Imaginary Album Review: Miyavi - Hush Hush Ft. Kang Daniel

Of all the tracks on Imaginary, Hush Hush is one of the ones I expect to become a single. I mean, the MV kind of writes itself. Another thing in Hush Hush's favor is it is a collaboration with Kang Daniel. Kang was the most popular member of K-Pop boy band Wanna One and is a K-Pop star in his own right.

It does not take a diehard fan to know that K-Pop has grown a lot in recent years, and Kang is a decent part of the Hallyu wave. At the same time, K-Pop fans are known for their strong support and exposure. Thus, it is a bit of a no-brainer to promote Hush Hush.

Normally I scoff at collaborations like this. However, I am a fan of both Kang and Miyavi, and more importantly, the song itself is quite surprisingly solid, with that extra 'oomph' Miyavi's collaboration with the otherwise excellent Amber Liu, last year, lacked.

Compared to the normal rock song of Miyavi, Hush Hush is more funk-rock, with strong pop elements. This is especially great for Kang Daniel, whose smooth voice (when not overrun by unnecessary vocoder), works excellently with this beat.

It all leads to a really strong drop chorus, with a slinky melody. It sounds creepy, but more in a fun way. It never feels threatening or imposing. Rather, it is like a cooky and fun episode of a camp show. It works absolutely brilliant, never feeling too light or too imposing.

Vocally speaking, the vocoder sporadically thrown onto Miyavi and Kang's voice often is a bigger threat the music. It is quite unnecessary, but it is not repeated often enough to totally destroy the song.

Kang makes a great impact with his voice, while Miyavi is absolutely best with the guitar in hand. Near the end, Miyavi's cooky alien-riff is absolutely brilliant, spoofing what Miyavi normally does for the song's ending. His voice is not too useful here but never is it outright a negative. 

Rating: 9/10

Image Source: Sanook