups like Girls Generation, and it reminds me of something that is a nod to older girl group songs. Would this be on a teen rom-com soundtrack? Absolutely. It’s a lot of fun and poppy and translates to the feelings of a young romance where everything seems to give you butterflies and are willing to go anywhere, as long as you are with the person.

04. Whistle

‘Whistle’ really is the perfect song to put on a summer road trip playlist. Dami’s part in this is one of my favorites, I love when they use her for vocal lines as her voice has grown a lot not just in her rapping. I really don’t know what to say about this one, it’s just…good. Like really good. I would say this has a place in the top favorite b-sides. I like how they play up the whistle part in the background, to the point that it is its own vocal line. Will you get what I mean when I say that this sounds like a sunset? I don’t know how to describe what I mean by that, but it’s got that freeing feeling of the day finally being over. Out of all the songs, this is the closest to the vibe of a summer festival.

05. Alldaylong

Did I expect a city pop song from Dreamcatcher? No. Have I always secretly wanted one? Yes. And to top it off it’s one where JiU worked on. The one thing that Dreamcatcher is really good at is their vocals, and this song showcases that. It strays away from the power pop they tend to go with in their title tracks and allows them to use a really light breathy voice. JiU, Yoohyeon, and Handong especially shine in this range. Is saying their breathy vocal qualities remind me of a windy night on the beach a stretch and looking too hard into things? Maybe. But I kind of think that was its intent.

06. A Heart of Sunflower

This is by far my favorite ballad that Dreamcatcher has ever done. To really experience how beautiful this song is, throw in a pair of headphones and close your eyes. The soft guitar line in the background. The vocals. They don’t do ballads a lot, but I love when they do. The build-up is nice on this one, starts off very low and light and rises and backs off when it needs to. The emotions are raw and the girls pull off a great rock ballad.

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I feel like I’ve said this before, but Dreamcatcher has some of the best b-sides and while I think that Dreamcatcher is starting to get out of that underrated spot for their main title songs, they are definitely underrated in how solid of a b-side lineup they have. They always play around with their sound, and can adapt well within the different genres. If you aren’t listening to their b-sides you are missing out on a lot. Summer Holiday did what all the other Dreamcatcher albums have done, and delivered solidly great varied songs.

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Music Highlights 7.12.21

I was a little bit busier than normal last week because of the KPSN Podcast Festival, and with 2PM and Even of Day’s comebacks I’ve not had as much time to keep up with new music so this week is going to be a little less diverse with newer groups since I pretty much zeroed in on prioritizing faves.

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

-Let’s get the main ones out of the way, starting off with 2PM’s ‘Make It’. I, of course, loved every second.

-Do I wish it was full group? Yes. But Even of Day has just the slightest difference in sound that I am really into. If I find the time, I might be able to do an album review soon.

-THE ORAL CIGARETTES came out with a new song that is being used in an anime. I hadn’t been keeping up with any Japanese music news, so it was a pleasant surprise.

-Have I heard of LUAMEL before I listened to this? I don’t think so, but they’ve been added to my ever-growing list of groups I need to listen to their discography. Hasn’t happened yet, but it will.

-I loved Boyz II Men. LOVED them. They are currently promoting in Korea and we’re getting collabs with artists and I just want to tell 12 year old Jessie that this is happening.

-Say hello to my favorite TWICE song.

-Again, surprise music. And surprise SEKAI NO OWARI is the best kind of surprise…

-…which was then followed up by surprise NELL! It’s like the universe was like “Hey, Jessie. Heard you are preoccupied by 2PM and DAY6. Let me do this to you”.

-I liked Royal Pirates, but I was never into them when they were truly a group, so I didn’t focus on them a lot because I knew that I wasn’t going to get new music. And then, they followed on the surprise train and reformed as LIVIN.

-I know that I talked about ONEWE last post, but the put out a mv with my favorite song off of the album, and I have to share.

-Not a surprise, cause I saw them promote this for a while before it came out, but new TRICOT is always welcomed in this house.

OST ▹▹▹

-I feel like this is my third Voice 4 OST song that I’ve talked about, but it’s really starting to become a favorite.

Upcoming ▹▹▹

Currently I don’t really have anything scheduled for the next few weeks. Which is good since DREAMCATCHER DECIDED TO ANNOUNCE A COMEBACK AT THE END OF THE MONTH.

Album Spotlight ▹▹▹

Band Nah is a fun indie rock group that has grown a lot on me this past year. They are a relatively newer group, but they do have a good discography, and their music videos are a lot of fun. They just released their single, ‘Summer Days’ last week. You should check out their music.

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Music Highlights 6.28.21

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

I love Hyolyn all the time, but I’m very partial to her slower songs that show off her voice. Happiness has such a good beat.

Another voice I always love to hear, iri.

ONEWE is consistently putting out great songs. I think they go more into rock ballads than a lot of the other kbands do, and I appreciate that.

I really wasn’t expecting any new EGOIST and when this showed up it was a surprise.

I just love Dreamcatcher and their covers.

Is Pink Fantasy’s inspiration Dreamcatcher? Yes. But what I really like about this song in particular is how much it’s a jpop song on top of a metal backtrack. I think it’s their best comeback.

I’ve already talked about Cotoba when the EP released, but they just put out a couple of their music videos up and had to plug them again. Check out ‘Goodbye Lilith’ here.

This is so beautiful.

OST ▹▹▹

I am SO into this song from Voice 4. So perfectly creepy for the scenes it was used in.

The added bonus of Hospital Playlist back on is all the great songs we get.

I’m not watching Montly Magazine but this song is so perfectly one of those kdrama songs that you’d get stuck in your head the entire time watching it. And it’s Hui!

Again, another drama I’m not watching but coming out with great music.

Upcoming ▹▹▹

2PM album, MUST (28th)
Epik High single, ‘Rain Song’ (29th)
AleXa ep, ReviveR (1st)
LIVIN first single release (2nd)
Even of Day (DAY6) ep, Right Through Me (5th)

Artist Spotlight ▹▹▹

Wetter is fairly well known if we are talking about Korean indie groups, but they still need some love and attention from the rest of the music world. They’ve been a group since 2016 and though I like their recent release ‘Love is All Around’, their ep We’ve Lost, What Now? is a favorite. Give them a listen and let me know what you think about them in the comments.

Check out the last music highlights post here.

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Music Highlights 5.31.21

So much music came out these past weeks, and most of it was full albums/EPs that I loved, plus a few new adds to the playlist. I’m still not keeping up with a lot of news, out of laziness, but the amount of music is making up for it. I also thought it would be fun to separate out the OST music I was digging into it’s own separate section. There are some OST that I like immediately, and some that I like because I hear it 40 times a binge and it grows on me. I think if you aren’t watching dramas, you don’t focus on the songs coming out of those OSTs and some a really great. Maybe you’ll find a new song to add to your playlists.

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

-Japanese group The GazettE put out a new album, MASS. It’s great, but I’ve also liked them for a while (they’ve been a group since I was in college) so I’m a bit biased.

-ARUM’s ‘No Gravity’ has prompted me to focus more on her: that voice!

-Confession: I haven’t listened to the rest of Taemin’s album yet. I’m sorry. I will do that soon, I’ve just been focused on a lot of other things. I have listened to ‘Advice’, though, and it’s great.

-O’Doyle’s ‘Silly Love With You’ is a pretty great song to add to your roadtrip playlist.

-I believe that punk is great all year, but it just fits the summer. O’summer Vacation apparently knows this too. I hadn’t known about them until their ‘Hommage’ video came up on my feed, but I immediately added them to my list of deep dives.

-I don’t think there is actually a Heize song I don’t like, she’s got the perfect voice to have playing in the background.

-PIXY came out with their second comeback with the song "‘Let Me Know’. The production quality has gone up, which is a good sign that they’ve been doing well. I think they are a good group, and I’lll always love a performance/theme based group.

-Punk band RUMKICKS came out with another single, ‘I Don’t Wanna Die’

-A couple of posts ago I talked about how I was going to make a playlist of songs good by the water, and Monday Off With Bluesy is 100% going on it. Also, very on brand.

-EVERGLOW.

-Drinking Boys and Girls Choir always makes me happy, but they make me even happier when they put out a new EP.

-I can not pick a favorite off of The Volunteers album. No skip and on repeat for the past week.

-This is a really cute song, I’m not going to lie the main reason I clicked play was because of the title.

-Minsu ‘Healthy Food’

-Vias’s ‘To Me’ is just one of those songs that you need to throw your headphones in, close your eyes, and crank up the volume.

-Last year Young K would do VLives every day on his way to his radio gig. Through it he found out that the Filipino band, Ben&Ben, were fans of DAY6 and had put out a cover. Now, almost a year later, they are collaborating on a remake of the Ben&Ben song ‘Leaves’. It’s as magical as everyone expected. If this produces more collaborations I will be the happiest.

-Another song to throw on that roadtrip playlist.

OST ▹▹▹

-There are some amazing songs coming off of the Taxi Driver OST, and this Sanha song is my absolute favorite. (Slight spoiler warning for the clips in the video)

-NIA’s ‘Save’ for the Dark Hole OST is chef’s kiss.

-Another Dark Hole offering, ‘Black Rain’ by Kim Young Heum.

Upcoming ▹▹▹

Cotoba EP, Since the World is About to End (31)
Monsta X EP, One of a Kind (1)
MAMAMOO EP, Where Are We (2)
N.FLYING album, Man on the Moon (7)
EXO EP, Don’t Fight the Feeling (7)

Album Spotlight ▹▹▹
I found out about Nemophilia, an all-female Japanese metal band through a person on Twitter, and now and now am obsessed. They have several EPs out, all easily available on Spotify. Their latest release Dissension (below) came out in February. Check out their YouTube channel for music videos, behind the scenes, live videos, and some awesome covers.

Last highlights post can be found here.

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Music Highlights 5.17.21

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

Aleph - Instant Lover

SUMIN + Zion.T - Creamppang

BIBI - Birthday Cake

Balloonfish - Dancing in the Moonlight

Chae Jiho - 4Seasons

bobae - 0%

CHAI - Times Up

Super Beaver - 愛しい人

OurR - MUNG

Hoohaa - Alone

10CM (feat Lee Suhyun) - Sleepless in Seoul

Sagong - I Know But

Siyeon + Dami (Dreamcatcher) - Shadow (Dark Hole OST)

We Are the Night - Green War

Band Nah - Colours

Upcoming ▹▹▹

Taemin mini-album Advice (18)
Heize minI-album Happy (20)
PIXY minI-album Bravery (20)
EVERGLOW single album Last Melody (25)
Boyfriend digital single (26)

Album Spotlight ▹▹▹
I don’t know much about Vampire Hotel, I was just exposed to them when their live concert (below) was released, but now I need more. I always need more female-led hardcore/metal/rock groups. Especially with covers like this.

Last music highlight can be found here.

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Music Highlights 5.3.21

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

DAY6 came out with their last comeback for a while as a full group, with the title ‘You Make Me’.

I got into Lanalogue last month - right in time for them to do a comeback.

I don’t know if I’ve listened to Dios (it’s possible, I’m terrible with keeping up with people…especially remembering names), but I really liked ‘Runaway’.

My new favorite thing is all the indie groups creating music videos featuring home videos of cats, like Bigbet’s ‘Rainbow Boy’.

IZ’s newest single, ‘Missing U’.

I just want to lay on a boat listening to Ohyoung’s ‘Siren’.

I’ve never listened to Crystal Tea’s music, but that’s going to change now. I think if you are into that singer/songwriter jpop vibe (but not Japanese), I think you’ll really like her.

I always enjoy indigo la End’s songs.

Add Wind&Wave’s ‘The Flow of the Water’ to the songs I want to listen to while laying in a boat.

Soul Echo - ‘Bird’

moi - ‘Kuuung’

My second favorite thing is indie groups putting out music videos featuring home videos of dogs.

If you’ve never listened to The Black Skirts, now is your time to start.

Upcoming ▹▹▹

Tricot single, ‘Exposure’ (5)
Ailee album, Lovin (7)

Album Spotlight ▹▹▹
Since there are quite a few songs on this list that would be good listening to on boats, I thought I’d keep the water theme with this week’s spotlight: the all-female rock trio, Fishingirls. They are a lot of fun, and put out just as equally fun music. They don’t get as much hype as they should, I really think they should be getting a lot more traction. They do a lot of covers and extra videos on their YouTube channel, so even though they don’t have that much in their discography there is plenty of content to check out. I highly suggest searching and watching some of their live sets.

Here’s their 2019 album, Fishing Queen:

Check out the last Music Highlights post here.

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Music Highlights 4.19.21

Another late highlights post, but some really great music came out that needs to be listened to. I didn’t pay attention to news much, so I’ve decided to scrap that section this time.

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

ASTRO’s ‘One’ is my favorite songs they’ve put out. One of my favorite kpop releases so far this year.

Marchi (ft Sang Won) - ‘Love Talk’

Hongbi - ‘Maze’

I’ve already talked about Se So Neon’s ‘Jayu’, but they recently did a collab with the movie Minari and produced this MV

Punpee - ‘Odd Taxi’

Minhye J - ‘Knock Knock’

Aimer - ‘Wonderland’. I love this song SO so so much.

Jeong Cha Sik - ‘Shining’

Men Envy Children - ‘向前走’

AVOKID (ft Jayci Yucca) - ‘Hate You’

TK from 凛として時雨 - ‘yesworld’

Audrey Nuna - ‘Space’

Lee In - ‘Duality’. I may have basically dropped this drama, but not dropping this OST.

SURL - ‘Firework’

CHEEZE - ‘Loser’

Lee Bada (ft Winona Oak) - ‘Lonely Hearts Club’

CASTLEBEAT - ‘I Follow’

YB - ‘Silence’

Upcoming ▹▹▹

DAY6 EP The Book of Us : Negentropy (19)
Soran EP Beloved (19)
Dir En Grey single ‘Oboro’ (28)

Album Spotlight ▹▹▹

I’ve sort of talked about Jun Doohee on here before. His song from last year, ‘Bad Flower’, was one of my favorites. He’s also in a really great rock band Gutz. They are a bit harder to find if you are outside of Korea and don’t have access to the live scene, but I highly suggest listening to their first full album, Gutz Vol 1, below and listening to the rest of his solo work and covers.

Want to know what I was into last post? Check it out here.

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Music Highlights 4.5.21

Kind of glad that I didn’t switch to these posts being weekly, as I said I might do last week. A potential job came to be, and I’ve been stalling updating my portfolio to escape the reality of everything that is going on, which meant that I had to focus a good deal on that along with updating my resume to apply which meant not only barely extra time to work on posts, but also to listen to new releases. Here’s what I did manage to catch.

News ▹▹▹

A new 7-part Netflix Originals documentary was released, K-Pop Evolution. It features the history of kpop and how it’s evolved to what it is today.

What is K-Pop? How did it rise to worldwide prominence? This new 7-part series tells you everything you need to know – from its history to its hitmakers, its fandoms, and more – told from the perspective of those who were there. K-Pop Evolution is the definitive accounting of a global phenomenon. With appearances from SuperM, H.O.T., BoA, SUPER JUNIOR, KARA, Ha:tfelt (Wonder Girls), Kang Daniel, Sandara Park (2NE1), Red Velvet, EXO, NCT, (G)I-DLE, EVERGLOW, and PENTAGON.

The tvN drama, Crash Landing on You, is getting a musical adaption slated for middle of next year. It’s producer, Studio Dragon, has a number of dramas that have already had some pretty successful adaptions since it’s first one, Another Miss Oh, last year.

HYBE (form. Big Hit) has merged with Ithaca Holdings.

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

-IU’s full album is great top to bottom.

- iri ‘はじまりの日’

-eldon ‘Monster’

-Park Bom ‘Do Re Mi Fa Sol’

-JISOKURY ‘Light Chaser’

-Dreamcatcher ‘Don’t Light My Fire’

-BULGOGIDISCO (feat. Bassagong) ‘Kimchi Soup’

-3YE ‘Stalker’

-Heju ‘Helpless’

-Harrianne ‘The Breat of Self-Esteem’

-RIO ‘Map On Your Face’

-Shiwang (feat. An Da Eun) ‘Curse’

-Groovy Groove cover ‘Yoasobi’

-Weeekly ‘After School’

Upcoming ▹▹▹

ASTRO 2nd album, All Yours (5)
Yukkika EP Time About (7)
Aimer Walpurgis (14)
TK from Ling tosite sigure EP yesworld (14)

Album Spotlight ▹▹▹
I stumbled upon 6 Day Layoff when a song from their newest EP, Memory, was recommended on YouTube. They are a really great alt rock/grunge band. They’ve been around for a couple of years, but hope to hear more.

Need more music recs? I got you.

Music Highlights 2.22.21

+ News

I didn’t keep up with news these past two weeks (I’m sorry, I made it up with lots of good songs) but wanted to bring attention to two good articles. Bandwagon Asia released two articles that highlight some of my favorite Korean indie groups. The first one is on Se So Neon, which just released their newest single, ‘Jayu’. The second about Drinking Boys and Girls Choir (who I highlighted last Music Highlights post). It’s a good article that interviews the pair about how they come up with the music, and how they focus on current events and issues.

+ Releases and Finds

-HOA’s ‘Wifiboy’

-Rolling Stars ‘Hello My Beach’ (from the Lovestruck in the City OST)

-onthedal ‘Homework’

-Dongchan ‘The Abandoned Moon’

-PINN ‘Escape’

-KANG CHAN GU ’Thing That I Hear Sometimes’

-indigo la End「夜の恋は」

-I.M ‘God Damn’

-Young K, Wonpil ‘Last Call’ (Hudson Thames cover)

+ Upcoming

Seung Hyub 1st solo album, On the Track (22)
SHINee 7th album, Don’t Call Me (22)
Sunmi album, Tail (23)
Wonho album, Love Synonym (#2): Right For Us (26)
ATEEZ album, ZERO : FEVER Part.2 (1)
Scandal 15th anniversary single, ‘eternal’ (3)

+ Album Spotlight

Say Sue Me is a great Korean indie rock band and if you haven’t listened to them yet, now’s the time. They will be performing in March during SXSW’s virtual concert.

Check out the previous highlights post here.

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Music Highlights 2.8.21

+ News

• SXSW announced the lineup for their digital experience from March 16-20, which includes a personal favorite: Say Sue Me.

• The kdrama, Hotel Del Luna, will be getting a musical in 2022. So I have until then to save up money to visit and watch.

• The visual kei rock group, The GazettE, announced a new album for May. A digital single will be out in March.

• Radwimps will be releasing an album dedicated to the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake disaster areas with profits going to the Japan Red Cross Society and local government.

+ Releases and Finds

-Yorushika released their mini-album, Creation. At this point I’m just mad at you if you haven’t attempted to listen to their great music yet.

-Dreamcatcher also released their mini-album, Road to Utopia, and while it’s not my favorite ‘Odd Eye’ has been growing on me more.

-I already talked about Leaves Black last post, but they put out an official music video for their song, ‘Farewell My Books’.

-DRC’s ‘Dot Dot Dot’ is really good.

-So I think it should be fairly obvious that while I like kpop, and have some kpop groups and some are my favorite artists of all time, I don’t actually connect with most new releases. It’s always a plus for me to find a new song or group to get into. Enter Purple Kiss with ‘Can We Talk Again’.

-In new to me world: I randomly got suggested this song by the rock band DANGGISIO and really really like them.

-Awesome City Club came out with a new song.

-Se So Neon can really do not a lot of wrong, especially with a lead singer like So Yoon.

-Some other songs I enjoyed include The Poles ‘Good Morning Sunshine’, Swan’s ‘Visualizer’, and CIX’s ‘Young’.

+ Upcoming

Sekai No Owari best hits album, 2010-2019 (10)
Zutomayo 2nd full album, ぐされ (10)
Chungha 1st full album, Querencia (15)
Lucy single, ‘Inside’ (16)
indigo la End album, Yako Himitsu (17)
TRI.BE debut, ‘TRI’ (17)
Kingdom debut mini album, History Of Kingdom : PartⅠ. Arthur (18)

+ Album Spotlight
If you are into punk, then you have to be listening to Drinking Boys and Girls Choir. I first found them towards the beginning of last year/end of the previous year. Highly recommend checking out some of their live concerts.

Check out the last highlights post here.

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