A-STYLE | MEDIA MATTERS
  • News & Updates
  • Current Projects
    • Past Projects
    • Behind the Scenes >
      • About
      • FAQ
  • For Patrons!
  • Editorials
  • Reviews
    • My Grading Scale
    • Top Lists
  • Fan-Works

CLC - Like (MV Review)

6/2/2015

0 Comments

 

Well, it's Cute, but It's not my Fave...

           Stalkery, obsessive behavior is no better when it's framed with Aegyo than it is when framed by dark broodiness. It's still creepy as hell, and the fact that they not only stalk him, and invade his home, but also rifle through is underwear drawer is just plain stalker-creep of them. It's not cute, no matter how many plastic toys or foam-plushie kitty noses go into it... That said, I do still like this MV, though not entirely for it's own merit. It reminds me strongly of Kara's Wanna MV, which has a very similar concept, though I like the track for Wanna much better. Kara's MV is one I found perfectly acceptable when I watched it, but that's because in 2009 I was 16, and stalking the person I had a crush on seemed perfectly reasonable to my hormone-addled brain. Which it isn't. At all. And as a significantly more sane 22yr old, I'm appalled that I ever empathized with the idea... So I'm kinda ewwed out by this, worrying over how many teenagers are going to see it as an acceptable response to attraction...
           Aside from that I do love the styling in this, the whole comic-book pizzazz with sequins vibe is absolutely fabulous and I deeply enjoy all the street fashion that was worked in as well. In terms of the track, I actually find it annoyingly cutesy, considering how wonderfully they managed to avoid falling into that trap with their debut. This track does have it's appeal, it is well made and well balanced and it moves over a delightfully energetic beat with a strength that normally evades straight-up aegyo tracks. For an aegyo-focused song, there's no skimping or shirking, so it's actually a really good track. I just don't like it (There's absolutely no relation between how good a song is and how much I like it, they often correlate, but there's no legit connection). It's a solid comeback and it does good things for the Aegyo genre as a whole, so I'm quite pleased by the release and CLC is a band to watch!

I Give It A 7/10: Me Gusta.

Picture
0 Comments

CLC - Pepe (MV Review)

3/31/2015

0 Comments

 

Cute, Classy, and Very Cool.

          "Crystal Clear" is an odd name to condense to CLC, but whatever, it's certainly not the strangest name in Kpop. CLC is a good, easy to remember, roll-off-the-tongue kind of name, so it works. I think this group has a great chance of success for many reasons, starting off with the fact that the classy-cute but full of attitude vibe suits the generalized production vibe of CUBE Entertainment. A-Pink deviates significantly from the party line expected from a CUBE artist so I'm not surprised that their cutesy debut came very close to flopping. They've since recovered beautifully, but it was a worrisome situation. BtoB was fell into line more with A-Pink than with Beast or 4 Minute and they've never been used to their full potential. CLC is much more what I would have expected from a Cute Concept Group from CUBE than anything else they've orchestrated.
           There's plenty of aegyo and innocence and high smoothe vocals, but there's also a lot of sass and synth overlay that add energy and interest to the whole release. It's pop-y and peppy and perfectly cute, while being sharp synthed and pumped with bright energy enough to show off an undercurrent of aggressive confidence, the sort that comes from a self-awareness of being awesome. The sassy-ass hair-flips are the prime example, being sudden sharp movements laced within the sugary-sweet oohs and aahs and smooth 'shy' shoulder shrugs. The track itself back up the attitude-but-adorable vibe, being filled with sweet high notes carried off by strong, full-bodied vocals that haven't been squished by cute-i-fication. The backing instrumentals are quirky and set at a nice mid-level that keeps the baseline feeling light, but still allows the high notes to shine as quite a stretch.
            The video is fabulous, on all counts. The visuals of the settings are unique and identifiable without being so bizarre that they don't mesh with the rest of the genre. The styling is classy and cutesy, the sports-wear being off-set by pastel pinks for cute-ness, and skin-tight elements in classic black that bring in the sexy and sensual while still being somewhat reserved and the non-coordinate sports-wear is off-set by the aegyo-acting. The classy little-black-dress outfits are off-set by the fluffy skirts, the pale-paneling, and the adorable cheerleader ponytails. The choreography is flawless, paired perfectly with the flow of the track, meshed well into the styling, and captured perfectly by the camera's movements. There's enough glamour shots to start learning the differences between the the members and then at the end the helpful snapshots allow us to put names to the faces we've begun to learn. I like how the names come at the end rather than the beginning (like in many debut MVs) because in the beginning, I don't know the differences in the faces well enough to able to identify them as the video progresses. But after watching them for a few minutes? The names actually stick.
              All in all, this is a fantastic release and a fabulous debut. I'm delighted with what they've got right now and I'm excited about their release prospects for the future.

I Give It an 8/10: Fabulous!

Picture
0 Comments
    If you have Questions about my Terminology, Bias Bands, or any other FAQ click HERE.

    Categories

    All
    100%
    1 The K (Loen Ent)
    2ne1
    2pm
    4 Minute
    9muses
    A6P
    AA (Double A)
    Academic
    A Ent Korea
    After School
    Ailee
    A-Jax
    Alice Nine
    AlphaBAT
    Amber
    Amie Kaufman
    AMUSE Inc
    Ann Pachett
    AoA (Ace Of Angels)
    AOMG
    Apink
    Art History
    * Artist Review *
    A-Sketch Ent
    Attack
    Audience: Adult
    Audience: New Adult
    Audience: Young Adult
    Audience: Young Reader
    B1a4
    B2m Ent
    Bangtan Boys
    B.A.P
    Bastarz
    Beast
    Believe Records
    Ben
    Benedict Carey
    Bestie
    B.I.G
    Big Bang
    Big Hit Ent
    Bigstar
    Block B
    BoA
    * Book Review *
    Boyfriend
    Boys Republic
    Brandnewmusic Korea
    Bravesound
    Brown Eyed Girls
    BTL (Beyond The Limit)
    Bugs! Korea
    Bumkey
    C2k Ent
    Can Ent
    C Clown
    C-Clown
    Chrome Ent
    CJ E&M
    CJes
    C-Jes Ent
    Cl
    CLC
    Collabodadi
    Core Contents Media
    *Cover Review*
    Crayon Pop
    CT Ent
    Cube Ent
    Cultural Studies
    Danal Ent
    Debut
    Diaura
    Disney+
    Donghae
    DS Ent
    Dsp Ent
    Dynamic Duo
    Equal Rep: LGBTQ+
    Equal Rep: Varied Gender Presentations
    ESNa
    Eunhyuk
    EXID
    Exo
    F.cuz
    Fiestar
    Fluxus Music
    Flying Dog Ent
    Fnc Ent
    Ft Island
    F(x)
    GaIn
    Galaxy Inc
    G Dragon
    G-Dragon
    General
    Genre: Action
    Genre: Comedy
    Genre: Cultural Studies
    Genre: Dark Fantasy
    Genre: Dystopia
    Genre: Epic Fantasy
    Genre: Fantasy
    Genre: Historical Fiction
    Genre: Literary Fiction
    Genre: Mythology
    Genre: Physics
    Genre: Plain Fiction
    Genre: Realistic Fiction
    Genre: Revisionary History
    Genre: Romance
    Genre: Science
    Genre: SciFi
    Genre: Space Opera
    Genre: Speculative Fiction
    GH Entertainment
    Giriboy
    Girls Day
    Girls Generation (SNSD)
    G.NA
    Gng Productions
    * Graphic Novel / Manga Review *
    Grisha Verse
    H2 Ent
    Happy Tribe Ent
    Henry
    Heo Youngsaeng
    High4
    History
    Hotshot
    House & Home Goods
    Imagine Dragons
    Infinite
    Information
    Instant Records
    Iu
    James Kakalios
    Jang HyunSeung
    Jay Park
    Jellyfish Ent
    Jennifer Armentrout
    Jimin N J.Don
    JinYoung Park (JYP)
    JMS Ent
    Js Ent
    JTM Ent
    J Tune Camp
    Jun HyoSung
    Jyj
    Jyp Ent
    Kahi
    Kang Seungyoon
    Kara
    Key East Ent
    Kim Hyungjun
    Kim Hyunjoong
    Kim Jaejoong
    KO Sound
    Kota
    KT Music
    K.Will
    Lc9
    Led Apple
    Lee Junghyun
    Leigh Bardugo
    Lim Kim
    Lindsey Stirling
    Lion Mascot (สิงโต นำโชค)
    Lunafly
    Madtown
    Mamamoo
    Marie Lu
    Marie Rutkoski
    Mblaq
    Meagan Spooner
    M.I.B
    Minah
    Miss A
    MMO Ent
    Mnet
    Monsta X
    Moonshine
    * Movie / Drama / TV Show Review *
    M.Pire
    Mr. Mr.
    Music K Ent
    * Music Review *
    My First Story
    Myname
    Mystic89 Music
    Nano
    Naomi Novik
    N.A.P Ent
    Neal Stephenson
    Nega Network
    N.Flying
    Nh Media
    Nine Muses
    Non Fiction
    Non-Fiction
    N-Sonic
    NS Yoon G
    NS Yoon-G
    NU'EST
    Odd Eye
    Oh Yeri
    Okdal
    One OK Rock
    Park BoRam
    Pentatonix
    Personal
    Phantom
    Pledis Ent
    Pocket Girls
    Pony Canyon Ent
    Prepix
    * Product Review *
    Psc Ent
    Queen B'z
    Rainbow
    Red Velvet
    Rex. D
    Rise Records
    Romeo
    ~Rookie Debut~
    Sabaa Tahir
    San-E
    Sarah J Maas
    Sean Carroll
    Secret
    Seo InGuk
    Series: Keeper Of The Lost Cities
    Series: Science Comics
    Seungri
    Seven Seasons Ent
    Seventeen
    Shannon Messenger
    Shinee
    SidusHQ
    Simtong Ent
    Sistar
    Skarf
    Sleeping With Sirens
    Sm Ent
    Sony Music & Ent
    Soulights
    Speed
    Spica
    S-Plus Ent
    Ss501
    Stardom Ent
    Star Empire Ent
    Starkim Ent
    Starship Ent
    Star Wars
    Stellar
    Sugarbowl
    SuJu D&E
    Sunmi
    Sunny Hill
    Super Junior
    Swings
    Taeyang
    Tahiti
    T-ARA
    Tasty
    The Ark
    *Theater & Stage Drama Review*
    The Benjamin Ent
    The British Royal Family
    The VIBE Ent
    Timothy Zahn
    Tiny G
    Tnc Ent
    Togeworl
    Top Class Ent
    Top Media
    Topp Dogg
    Toxic
    Ts Ent
    Tvn
    Tvxq
    U-Kiss
    Ulala Session
    UNIQ
    Universal Music
    Universal Studios
    UP10TION
    Urban Zakapa
    Various Artists
    Vibe: Aeronauts & Punk Diaspora
    * Video Review *
    Vixx
    WA Ent
    Warner Ent
    Wonder Boyz
    Wonder Girls
    Woolim Ent
    Xiah / Junsu
    Xiran Jay Zhao
    Year End Review
    Yedang Ent
    Yg Ent
    Ymc Ent
    YNB Ent.
    YNM Company
    Yuehua Ent
    ZE:A[제국의아이들]
    Z.Hera
    Zico

    Email Me!

    Archives

    November 2024
    May 2024
    December 2022
    November 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    May 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    My Tumblr

    RSS Feed

    The name, layout, opinions, analysis, and original media displayed on the Music Matters® website belongs to A-style® and are the intellectual property of Alexandra Swords. 2013©
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.