Top Media has been having a few good years in a row here with Teen Top launching into high-style success, 100% debuting in a grand fashion and managing to keep their popularity up, and now with UP10TION's smashing arrival on the scene. Despite their rather interesting name, UP10TION's debut is so strikingly precise and on point and fantastic that the only comparison that comes to mind is Infinite's debut back in 2010. Sure other rookies have come out with perfect choreo since Infinite, but this is the first debut since Infinite that has really made me stop and go wow. And for good reason.
           In addition to the epic and on point choreo, the band's debut track is hella kickin'. It's beautifully spatialized and the audio elements compliment the visuals perfectly. There's a vibrant pulse of energy in the beat and the synths, which makes the vocals feel solid and smooth even in the verses where it's clear that some of the voices have room to develop as their careers progress. The vocals in the chorus are delightfully strong with a slide of smooth intensity that adds drama and releases the tension from the vamped-up verses perfectly. And it is just so impossibly catchy!
           Beyond that, all the shimmer effects and the scene switches and the camera work and editing in general are absolutely flawless. It adds a unique visual component and it takes just enough away from the choreo shots to leave a viewer aching for more, but not so much that that a viewer feels like they've been gypped on the treat that is watching these rookies dance. I'm still holing out for a real choreo vid, but I've been watching the Lives and the 1theK special feature, so the veiled look at the choreo is definitely doing it's job. This particular choreo is fantastic using established elements (like the ab-dance where members grab each other's shirts instead of their own) and is using them in a refreshingly new way. It involves all the members, utilizing varying levels of action, and effectively having the members flip between being high and being low without leaving any holes in the formations' overall picture, save for when important new music elements are being introduced. It's very well done.
            The release would probably get a 10 from me maybe a 9.5, but there is no internal story in the visuals, and there's really not much of a story in the lyrics either, so as much as I'd like to give it the highest score possible I am going to have to dock a few points. Also, I think it could have done better with introducing the members, especially since they have the little Tension Up! piece in the beginning. 10 people is a lot to keep track of, especially when we really only see a few of them at once for such brief instances that it's hard to learn how to differentiate between the members. Still, this is a fantastic debut and it deserves a ton of praise!

          History holds a special place in my heart for having seen them in person last year when I got to watch them warm up to perform Psycho on Music Bank. That release was one I wasn't initially thrilled about, but eventually came around to adoring. This one is similar for a lot of reasons. There's the black & white start-off for one thing, and the tracks' common theme of being obsessed with a particular girl who seems to be spurning the narrator's affections. There's one really important difference however, and that difference makes me squint uncomfortably at this release: Psycho admits that this obsessive characteristic in the narrators displayed desire is really frickin creepy, it acknowledges that this sort of thing can be expected to make people uncomfortable and that it's NOT A GOOD OR HEALTHY RESPONSE TO 'ROMANTIC' FEELINGS. Also, the narrator in Psycho has been locked up in a psych ward where he's forced to project his feelings onto his fellow inmates, meaning that no real portrayals of viable relationships with obsessive abuse are depicted... Might Just Die doesn't acknowledge that the obsession is bad, or wrong, or even very creepy. And worst of all, it uses emotional BLACKMAIL to attempt to bully the girl into staying in the abusive relationship, which basically is the lowest of the low in terms of responses. It's far too common in the real world for me to accept it in the fantasy of music, so unfortunately this release has been taken off the table for any score higher than a 4 at best. ABUSE IS NOT SEXY. ABUSE IS NOT OKAY. THE ABUSER IS NOT SAD OR UNFORTUNATE OR WORTHY OF PITY OR EMPATHY. NOT EVER. And I simply cannot support something that depicts an abuser as the wronged party in an abuse scenario. The way the History members hold the girl against her will, despite obvious attempts to fight them off, is rape or at the very least assault; the way the lyrics discuss 'if you leave me like this I might just die', is not sweet, it's sick, and it's blackmail / extortion; and the way she leaves them is not something SAD to cry over, it's something STRONG to celebrate. JiYeong might have been aiming for sadness and regret and whatnot when he wrote it, but he missed the mark by FAR.

          There are a few other things I have to quibble over. While the track is undeniably catchy, it doesn't really go anywhere over the course of the piece, and there really isn't all that much in it to begin with: 2-3 lines per member, and then 15 repetitions of the main line in the chorus... not much depth there. It does effectively represent the mind-set of a man in the throws of obsession, I'll give it that much, but it doesn't elaborate on anything, which makes the blackmail bit stand front and center... Also the saw-tooth synth-waves add a lot of complexity and interesting aural value in some ways, but the over use of them leads to a roughening of the vocal lines that does History's incredible vocalists very little credit. All in all, while I find myself enjoying the drama and getting the earworm of a track caught in my head... this release is really quite disastrous. And with how much I adore History, I find that fact really rather tragic.

        With their fantastic So Too Very Much release in February, and their March activities in Japan, I wasn't expecting anything new from these guys for a while yet. I've been pleasantly surprised by their Korean return and the release in question is itself absolutely fantastic. In direct contract to So Too Very Much, the focus of Just Tell Me is one the smoothe melodic vocals rather than on the rap sections. It makes the two releases balance well together. Also practically polar opposite is the styling theme. From the industrial daydream bright of STVM, this release explores the dark and sultry underworld of the hiphop clubbing scene. It makes the two MVs balance out and excuses the fact that this particular style set is being wrung out to flood the market this summer... In the past two weeks alone I count at least 5 boy group releases with the same theme. Any yet, nothing about this release is even remotely ordinary. It's SO epic that I've put most of my review over on the Editorials page. It's a massive post, but I could have easily gone on for another 10 pages. Check out the analysis HERE.
         Seriously, this is one of the best tracks released this year and it's certainly the most impressive thing that MYNAME's ever produced. There are rhythmic elements in this that are analogous to what makes Uptown Funk zing, there are melodic elements that use the same tactics as NyanCat to generate an unbelievably energetic earworm, and it employs harmonic elements comparable to what makes WannaBe the 'catchiest song ever'. It even as RickRolling levels of hilariously and intentionally misleading surface elements. 
         Beyond that, the lyrical story, and the visual exploration of that story, goes above and beyond anything that I would have expected from this release. It's really quite the incredible feat and I'm THRILLED about it.

          BESTie debuted as my favorite new girl group for their year, and I've enjoyed a lot of their releases since then, but this one is definitely not my favorite. The track is actually hella catchy. The bright brassy notes of the instrumental play well with the sass in the girls' voices. It's well-spatialized and beautifully energized and it moves well over the beat. I really do like it. And I LOVE the styling and the set aesthetics of the music video. It really is quite gorgeous. Which makes the fact that I don't really like the message a bit tragic.
           Admittedly, I usually try not to say that political or social standpoints are 'wrong' per se. I only make a big deal about things if what's perceived as an 'opinion' is actually an attack. The difference being fairly simple: a basic opinion is something like I don't like cats, a politicized opinion is something like I hate people who don't like cats, and an attack is I think it's okay to kick people who don't like cats. Both are technically opinions, but can you see how one's a problem? Things like JYP's recent awful MV are attacks, promoting Rape Culture. Things like this are just opinions, but politicized opinions. The lyrics themselves are saying that the narrator is straightforward in being entirely dismissive of people who like her because of her appearance, and that such shallow attraction isn't worth her time. The lyrics make the statement softer, by explaining that this opinion has come about after a long string of empty relationships where appearance was everything. The lyrics depict a frustrated girl with an unfortunate track record with romance so that now all she sees is the sort of thing she doesn't want.
           The MV is not quite so forgivable. The MV takes the idea of dismissing people for their base-attraction to the narrator and takes it one step further to actively rejecting them. The girls are in search of true love and the glasses they find show them the lecherous fantasies of all the men that they encounter. I find fault with this for two reasons, first of all, the glasses are showing fantasies, internal wants and inappropriate yearnings that DO NOT SURFACE IN THE BOYS' EXTERNAL BEHAVIOR. Punishing someone for their thoughts is bridging into Brave New World or 1984 type dystopian insanity. The second reason I'm not a fan is that it shows literally every male presence as having such fantasies, and absolutely none of the female ones, because obviously all men are pigs and all women are pure and innocent. Yeah, Sexism might still be a thing... just maybe. --_--'
            Women, believe it or not, can like and want sex. And men are not horrible, inhuman creatures with purely lecherous intentions, not even the ones that indulge in daydreaming about putting their hands all over a pretty girl they just met. Fantasy is not something that should be policed. No one is a bad person for wanting sex. It becomes inappropriate if that desire for sex leads to the doling out of unwanted attentions. The ONLY guy that behaves even remotely like that is the blue-suit dude that buys them drinks. That could make someone uncomfortable and could genuinely be considered a breach of personal space. Unfortunately for people who are made uncomfortable by it, buying a drink for the person you're interested in is a basically universal flirting convention... Of course, refusing a drink that someone's bought for you is becoming more acceptable. Every other guy in the MV is just going about their lives, being generally decent people for what limited context we see of them.
             Other than that, I love the choreo, if fabulously fun and playful. I've already mentioned that the styling is gorgeous, but it's just so true that have to bring it up again. The track is incredibly catchy and very well-produced. Additionally, I enjoy that the gay couple is represented just like any other set of guys save for the fact that their fantasies are focused on each other instead of on the girls. My final comment is just a small thing, the menu in the outdoor cafe is selling hot dogs for more than 8 bucks... so either that is a DAMN good hot dog, or that's one hella over-priced processed-meat-product. Maybe it'd be okay if you got a few of them in one order, because even 3 bucks is already pushing it for a wiener in my opinion.
            Back on point: I want to like this release. I REALLY want to like it. But I just vehemently disagree with the main message being conveyed. I'm knocking it back at least two points. It's kind of tragic, honestly. Also, I really want to see a straight choreography video! The choreo looks like a TON of fun, but it's hard to get a good look at the whole of it in the MV and when the only practice video released so far is the Eye Contact Ver (which I don't approve of as a whole... that sort of sexiness fantasy is better left to the MV dance-versions, when I get I practice video, I expect it to be a straight shot of the practice session... that's not BESTie's fault, and they are certainly not alone in having this sort of release, but still...).

          Bangtan Boys always makes great music and they always look absolutely killer in their MVs, but from Boy In Luv to Danger I've had a few... qualms about the light in which aggression is shown in relation to sexuality. This time though, I have no such issues and I'm delighted to say that this one is a slam dunk of awesome. Aesthetically speaking, the washed out, unsaturated look suits the mood of the MV and therefore I like it (even though you know it's the first thing I harp on in most cases). The story line is a bit chaotically depicted, but it does give a generalized narration of guys getting over their doomed love affairs and rekindling this platonic relationships as they struggle to come to terms with the end of their romantic ones. The burning flowers look like lilies to me, symbolic of a rather torturous purification of the soul, you know cleansing via fire in a very phoenix-like manner. Throughout the video there are shots with imagery specific to symbols of growing up and moving on that go beyond the burning flowers of lost innocence: throwing away the lollipop (I'm assuming Rap Monster's not littering), burning pictures, getting rid of pills, etc. Hell, even the shots where they stop to get gas is a maturity-image, since their only modes of transit before were bikes and school buses. Over all the video's good but not amazing; it's visually attractive, but not ground breaking. And Honestly... I'd have liked to see at least SOME of the choreo...

           EXID has enjoyed a wild ride to fame this year, after a few bumps in the road post-debut. They've managed to make a comeback on comments on the media monster that both road-blocked and steam-rolled their way to success. The censorship aspect of the modern world's media machine is one that is frequently discussed but rarely critiqued with much punch in the public sphere. Building off the obvious success of Up&Down, Ah Yeah! directly comments on the backlash EXID faced for the choreography saturated with pelvic-thrusts and sexualized imagery. Ah Yeah, while reusing the punchy beat and slick sax of Up&Down is a unique production with a smoother finish than the song that brought EXID into the spotlight. Ah Yeah is a fuller track, with a deeper, more aggressive impact as the bass is dropped by no small measure and the high-end is stretched into the heavens with a whiny slide of falsely-simpering vocals. Hani's coy little act and LE's aggressive, mic-drop worthy comeback shows in dramatic relief the distance between what is expected of women being hit on and what a genuine reaction should be.
           With sass and charm, the girls of EXID take on the media's rampant abuse of power by making point-blank digs at the sexual double standard that makes girls out to be 'sluts' and boys into 'sex gods'. The lyrics are no-holds-barred attacks and the girls pull no punches with them, stating directly that there is something wrong with the way things are. The censorship blurs cover up choreo that is similar to what the KCSC forced them to cover in Up&Down, but the choreo here is focused on knee movement than the pelvic movement, and therefore it's considered to be kosher according the the KCSC. While I personally like the knee dance of Ah Yeah better than I like Up&Down's choreo, I think it's a pretty rotten deal to have the government be able to declare a female body to be obscene based on such a tiny distinction. 
          Not only is Ah Yeah an aggressive dig at the media and censorship policies, it's a story of triumphantly reclaiming the freedom to exist as a female that is also an independent, proud, powerful, strong, sexual, and sensual human being. EXID gets the last laugh, by changing nothing in their routine from the heavily censored start of the video to the uncensored end of it as the world shifts to accommodate them (rather than a world that succeeds into cowing them to change and censor themselves). This is an incredible release, reminiscent of the gorgeous critique found in Mamamoo & eSNa's Ah Opp! but thrown into high gear without giving any slack to nonsense. Coming on the heels of the atrocious (but unfortunately extraordinarily catchy) release that is JYP's Who's Your Mama, Ah Yeah is a breath of fresh air that proves beyond a doubt that music is never just music. By censoring something, the media makes observers expect something awful, which makes the thing behind the blur obscene regardless of how it would have seemed without censorship.
           This critique of modern media culture is powerful, poignant, and perfectly suited to the times. With LE having been in a key production role to help her group members to a brilliant comeback and Shinsadong Tiger providing the experience and expertise needed to take it up a notch, Ah Yeah could hardly have been anything but fabulous.

          Mamamoo has always been a wonderfully quirky, power-vocal group and this release lives up to those expectations. The track itself is jazzy rap at it's best, dynamic and fluid while strong and steady. The utter lack of cutesy-voice always makes me proud and the fact that aegyo is pulled off in other ways stands as an example for the rest of Kpop's cutesy girl-groups. Esna provides a deep voice, rich with sass and the smoothe vocals of Mamamoo blend  well with it. The direct comments on the male-gaze and imbalance towards chickas in the media is wonderful. The girls of Mamamoo appear in their skirts and cuteness as little more than props in ads or as part of some undervalued and supposedly frivolous aspects of life (the travel bit and the importance of loveliness 'french design'). Meanwhile, Esna appears as one of the "10 Ten Musicians", but only in a pant-suit that mimics male-attire.
           Additionally the lyrics discuss how none of the singers need anything fancy, they just need their man to man-up and be good the them. A real man should admit to liking them, and either do something about their feelings or get lost because the girls have their own shit to do. The lyrics sit beautifully within a rather simple instrumental backing, that leaves the track feeling open and airy even as there is a LOT going on rhythmically. The jazzy swing to it adds both sass and class as well as giving a firm basis for the sultry vocals to sink through and spring off of. The styling is glorious, retro chic and yet cut with contemporary lines. All of the girls look gorgeous, with varying types of femininity showing through (and I'm a sucker for a monochromatic pant-suit, the drama in them is just so much fun to play with). The representations of girls being sweetheart best friends and still strong and sassy is wonderful, particularly with the lack of homoerotic undertones being wedged inside the friendships. The bit with the shaving and the boys' lives in the girls' hands is a wonderfully poignant comment on who really rules the world. The tagline of "Respect the Girl" is one that should resonate through history, and it's perfectly suited to modern culture.
            In short, I LOVE it. It's not exactly my favorite from Mamamoo, that honor is still held by Mr Ambiguous, which I think will be hard to top no matter how much time, effort, money, etc is poured into a release. That track is just catchy and clever on an entirely different level. Perhaps because it was a brand new sound in the Kpop world, and Ahh Oop! is in a now-established vein, but honestly I could analyze both tracks to death and still come up with Mr Ambiguous as the more powerful and catchy of the two. I'll easily admit that this is a close second, though.
           I also deeply enjoy how the wonderful and dramatic eSNa rewrote the track to Ahh Shit! which is not so much a remake as it is a direct and poignant comment in the very best of musical manners. I honestly like Ahh Shit! better than Ahh Oop! because there's just so much more emotion in it, an undercurrent of resonant power that carries legitimate weight. The original is mostly sweetness and sass, the re-visioning is a stance to get behind.
          The one thing I hate is that people are calling them better than Idols because of their strength and individuality, which as you all should know by know, irks me to no end. Still, this is a great release and I love it!

           NS Yoon-G's provided a plethora of bright and distinct concepts over the years and this release certainly lives up to that reputation in a lot of ways. In terms of 2015 Kpop, the track's vaguely hollow vibe is rather unusual, but it brings up a deep nostalgia for mid-2000's western R&B. I enjoy the chill feel that the slower-paced and wider-spaced instrumental elements bring to the table (even despite their being uncomfortably close to those in Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real"). Yoon-G's voice is light and airy, and more than fluid enough to make the chill track hum with a lowkey energy. The styling is lovely, though it's quite the standardized uniform of generic Kpop at the point with no particularly memorable elements.The choreography is simple and fun, suiting the song's movements quite well and providing for a lovely visual distinction from the glamour shots. The whole release is quite enjoyable.
            It's not particularly catching or revolutionary, but it's quite pleasant and a fairly solid release.

          I am not typically a huge fan of the indie genre, but sometimes gems like this are produced. It's an adorable video showing, with sugary-sweet lyrics, depicting a very cute story of an on-again-off-again relationship that is very easy to relate to for anyone who had ever been in any sort of relationship. They're aspects of the other that are just unbearable, pieces of them that are so frustrating you don't think you'll ever get over them, but having fallen in love for a reason, sometimes the important bits surface again, irresistibly. 
           The track is a relaxed jazzy thing with a perfect blend of low-key background instrumentation and complicated vocal rhythms. The voices complement well, and they use of each voice in their respective layers, splitting apart in moments of frustration and then coming together in moments of cute reconciliation, fleshes out the visual of the story in a wonderfully straightforward manner. It's a delightful little track, with an adorable and well-produced music video; a release that I'm very glad to have found.

           Girl's Day has been a great group, and it's fabulous to see Minah being allowed to hop on the Solo Debut band wagon. This track is not my favorite girl group release this season, but visually the MV makes up for a lot. The depiction of Minah dressed in glamorous, clean fashions while surrounded by settings of domestic decay give a visual breakdown of the relationship: Minah still values herself, even when her partner doesn't (which is important and unique in pre-break-up tracks). It seems for a moment, when the suitcase visual briefly comes into play, that Minah values herself enough to leave her partner, but unfortunately, the lyrics counteract that idea directly she essentially sells out to the rationales of an abusive relationship with a full blown sweep of battered woman syndrome: only remembering the good things, repeating the phrase 'I love You' until it's an ingrained habit, etc. It's especially unfortunate, because that terrible part of the lyrics corresponds to the best part of the track.
              Most of the song is bland. Minah's voice is gorgeous, but it's usage here is narrow (to the point of being more or less within the same octave even) and less than impressive, both in terms of flexibility and power (neither of which Minah's voice is lacking). Rhythmically, the track is quite impressive, and the catchiness is definitely in how the syllables fold neatly together and roll gently over themselves as they tumble along with the smooth progression of the backing track. The track doesn't evolve at all until the sudden change in the bridge, and it hardly move so much as circles until that point either. At the transition, Minah's voice gains a ton more power and picks up with energy far beyond anything else displayed in the song. It's kind of tragic that the worst lyrics get the best part of the song... And the choreography, is interesting, but it's pretty generic and rather less that suited to the lyrics, other than the few moments in the beginning with the counting on fingers bit. It's still a solid release and I'm even thought I'm not thrilled by it, I am satisfied.