After listening to Dannywon's single (in my previous post), I wasn't too eager to try out any other k-pop newcomers. However, St. Day's Balinese was a pleasant surprise.
St. Day/St.하루 (Haru) - Balinese
Korean | Pop
01. Afraid
02. 하루처럼 (Haru Cheurum)
Upon seeing the dark and moody cover image, I was expecting the songs to follow a similar route. I was wrong - Afraid is a refreshing, smooth, mid-tempo R&B/pop number. It's light enough to be summery, but has enough substance to make it a good, solid song. St. Day's voice is warm, strong, and rich, hitting high notes with little strain or difficulty. Backed by a sometimes melodic and sometimes chordal piano accompaniment as well as faint percussion and light synths, Afraid is familiar yet new and memorable. Recommended. 하루처럼 is upbeat and poppy, with an electronica-laced arrangement. St. Day adjusts to the honey-sweet song with ease. Like Afraid, it also seems somewhat familiar and "safe", but unique and fresh at the same time. Out of the two songs, Afraid is still my favourite, but 하루처럼 is still a strong b-side. I'm definitely looking forward to further releases from him.
Labels: St. Day
