K-pop Round-up-Review: BIGBANG, Wonder Girls, Teen Top and She’z

By Mithun Divakaran
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Jun 04, 2012
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Korean Pop, Music/Videos, Round-up-Review

I didn’t feel like reviewing these releases individually, so here’s the second edition of my K-pop Round-up-Reviews. First up, the return of BIGBANG.

BIGBANG – “Monster”
One of South Korea’s best groups makes a return with a re-package album titled ‘Still Alive,’ just three months after the fantastic ‘Alive‘. I’ll make a mention of the other three ‘new’ tracks later, but let’s first get to the lead single:

What can I say about G-Dragon that hasn’t already been said many times before by pretty much anyone who knows how talented this guy is. This song is awesome! Penned by G-Dragon and T.O.P, produced by G-Dragon and Choi Pil Kang, “Monster” is a great single and has already become one of my favourite BIGBANG tracks. I rank it higher than 2011’s “Tonight” and it’s only unfortunate the group aren’t going to be promoting it on the music shows.

Unlike “Blue” and “Bad Boy” which were a change of pace for the group, “Monster” is pure K-pop. Piano melodies, thumping beats and strong vocals by Taeyang and Daesung. It isn’t a song that you can label ‘quintessentially BIGBANG,’ because the song structure is something you hear from a dozen other idol group songs. As for the video, it sure looks expensive. Lot of action, special effects and outrageous Prodigy-inspired styling. As usual, I’m not going to comment on the fashion or choice of clothing because the quality of the music outweighs both. – 5 out of 5 (Excellent)

As for the other tracks on ‘Still Alive,’ the title track is a full version of the intro track found on ‘Alive’. “Feeling” and “Ego” are Korean versions of their previously released Japanese tracks. “Bingeul Bingeul” (not to be confused with U-Kiss’ track of the same name) is rock-infused and a pretty good album track. The rest of the track-list includes “Blue,” “Bad Boy,” “Fantastic Baby” and “Love Dust” – making this a great collection for people who were holding out from picking up ‘Alive’. I’ve got my copy on pre-order at YesAsia!

Wonder Girls – “Like This”

Another super group returns to the Korean music scene a few months after a stellar previous effort. As much as everyone is anticipating the American debut of the Wonder Girls, JYP has released the Girls’ second Mini Album ‘Wonder Party’ in Korea. Comprised of six tracks, the lead single is “Like This”:

I must say the song caught me by surprise. It’s a sound I never expected from the Wonder Girls. Very edgy, unique and more hip-hop than k-pop. It’s another track by their mentor J.Y. Park, but all that time spent in America seems to have influenced his musical style too. It took me a few listens to like the song but I think it works for the direction the girls are heading towards as they venture into the Western market.

If I heard the audio before watching the music video, I would have picturized it very differently. Quite ghetto in fact. It’s weird. The song doesn’t sound like a happy-go-lucky song you like to bop to, but the way the girls dance to the beat (and everybody else in the MV) – the video seems to convince you otherwise. For once you get an idol group video in an open environment and not confined to a set. So everything the Wonder Girls have done this time seems to be a welcome change. “Like This” may not be a favourite, but I won’t skip the channel if the music video ever came on. – 3 out of 5 (Excellent)

As for the rest of the album, it didn’t really fit my fancy as much as ‘Wonder World’ did. I didn’t instantly fall in love with the other tracks like I did when I first ‘Wonder World’. It may take me a few listens, but just like “Like This” the rest of the album is altogether a sound you’re not used to hearing from Wonder Girls.

Teen Top – “To You”

This is the first time I’m writing about Teen Top. The six member boyband debuted around the same time as INFINITE and seemed to be on the same path of progress alongside INFINITE. But INFINITE gained pace far quicker and are already one of the best (and my favourite!). After “Supa Luv,” my favourite song by Teen Top to date is “No More Perfume On You” (produced by Sweetune). I hoped the songs would get better, but instead the Brave Brothers-produced track “Goin’ Crazy” was chosen as their 2012 comeback. I didn’t like it. I’m not a fan of the “Brave sound”. So when I heard Teen Top’s next comeback track was also going to be produced by Brave Brothers, I doubted I would like it.

When I heard the audio first, I thought the song was quite dull. But I must admit it was a poor quality upload. My opinion soon changed when I saw the MV. I loved the hard beats, 90s-inspired vibe and for once, Niel doesn’t get all the lines to sing! I especially loved the dancing. Like INFINITE, Teen Top are fantastic performers and their dancing is very in-sync. “To You” isn’t better than “No More Perfume…” but it is now my second favourite song by the group. It suits the image of the boys well and I look forward to their live performances.

When I heard SISTAR’s “Alone,” I was quite wowed. I never knew the Brave Brothers could produce such a good track! So it’s a sign the “Brave sound” has evolved and Kang Dong Chul is experimenting with newer sounds as supposed to sticking to the uptempo formula that churned out “Bingeul Bingeul” and “Man Man Ha Ni” for the likes of U-Kiss. “To You” may not be a classic, but I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. – 4 out of 5 (Very Good)

Teen Top Artist album cover members kpop — Back on top

Honourable mention

The other song I felt I should give some attention to is “My Way” by rookie girl group She’z.

She'z My Way mv screencap kpop — She’z from Line Entertainment

Pop-rock with really strong vocals. The traits very common with, erm, I dunno… Kelly Clarkson? 🙂 And Kelly is exactly the artist that came to mind when I heard the first line of the chorus. Sounds like “My Life Would Suck Without You” doesn’t it? The selling point this group has is a fresh sound and all four of them have really good vocals! Hello Venus, another rookie girl group that debuted just recently, caught my attention too. But their debut single “Venus” is the typical cutesy concept, which although good, doesn’t hold the candle to a debut song like “My Way” by She’z. I appreciate it when companies know what the market is saturated with and then take the tough decision to offer something different.

My rating for She’z “My Way” – 3 out of 5 (Good)

P.S: I also liked A-Pink’s “Hush Hush” but only when I see them dancing to it.

Calicut, Kerala: Beypore and Kappad beach

By Mithun Divakaran
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Jun 03, 2012
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India, Kerala, Travel

Date: January 2007

This trip was when I went one weekend to attend my friend Azhad’s wedding in Kozhikode (Calicut). He lived close to Beypore beach, so the day I arrived, we drove straight to the beach.

Beypore beach Calicut Kerala India — It's not the cleanest or the softest beach

Beypore beach lone tree Kozhikode Kerala — Then again, Beypore doesn't see a whole lot of people

Beypore beach stone pier Kerala India — Beypore beach does have one distinct feature though

Continue reading “Calicut, Kerala: Beypore and Kappad beach” »

Dalmatian – ‘State of Emergency’ album review: A makeover in every sense

Another group I never thought I’d write about. When Dalmatian debuted, it was hard to take a boyband named after a cute breed of dogs seriously. Their songs didn’t do it for me either. “Round 1,” “Lover Cop” and “That Man Opposed” were not to my liking at all. In fact the only song I ever liked by them was the album track “Lost in Love“. But the one thing I did appreciate about the group was the members worked on many of the songs themselves, a rarity in K-pop.

But now, like a lot of their rookie peers, Dalmatian have gone though some changes. From an original line-up of six members, they’re now down to five. Member Day-Day left, new member Simon comes in, and brings with him perfect English skills. (Something which shines on this album)

Dalmatian State of Emergency members new lineup — Dalmatian, the current line-up

So why am I writing about a group I never cared for before? Because their comeback song is probably their best song to date!

Dalmatian State of Emergency album cover — In fact I gave the whole album a listen and felt the need to give the album some attention

Here’s a track-by-track review:

1. “E.R” – The lead single:

As soon as I heard this song, I couldn’t help but compare it to B2ST’s “Fiction”. The pacing, song structure and the melody all seemed similar, albeit with a few keys off. Still, I won’t call “E.R” a carbon copy of “Fiction” – because this song manages to sound so good on its own. It was only a few days back INFINITE came out with out with “The Chaser” and as an Inspirit, I find myself listening to “E.R” a lot more! – 4.5/5

The MV does everything to re-introduce Dalmatian to the world. Gone are the silly themes, aegyo-filled actions – this ‘new’ Dalmatian look serious and hard edged. They look pretty cool in fact, enough to separate them from the standard look of every other K-pop boy band. And although the choreography isn’t great, the MV still serves its purpose well.

2. “차 안에서 (Drive)” – The second track keeps the pace on a high, but with a smoother jam. The beats are really nice, vocals even nicer and its yet another good track. There are lot of lines sung in English, and with Simon on board, it just sounds so much better when the accent and pronunciation is done right. – 4/5

3. “Hurt Me” – It was by this point I realized this was a good mini-album. The third track sounds like a boyband song from the late ’90s. The beats and the keyboard hook are reminiscent of teen-pop music of that era. Not really a ballad, but the tempo is a notch lower on this one. – 3/5

4. “Still By Ur Side” – Rounding up the songs on ‘State of Emergency,’ this is tookeeps the ‘feel’ consistent. Consider me impressed, I never expected a consistent tracklist like this. – 3/5

5. “E.R” (Instrumental) – I know it’s an instrumental, but I really enjoy listening to this a lot (but I’m not going to give it a rating though)

Dalmatian E.R MV screencap members — Good job guys

When your album only consists of 5 tracks (4 proper songs) and each one is good, if not great, then you know you have a good release in hand. Sure it’s only their second mini-album, but ‘State of Emergency’ is in my opinion Dalmatian’s best release to date. “E.R” is great single and I hope the boys get a taste of success this time around.

With INFINITE promoting “The Chaser,” I doubt Dalmatian have a shot at winning an award. But even if they don’t, I hope Dalmatian at least get taken seriously as a musical act. I’m sure it wouldn’t mean a lot more to the members given its been over one-and-half years since they debuted, and despite three singles, the group have yet to make much of an impact on the K-pop charts.

With a whole new image, a great new song, Dalmation shows it’s never too late to go in for a makeover. U-KISS did it last year and look at where they are now. I consider these changes as a sign of maturity in K-pop. When the ‘big 3’ entertainment companies went with a certain formula, every other idol wannabe went with the tried-and-tested to emulate the initial success K-pop saw. But the newbie agencies seem to have woken up to the fact the market is saturated with the same image and sound, and that if you want to set yourself apart from the rest, you best do something different. The fact that the album cover only shows ‘DMTN,’ you know whoever in charge at Monkey Funch Entertainment wanted people to forget the white suits with black spots. It’s a move I can commend.

My final rating for Dalmatian’s 2nd mini-album ‘State of Emergency’: 3.5 out of 5 (Pretty Good)