Boyfriend - Crooked

I'm beginning to think that every Kpop song called Crooked is awesome. Actually, it's more like every song produced by Sweetune is awesome. I haven't actually seen the production credits for Boyfriend's new mini album, but I'm 99% sure that this track is a Sweetune composition. For much of its length, it's an above average dance/club track. But it's the second part of the chorus, that anthemic, soaring section that's first heard at the 1:20 mark, that stands out most. This is pure Sweetune perfection (or at least a very impressive facsimile) and it's what has kept this album track in heavy rotation for me the past few weeks. Sometimes all it takes is a little slice of melody, even if its surrounding parts aren't all that memorable. I wish Boyfriend would go back to this sound more often. It's what made their earlier material so classic.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Red Velvet - Ice Cream Cake

During the past few years in the K-Pop realm, SM Entertainment has become well known for their unique brand of "franken-songs." Tracks like Girls' Generation's I Got A Boy and f(x)'s Red Light cobble together seemingly disparate sounds and melodies to create a herky-jerky type of pop song that some fans hate, but I find to be really dynamic and interesting. It's something I've come to look forward to when SM artists release new material. Red Velvet, one of the company's newest groups, show us yet again how awesome this style can be with their addictive Ice Cream Cake. It's the kind of track that pulls you in immediately with its incredible catchiness, but keeps you curious long after with its interesting sound and tempo changes. The aggressive beat during the chorus is the best, but the song's more saccharine moments actually work well too. The song could have easily grated on my nerves with its childish refrain, but there's something about it that just seems so cool. The surreal, stylish video certainly helps.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Big Data & Dragonette - Get Some Freedom

"Baby, we've got options"

This blog has proudly followed Dragonette from the time when no one knew their sound, to the time when everyone knew them from the ubiquitous Hello with Martin Solveig, and now the time when they seem to be indie electro-pop collaborators of choice. It's been awesome to watch their career change and grow. Big Data is a New York-based production team, and they've augmented Dragonette's typical sound with a heavy industrial guitar riff for this wonderful track. In lieu of a new album, this song is a nice little surprise. In some ways, it's not quite what you'd expect from the band, but I'm really digging the White Zombie/Marilyn Manson influence. It's cool to see them take on a heavier sound, even though this is definitely still pop music at its core.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Darin - Ta Mig Tillbaka

Just in time for the Melodifestivalen finale, Sweden's ace popstar Darin released new music. Ta Mig Tillbaka (ie: Take Me Back) is a brand new sound for him. Gone is the r&b-influenced dance music in favor of an airy, almost country-sounding folk song. This should be a bad thing, but the track itself is actually kind of amazing. First of all, I'm delighted that he's singing in Swedish, even though I can't understand most of it. When he was on Så Mycket Bättre in 2012 and covered many Swedish-language tracks, I went from casually liking his music to becoming obsessed. He's just got such a stunning voice that's wasted on generic radio pop. If I'm completely honest, I'd probably be a bit disappointed if he released a full album with the tempo of Ta Mig Tillbaka, but then again if every song matches this high quality it could end up as one of the year's best surprises. One quibble, however: the song really should have been released in October. Doesn't it sound like Autumn?



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.