K-Music Week In Review Part 1: MRSHLL, LovelyZ, EPIK HIGH and more

K-Music Week In Review Part 1: MRSHLL, LovelyZ, EPIK HIGH and more

0 comments 📅04 July 2018, 13:49

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 June 28 – July 1 2018.

My Golden Age – Shout
Released: June 28

Starting this week’s releases with something a little different, the indie band My Golden Age have released their new song Shout. Reminiscent of the punk style mixed with modern pop, the song is one of those where you can let your hair down, jump around the room and feel empowered. It’s a great feel-good song, and just like the title of the song, it is one of those songs you can shout along to and have no worries. The music itself reminds us of a song from the K-drama “Shut Up! Flower Boy Band” with its catchy rhythm and great drum backing beat.

EPIK HIGH x End Of The World (Sekai No Owari) – Sleeping Beauty
Released: June 28

Being avid fans of EPIK HIGH could possibly bring a bias to how much we love this song, and unapologetically we truly do love this collaboration and release. For many years fans have wanted EPIK HIGH to expand overseas to Japan and to collaborate with Sekai No Owari. There was even a petition. Finally, after a lot of time and effort, the glorious song titled Sleeping Beauty was created and has sent fans into a frenzy of happiness. Mixing the vocals of both groups, with a chilled out high-tech DJ vibe, the song is smooth, addictive and cute. The lyrics are sung in English, and it’s truly a diverse song for people into K-pop, J-pop or for those looking for something different but not out of their language.

MRSHLL – Pose
Released: June 28

With many pride events happening all around the world in celebration of the LGBT movement, MRSHLL who was one of the first openly gay musicians from Korea has released a truly fabulous, glitzy and retro song that screams influences from old-school Madonna. Visually the graphics throughout the video are stunning, with a great play on colours. Vocally MRSHLL has a husky whispering yet sometimes strong and clear vocal range, this is perfect for this typically mellow club anthem. Are you ready to strike a pose? Well, you will be after you have listened to this song. You will be strutting down the catwalk in no time!

Taeyeon – Stay
Released: June 29

Although the song is fully in Japanese, we certainly needed to bring this song to the notice of our readers, with her soft and sweet high pitch vocals, EDM dance track, and stunning visuals, Taeyeon has proven herself as a solo artist not only in Korea, but also in Japan. The eco-hippy theming throughout the music video screams summer vibes. The song itself is also a perfect tune for those long summer nights and sunsets. Seeing girl group members going on solo adventures is an absolute joy, and we can’t wait to see more from Taeyeon as she finds her feet in the Japanese charts.

Bevy Maco – All Alone
Released: June 29

Whenever we talk about the underground or indie artist, there we always find ourselves coming back to Bevy Maco with his smooth jazz vocals, clever vocal and sound editing, with those chill vibe backing tracks. Mixing English and Korean language, there is no barrier when it comes to his music. There is so much emotion with just his vocals, and the deep slow bass and drum beat literally makes the hair on our arms stand on end. We highly recommend that you listen to this song with your headphones on, sound as loud as you can cope with, have a dim light, and close your eyes. The sound will travel around the inside of your head and turns into an ASMR styled track. This is definitely one not to be missed.

N (VIXX) – Birthday Performance
Released: June 29

Now, this is something different, and although we haven’t really shared the video because of the song, we will talk about the music. Taking inspiration from traditional Korean flute and drums in a Pansori style, VIXX leader N, has incorporated modern dance with the song Fate sung by Lee Sun Hee for the K-movie The King And The Clown. The song itself is an emotional classic and one that has haunted the ears of many fans of the movie. But moving onto the performance video itself, N is known for being one of many idol choreographers, having created dances for other K-idol groups as well as for VIXX, he decided to gift his fans on his birthday with this stunning performance. Prepare yourself as it will give you shivers.

Ki Young Park – Rain Rain Rain
Released: June 30

Falling into the trend of Lo-Fi, Ki Young Park has taken it to a whole new level with her latest release of Rain Rain Rain. Haunting, unique, with hints of jazz, blues, pop, and electronic moments, the song is surprisingly calming and bordering ethereal. The music video is on the more risque side, especially coming from South Korea where they like to keep sexuality and sexual content away from the eyes of others. But there is a deeper meaning behind the video, where it tells the story of lovers in the rain after fighting, this is helped by the lyrics of the song. The music video itself is a big risk as it does have sexual content which is left to the viewer’s own imagination, but it certainly fits the mood and style of the song.

LovelyZ – Wag-Zak
Released: June 30

It’s been a while since we have heard from these LovelyZ girls, but it seems they are back in true summer style with a new catchy release. This track is filled with summertime vibes, with bright colours, a repetitive dance track with great opportunistic pausing, a bit like waiting for the beat to drop, they create their own style with the pauses. The members are as sweet and pretty as always, and vocally they all seemed to have grown in leaps and bounds, proving their skills and position within the girl group industry. Altogether the video and song are quirky, fun, bright and just an all-around feel-good song.

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 July 2-4 2018

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