New debuts, comebacks, K-hip-hop, K-pop, K-indie, whatever takes your fancy, we have certainly covered it this week. A few favourite faces have turned up, and a few fresh faces are appearing as well. Our Weekly K-music Review posts are here to give you a helping hand and a quick look back to the notable releases from Korean artists in a weekly format. This article looks at releases and comebacks from May 17 – 20 2018.

PLT – Hocus Pocus
Released: 17 May

There was a lot of hype around the debut of this group, especially as they are under an indie company. And thankfully the hype was not without reason. Mixing R&B with hip-hop, mixing some clever vocal edits, tempos, and sound clips with the standard rapping skills that seem to come to the K-hip-hop scene so naturally, the song is reminiscent of recent releases, but completely unique in its approach. We are completely addicted to the clever use of vocals, editing and auto-tuning to create a whole new sound. Just like recent hip-hop artists, we hope to see this group take their talents to new heights.

VANKiD – Youth
Released: 17 May

Using his own youth as a key point to his lyrics, VANKiD’s song is bright, uplifting and fun. Although his voice isn’t as powerful and many other rappers out there, he certainly has his own style and is not afraid to promote himself just the way he is without the need to conform to the standards of today’s music industry. There is a free feeling with this song, and you will find yourself bopping along with the repetitive tune. The music video is very trippy but uses clever visuals with some nice graphical edits.

BTS – Fake Love
Released: 17 May

A comeback we have been anticipating for a while was BTS, and boy have they delivered. BTS’s Wings album was certainly one of their strongest to date but with the release of Love Yourself: Tear it’s been great to see just how much the boys have grown individually and as a group. As to be expected, their choreography is out of this world and certainly a powerful addition to the song. The song mixes an equal amount of ballad, rap and pop music along with some EDM for good measure. Vocally the pitch is higher than usual, and you can see that the song on a whole was a challenge, but what else can we say, they have proven themselves once again to be a group to support.

GB9, Park Bo Ram – If You
Released: 18 May

Taking things to a more emotional side of the music industry, GB9 and Park Bo Ram deliver a beautiful light love song with stunning soft vocals and a sad story behind the lyrics. The video is simple and shows the pain of love between a couple. The words to the song truly do add to the storytelling, and with the sweet and soft vocals, you will be enchanted by the whole package. It’s a very beautiful collaboration, and it would be nice to see them work together again in the future.

Sophiya – Let’s Get Lost (FEAT. DAWN)
Released: 18 May

Although there is no music video for this release, we simply couldn’t let it go pass without sharing it with our readers. With the help of DAWN, Sophiya brings a powerful and slightly retro sounding track into the charts. Once again being an indie artist allows for freedom of creativity, something you can certainly hear with each release by DAWN. The song is mellow, with a deep bass and drum beat. Vocally it’s as if the words are spoken to a tune rather than forced or uncontrolled.

UNI.T – No More
Released: 18 May

UNI.T have been highly promoted as the next big girl group to come from the Korean TV show The Unit and keeping true to their words it seems that the girls are out to steal the hearts of K-pop fans worldwide. Sadly we feel a slightly more powerful vocalized song would have been a better option, but it’s good to see the song keeping in with the trends of the modern day. The song is certainly catchy, and the music video does have some great close-ups of the girls and their choreography, and we would be lying if we didn’t say we enjoyed this debut.

Eluphant – Welcome
Released: 19 May

Eluphant is known for creating their own works straight from their own thoughts and from their hearts. With their latest release, it seems they have created an even more personal feel to their work by creating a noir movie in black and white, following the daily life of a musician. The hip-hop duo have been on the scene for a while, and although they keep to themselves, it’s always great to see their name pop up with new releases. This time around the song is extremely chilled and calm. Another one of those songs to sit back with a good book and a decent cup of coffee.

Nam Taehyun – Real Love
Released: 19 May

After leaving the boy group Winner, Nam Taehyun has embarked on a solo exploration with his band South Club and proven his talents with some amazing vocal works such as this release for the drama Rich Man. Nam Taehyun has an extremely addicting vocal range from deep and husky, to high pitch and smooth. He is extremely adaptable and extremely talented. It would be great to see more of his works being used for K-dramas in the future as he certainly has a great talent for that style of music.

Vincent & Mango – Walkin’
Released: 20 May

A duo whom we haven’t heard of before and really caught our eye with, their recent release was Vincent & Mango who have mixed EDM, dance, trap and pop all together as one, not to mention an extremely psychedelic and artistic music video. Reminiscent of the old school dance tracks to come from Korea back in the 1990s, there is a modern element and a sense of calmness to the hustle and bustle of the retro structure of the song. If you like the soundtrack to the anime movie Paprika then you will certainly love this release. It’s completely different to what we usually share, but in its uniqueness is a beauty.

As there have been a lot of releases this week, be sure to check back for the second instalment of  K-music week in review, which will look at releases from 21 – 23 May.

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