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

The Ark - The Light (MV Review)

4/14/2015

1 Comment

 

Oh the FEELS!

          *Cries Hysterically* I was NOT prepared for that. Which is presumably why they did it. I was thinking 'oh, spring, another rookie girl group to watch, no biggie' and what I got was one of the most heart wrenching stories I've ever seen depicted in such a beautifully poignant way that the only option I was presented with was to bawl my eyes out for a solid minute and a half after the mv ended. What I liked best about this video is that we never see any parts related to the actual tone-defining instant. All we see is a vague, blurry newsreel, and that from far away, and we see the mom's hand fall and everything changes. Except the isolated tone of the track. The focus on the happy parts, the focus on the live lived rather than the loss is a beautiful depiction of grief that is rarely seen in dramatic contexts. I think it's wonderfully to see here.
          The track is lovely, catchy and sweet. The vocals are strong and their presence sits nicely among the instrumental elements. The harmonic utilization of the members is top-notch, rather than the forced harmonies of a lot of spring-releases and the plurality of voices complements the isolated feel on the vocals in the raps. The harmonic vocal lines also fill in the instrumental nicely. The backing lines are pretty sparse in this track, and repetitive, but that allows for the vocal fills to have room to expand and shift without feeling squeezed.
         My only concern is that it's not a very good debut video. None of the girls make any appearances at all, there's NO way to even know how many members there are from the video alone. It's also not a terribly catchy song and it's not the kind of video you send to your friends without a feels warning, or the kind people want to watch over and over and over again. It's beautiful, powerful even, but it's not catchy. It's not the kind of career kickstart that makes a real dent. And with the Light being the only track on the release, there aren't any other tracks to handle the catchy, viral aspect while the title track sticks to the gut-wrenching dramatics of grief. Which is tragic because these girls have the potential to be awesome.  The group has been pulling a lot of extra promotions with dance covers and #hashtag epicness for 1theK, but it's not enough to make them a household name. The most eyecatching part of their get-up is the fact that they made serious covers of the guys' songs, rather than sexy "female-interpretations" they threw the actual choreo straight. Their debut track shows off nothing of that impressive and carefully crafted image. So while this is a FANTASTIC release, it's not actually a good debut. If it were a follow-up or a later release for an established group, I'd be giving this at least a 9 without any hint of hesitation. As is...

I give it a 7/10: Me Gusta.

Picture
1 Comment
    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
    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: 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
    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

    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.