Music I Liked: June 2023

For this Music I Liked feature, I moved it one week early due to my mid-year list.

Aina the End - Red:Birthmark

With J-Rock icon BiSH ending their run as a group later this month, the various members will end up forging their own careers. As the group's most popular star and vocalist, along with albums of her own, Aina the End has an edge. Tracks like Red:Birthmark might help with this, idiosyncratic and bizarre, Red:Birthmark sounds like nothing else in the landscape of popular music at the moment, and part of that appeal would be Aina the End's nasally performance, the rest would be the emotive and explosive melody, particularly in that final minute.

Ali Sethi, Shae Gill, Abdullah Siddiqui, Maanu - Left Right

Left Right sees almost all of the promising stars of Pakistan's indie scene collaborate on a song with enough charisma to carry such a major track. The haunting mid-tempo beat is hypnotic and tantalizing, just dark enough to make it stand out. Of the four collaborators, Siddiqui performs with a delivery a little too western for the track's aim, while Maanu proves a great assist between the major segments. However, this is a track for the Pasoori duo, with Sethi's charisma as high as ever. This song, however, is Shae Gill's. Despite being the least experienced of the four, and having the fewest lines, she makes her impact clear.

B.I - To Die For

Korean singer-songwriter-rapper B.I's second full-length LP is certainly quite a ride. Merging his early hip-hop sound with his newer, hypnotic dance-pop sound. To Die For is his best album yet (excluding the first half of Love or Loved), and sees the artist come into his own. Most notable is the lyricism, which is surprisingly dark and emotive. I brief look at Die for Love's summer-y beat and title would suggest a sweet love track, but it rather is a disturbed tale of a person committing suicide to capture the interest of his love. The rest of the album also plays with the darker themes, including the tracks from the EP Cosmos, which form part of the album, especially with Alive, the album's concluding track. Even beyond that, there are a few lyrical surprises on the album, with open tracks like Wave playing off B.I's swag and skill as a rapper.

Compositionally, To Die For sees B.I float through several genres relating to hip-hop, often with a sunny and swirling edge. Everything from rock, pop, jazz, electronic and R&B is covered within the fifteen-track-run of the album, and even these genres are often merged through the songs. Despite this, the album never loses its consistency. Admittedly, the album does extend itself a few songs too long, but remains an experience worth hearing.

Death's Dynamic Shroud - You Are Burning Me Up Like This

I am hardly familiar with Death's Dynamic Shroud, but with a song like this, I certainly should be. This is eclectic, energizing, and eery. This is exactly what aggressive, internet-age electronic music should sound like. The tempo goes really, really hard.

Magdalena Bay - Mini Mix Vol. 3

Recently, American indie has become one of my favorite haunts for underrated highlights. Magdalena Bay are one of the more promising acts bubbling under the mainstream, with a unique merger of lo-fi, sci-fi, synth-pop, hyper-pop, and distorted music to create something that both merges Y2K influences with unique sounds for something fresh. Their latest release, the mixtape Mini Mix Vol. 3 is a great introduction to their work.

Mina Tenenbaum is a fantastic vocalist, infusing emotion over quite simple melodies with ease. Songs like 2 Wheel Drive show what the band is capable of, and songs like Top Dog are great introductions to what the band can do.

Sexy Zone - Purple Rain

There are a few song titles you are never supposed to touch, and Purple Rain is one of them. J-Pop band Sexy Zone's track is a little too '80s to stand out from Prince's famed classic, and a little too upbeat and processed to sound like a tribute. Beyond all the baggage from its name, Purple Rain is a fine track, sounding like a merging of the boy band's last album's singles Forever Gold and The Finest. The only thing holding it back its the heavy doses of autotune through the track.

WOODZ - Busted

WOODZ is perhaps one of the most talented Korean artists active at the moment. His new EP, OO-LI might not quite reach the heights of his absolute best, Only Lovers Left, but has quite a few highlights, such as Drowning and Ready to Fight. I, however, would like to particularly highlight Busted, a sonic successor to one of his very best, Busted. There is something so energetic on how Busted goes from its whispered verses to one of the heaviest rock choruses to hit this year. If there ever was a song this year that needs to be in an action film, it would be this.

Other Songs

Asim Azhar, Shae Gill - Bulleya

The New Six (TNX) - Kick It 4 Now

Image Source: NME