July Multi-Song Review Pt. 2 (J-Hope, ATEEZ, CSR, Purple Kiss)
J-Hope - Arson
I earnestly wanted to review the entire J-Hope album, as it is best appreciated in whole. However, the latter half of this month has been... crazy. Arson is the climax of the album, asking that now that he has reached a peak, "Do I put out the fire, or burn even brighter". J-Hope raps along with a fiery MV and a dreary hook, providing a smoky, served on the cement, song.
Rating: 8.5/10
Purchase J-Hope's album Jack In The Box right here!
ATEEZ - Cyberpunk
ATEEZ have always had some amazing b-sides. While I don't think Cyberpunk lives up to the potential of last year's Take Me Home, it is certainly a strong b-side, and hopefully receives some production. I love the pounding, descending instrumentation. It is quite epic, leading to a refrain that can best be described as a collapsing skyscraper in the best way possible. This is Blade Runner-esque pop at its best and certainly sounds well... Cyberpunk-esque.
Rating: 8.25/10
Purchase ATEEZ' The World: EP 1: Movement right here!
CSR - Pop? Pop!
This debut song came out of basically nowhere and has instantly garnered acclaim from the K-Pop fandom. It is easy to see why, it is reminiscent of mid-2010s girl group bubblegum pop, much like debut era Gfriend. Of course, unlike Gfriend, CSR don't really mature this sound much, at least as of yet. That said, Pop? Pop! is an absolute earworm with some hooks that are likely to last quite a while. The nostalgic chorus over the simple pop tune is a particular highlight.
Rating: 8.5/10
Purchase CSR's debut album Sequence: 7272 right here!
Purple Kiss - Nerdy
It is a little funny to see a nerd-empowerment song. Don't get me wrong, bullying folks over their interests is stupid and just wrong, but most K-Pop fans, me included, have long defined as nerds. Aren't we all nerds over something? As a self-described nerd, I find the concept a little silly (aren't nerds supposed to be overly smart, not stupid?). That said, minus a second verse collapse, Nerdy is a whole lot of stupid, haunting fun with an excellent earworm for the hook.
Rating: 8.25/10
Purchase Purple Kiss' Geekyland (holy, I love the album title, hilarious), right here!
All great songs here! I like Cyberpunk a lot but I agree with you that it's not on Take Me Home level. Either way it's nice to have ATEEZ back, I've been enjoying their promo content in between work lol.
ReplyDeleteATEEZ content was totally my thing back in 2019. Unfortunately haven't got a chance to check it out these days. Glad to still see the group thriving, Guerilla is slowly growing on me!
Delete