Review: Jeong Sewoon - In The Dark
Jeong Sewoon seemingly abandoned his 24 album series before he could get around to the second (and final) part. But here it is before his Birthday. The Produce 101 Season 2 contestant has been consistently releasing music, though he never really released too much of note. That said, I think In The Dark is his best song yet.
Driven by a simplistic and dark melody. The heart of the song is the guitar, which is pretty majestic. I would say that the rhythmic guitar melody sounds like American Country music. This is quite interesting, as that is a style I would love to see K-Pop take up sooner or later.
Despite the dark theme, the melody loop and the lyrics are simplistic, optimistic, and uplifting. This conceptual maturity helps drive the song forward.
The chorus is the heart of a song, and the songwriters of In The Dark certainly know that. The hooks over here are sharp but never focus on being just catchy, instead, it focuses on driving the song forward. This makes sure there is a continuation through the track. Credit where it is due, the real drive I talk about here is Sewoon's vocals, which are slick and flirtatious, but still mature and serious, just what it needed. I don't know too much about his vocal range, but I hope he keeps doing this sort of stuff when it comes to vocals, the vocal performance is stellar. I just wish that the verses were as memorable.
Another complaint I have about the song is the lack of a proper climax. One could mistake the bridge for another verse, and there is nothing special in the final chorus, not even any instrumental shifts. This does limit the song pretty badly, and I am somewhat disappointed they did not go for a bridge and another chorus after the final verse, for that would have helped greatly.
That said, In The Dark is a pretty solid early-year effort. It will make a playlist of 2021 or two and puts Sewoon back onto my radar.
Wow, that is amazing. I didn't know it sounded much like Country, since I don't really listen to American music that much. But well, In the Drak has absolutely grown on me. I could give it a bit higher than what I actually thought maybe a plus .75 after today. It was on repeat yesterday and I need a little ear cleansing since the MCND song is so bad. I didn't like it. It is such a rip-off. Another cheesy performance. Ugh. Please stop following SM's trends. They have the worst right now.
ReplyDeleteYa, Crush is that weird anti-melodic track. Still, it is kind of fun, though severely lacking in longevity.
DeleteThe Country-ness in In The Dark comes from the way the guitar is used through the track, though modern Country songs often go for other arrangements.
And oh, I have another question? What do you think about the Big Hit Japan new group. I'm happy K and Taki are debuting! Big Hit seems to do their job right.
ReplyDeleteI have a somewhat mixed reaction actually. While I am happy Ta-Ki and K get to debut, they just lost a competition, and this may hurt public opinion. I do not want people to think this is a leftovers group. Plus, Enhypen just debuted, and need time to settle. They have great chance at the Japanese market thanks to Ni-Ki, but the new Big-Hit group will hurt them too.
DeleteMoreover, I get the feeling that Big Hit planned this from the beginning, and it somewhat let K and Ta-Ki get eliminated just for the sake of the group. I am not saying the manipulated the votes, but they could have been given less screen-time in Ta-Ki's case. Or in K's case, make it look like he was in so people do not vote.
Don't get me wrong, I really want the guys to debut, but I feel the whole situation and timing is going to hurt them big time.
I have to agree with you. But I suppose they will focus on Japan. If that's the case they might have an advantage over, since Jnetz people aren't as obnoxious as Knetz. But I agree. There will be setbacks at first. I just hope they will be able to survive it.
DeleteTrue, I hope they and Enhypen survive and grow their own unique styles without hurting each other.
Delete