I have decided to postpone the next rotation (#35) for another week. It was supposed to be posted last weekend, therefore it has been moved to this upcoming weekend. Sorry about the delay, I've been busy with online courses lately. In the meantime, here's a couple songs.
이별복습 - Ock Joo Hyun, The Ray
Korean | Ballad
A fairly standard piano-based duet ballad. Vocally, the two make a nice match - The Ray's slightly husky voice paired with Ock Joo Hyun's powerful yet feminine vocals. Pretty harmonies, decent melody, a nice sense of direction too - the song builds quite well. If only it wasn't so cookie-cutter generic, it'd be even better. Either way, definitely worth a listen.
I Don't Care - 2NE1
Korean | Pop
I strongly disliked both Lollipop and FIRE, so I was only intending to give I Don't Care a cursory listen and then delete it. Sorry to any fans of theirs out there, but vocally, I still think they sound horrible. However, compositionally, I really like this song. It has a certain breezy and laid-back feel that makes it well-suited for the summer, but has a danceable beat and catchy melody at the same time. Much better than the far-too-heavy, over-synthesized FIRE - while I still think they need to step it up a notch vocally, this is definitely an improvement.
勇气 (Yong Qi/Courage) - Fish Leong (梁静茹)
Mandarin | Ballad
This song should've been on my Top 10 Ballads list, but I didn't have it on on this computer until recently. It's a hopeful, genuine ballad, yet it's fairly pared down as far as accompaniment goes, and not overly dramatic. Fish Leong's melodic, light voice is gorgeous, and the chorus always gets stuck in my head. A very recognizable and memorable song.
Brave vibration - Anna Tsuchiya
Japanese | Rock
Anna Tsuchiya's latest single, Brave vibration is a summery rock song with a powerful, catchy chorus. I've never been a big fan of her, but this is an enjoyable song that's well-suited for the summer.
泣きたくなるけど (Naitakunaru Kedo) - Mao Denda
Japanese | Pop/R&B
After her impressive debut Bitter Sweet (which I shared in an older post, check her tag if you're interested), Mao Denda finally releases another single. Naitakunaru Kedo is a beautiful, piano-based R&B ballad. On the first listen it seemed a little bland, but it's really grown on me. Mao Denda's emotional, smooth vocals are gorgeous. While I still prefer Bitter Sweet to this song, it's definitely a close contender.
Light & Shades - Mao Denda
Japanese | Pop/R&B
The b-side to Naitakunaru Kedo, Lights & Shade is a more upbeat number, but keeps in style with Mao Denda's other songs - steady R&B percussion, and a strong use of piano in the accompaniment. A decent but not outstanding song.
Labels: 2ne1, Anna Tsuchiya, Fish Leong, Mao Denda, Ock Joo Hyun, The Ray
