I thought I'd share a couple recent releases/finds. It's so hot here (I live in the Vancouver area), I've pretty much been staying in all day haha. I watched the new Harry Potter movie yesterday, has anyone seen it?
Please comment/leave a rating if taking.
Co-host applications are still open, click here for more info.
Japanese | Pop/Reggae/Rock
* 09. 泣くし者
* 12. また好きになる
I love this duo, I've uploaded a couple songs from them in the past. They recently released a new album, Sora x Shonen, and personally I find it even surpassed than their debut album, ZUSHI. 泣くし者 is a slow, bittersweet, yearning song with delicate acoustic guitars, alternating between softly spoken rap verses and a few sung ones, leading into the heartbreakingly gorgeous chorus - their harmonizing is so beautiful and intricate. It also incorporates some classical woodwind instruments. また好きになる has a slightly lighter tone, but is just as emotional and genuine. Their vocals are crisp, clear, and incredibly refreshing. I love their style of "rapping", I really don't know what to compare it to. また好きになる takes some time to establish itself, but it's a beautiful song. I really admire this duo's originality and unique style. Give them a try!
Korean | Pop
* 01. 월화수목 금토일 (Feat. 아이유 IU) - Suho
The first song from Suho's recently released 2nd mini-album (haha I don't know if you can tell, but the cover image says "2th" instead of "2nd"). I've been quite impressed with up-and-coming artist IU so far, and was excited to hear her featured in this song. However, I have to say the song itself is quite mediocre. It's a generic, mid-tempo pop track with predictable, poppy synths. IU's singing lacks any real depth or substance - it's light, high, and sweet, but lacks the power and maturity that drew me to her song Mia. Suho's rapping is decent, but not outstanding. A bit of a disappointment.
Korean | Pop/Ballad
* 01. Fairytale (Dong Hwa/동화) - Kim Hyung Joong
Some of you will know that I absolutely love the song Tong Hua by Guang Liang, I've posted it numerous times in the past - it also ranked fairly high on my Top 10 Ballads rotation. Well, this is a Korean cover by SS501's Kim Hyung Joong. I've never been a big fan of SS501 or any of their member's solo material, and I was afraid that this cover wouldn't do the original justice, but it was a pleasant surprise. Kim Hyung Joong sounds fantastic. His voice is brimming with emotion, yet steady and clear. Some changes have been made to the arrangement, eg. addition of acoustic guitars and strings, but it remains easily recognizable. While it was not able to surpass the original, probably because part of what really made the song for me was the lyrics (and I don't understand Korean), but it's a great cover. It's also great to see this because not a lot of Korean artists cover Chinese/Taiwanese songs, it's usually the other way around.
Korean | Pop/Dance
* 01. & Ma Girl - Dannywon
* 02. 내 맘속의 Luv-U - Dannywon
& Ma Girl has a ridiculous and kind of disgusting rap verse that really made me want to just delete the song right then. It's deep and throaty and just ... weird. The random cries of Cho! Cho! in the background sound kind of out of place too. Other than that the song's all right, the hook & my girl, and I do it girl ... is catchy enough but ... no. 내 맘속의 Luv-U is better, but that's not saying much. It's a fairly predictable track, again the rapping really puts me off although it's not as bad as in the first song. I did like the chorus though. Newcomer(s?) to the Korean scene that, IMO, will probably not make it far.
Labels: Dannywon, IU, Kim Hyung Joong, Kimaguren, Suho
