Weekly Recap: 12/11/22 - 12/24/22

Merry Christmas!

NewJeans - Ditto

Nostalgia is such a powerful tool for any artist to channel, but also a dangerous double-sided blade. If you fail to capture the perceptions of the lost era, or remain inferior to the actual basis, you risk killing your art too early. Thankfully for HYBE, their new girl group NewJeans have perfectly captured nostalgia within only a few months of existence. We have now reached a point of Y2K nostalgia, and NewJeans are arguably Korea's leading voice for that sound already.

The group's very momentum was slashed just as it peaked with Cookie, a song that justifiably garnered criticism for sexualizing minors. The controversy hurt HYBE's reputation, but the group's sales continued to grow due to earlier singles Attention and Hype Boy. Ditto stands as a pre-release for their upcoming single, OMG.

Instantly Ditto recaptures Hype Boy's magic, utilizing the genre of Jersey Beat for the production, the song feels quite smooth, never reaching a climax or low moment. Even the pre-chorus continues the momentum from the verses to the chorus. HYBE also has finally understood the importance of distinct voices, and the five members of NewJeans provide an evocative performance of high calibre, capturing the youthful magic of love and nostalgia.

Ditto is not a melodic song, and it uses that to its strength. Each hook plays off the other, subtly building towards nothing in particular, almost like youthful memories. Subtle tweaks in the production improve an already fantastic mix, while one of the best music videos this year only sweetens the deal.

All Those SM Christmas Comebacks...

Christmas time has always been a major point of celebration for SM Entertainment, and 2022 has done nothing to break that trend. Unfortunately, these comebacks tend to be quite mixed in results. Every now and them, a group will come out with a Miracles in December or Magic Castle; a Christmas song that joins the list of eternal, modern-day Christmas songs. Unfortunately, these tracks infinitely raise the expectations, and usually leave fans disappointed the coming years. Me? I am still  recovering from the aforesaid EXO's Miracles in December, perhaps my favorite Christmas pop song of all time.

This year is one of those years of disappointed. Super Junior's Celebrate is a fine song with some synth-pop leanings, improved by the members' incredible vocals. I enjoy the production, but it is a little underwhelming after this summer's fantastic Mango, which it acts as a successor to.

NCT Dream seek to remake SM Entertainment, and idol K-Pop's, breakout track, H.O.T's Candy. This is a tall task, even if it seems otherwise at first. Candy is not a complex song, but every element is tuned so well and nostalgic that any change will come off as awkward this definitely derails NCT Dream's plans. B-Side Graduation takes a wistful, nostalgic-pop sound, however, to much better results.

The most disappointing of the bunch is Red Velvet and aespa's Beautiful Christmas, which brings together two of K-Pop's most vocally talented girl groups for a generic Christmas shout-a-thon, bereft of any natural joy or energy. Oh well, 2023 maybe.

SZA - SOS

After a five year hiatus, American R&B and hip-hop with a twenty-three track album, filled mostly with sentimental R&B tracks, with a few exceptions (F2F), the album is one of the year's smoothest, with a sense of groove and emotion that defines the best of SZA's music.

Unfotunately, the album's massive run-time ends up hurting more than helping the emotions create a lasting impact. After my first listen, I could only remember Special and Nobody Gets Me, with the exceptions of earlier releases Good Days and I Hate U. The end result is the album is very back-heavy, meaning that a lot of potential listeners likely lost some of their favorite songs, and why the second song, Kill Bill, an admittedly strong song, is the album's most popular. I feel like SOS will likely grow with time, with it capturing a sense of emotive release quite well.

Little Simz - No Thank You

Little Simz garnered acclaim last year with her album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, but the British rapper's new album is, at least at the moment, prefered by me. Little Simz may not be the best rapper in the world as far as flows go, but her production is undefeatable. From Gorilla's orchestral elements, the album never stops, neither does Simz' lyrical flows, which see her contemplate the effects of her fame, and her thoughts on various issues.

"Theatrical" is the only way to describe No Thank You, from the sample heavy and haunting X, to Sillhouette's strong flows, No Thank You draws from a variety of influences for great effect. Despite gospel/blues and orchestral elements being constant through almost all the songs, each utilizes the samples in different ways, meaning the album never blends together, meaning even the left-turn of Who Even Cares doesn't feel too out-of-place.

X, in particular, is perhaps the peak of Little Simz' entire career, with the second verse commenting on race issues, the generational situation of the world, and the commercialization of art. Combine this with some incredible orchestral and gothic samples, and you have a song for the ages.

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