Flashback Friday: Bigbang - Haru Haru

"Finally I realized that I'm nothing without you"

2012 will definitely end up as the year that I fell in love with K-Pop. Because I'm a little bit behind, there's a lot to catch up on. My favorite group (and I'm sure I'm not alone, here) is Bigbang, and I've been having a lot of fun going through their back catalogue. Haru Haru is only a few years old, but it's going to qualify as a Flashback Friday anyway. It was one of their biggest hits and it's easy to see why. Some choruses just stick instantly, and this is one of them. In my mind, it's kind of the melodic precursor to the even better Monster, released this year.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the song here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Infernal - Can't Go Back

"I can't erase the way it was before"

Infernal have always been kind of hit or miss with me. My favorite period of their music is definitely the Electric Cabaret album and the singles preceding and following it. I really think that era represents a masterpiece in the genre. unfortunately, I didn't connect with their follow-up album, and then I just kind of forgot about them (as happens when there's so much music in the world). But now they're back, and I'm finding myself interested again. Can't Go Back is fairly straightforward (I really miss the crazy experimentation of their best work), but it's still a highly effective club track with a great melody and big Calvin-Harris-esque production. I hope the album's good!



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy Electric Cabaret here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Olly Murs - The One

"The rivers subside for you"

I never really found Olly Murs all that special when he was in X-Factor, but my appreciation of his talent has grown with each passing album. In addition to being the perfect co-host of Xtra Factor, he's now released three very strong pop albums. While Dear Darling is the track I can't get out of my head, my instant standout on the new album isn't actually a proper album track at all. It's only available on the deluxe version (for some inconceivable reason). The One features an extremely hooky verse and a chorus that I find very uplifting, soulful and raw. It doesn't feel try-hard, but instead reaches its anthem status naturally and completely wins you over by the end.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Cher - A Woman's World

"I lose myself in the beat of the drum"

For the five millionth time, Cher is back! This is, by no means, a bad thing. Real legends are few and far between in the music industry, and it's always exciting when one releases a new song after quite a few years off. For A Woman's World, Cher is maintaining the strong club sound that bolstered her most recent comeback. The track's current but still manages to have a bit of a throwback sound to it -- kind of like a modern I Will Survive. The chorus is its strongest element. There's just no way to dislodge the hook from your brain. I'm not sure that this will have the same mainstream appeal that Believe had, but it will certainly please certain portions of her fan base looking for a big, campy dance track.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy her greatest hits here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.