POP ASIA, POP!

SINGLES: SHINee, Taeyang, FT Island

2009-10-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

"Where U At" is a polished R&B track with a smooth hip-hop coda. A little too polished for me. Radio-friendly at its most predictable---it wouldn't sound alien in the US Billboard Charts---it is dangerously close to being generic. The quirky breaks or calculated change of pace that oftentimes provide both breathing space and break-it-down bliss feels automated. That is until you see the video and the cool Taeyang we've all come to love finally shines through. 5/10

Ring-ding-dong. Digah-ding-ding-dong. It's a song begging to be a ring tone, and I think it's genius that what should have been electronic bleeps are sung with much seriousness. Strange and addictive. SHINee couldn't have chosen a better single to get back on the K-Pop scene. My head is saying that there are too many things happening, that there is a melody buried under the dancey starts-and-stops, but my heart is saying otherwise: Just dance. 7/10

FT Island's move to pop-rock territory definitely paid off. By jumping off the bandwagon, they've gained a more interesting boyband personality, and the music is definitely less formulaic, allowing more styles to be explored (and hopefully, conquered). "Lie" is a mid-tempo ballad with a solid guitar backbone; the rapping provides an interesting counterpoint to the wrenching ballad vocals. If this is any indication of their work in the future, then I'm definitely on board. 7/10

OGRE YOU ASSHOLE, Fog Lamp/フォグランプ

2009-10-09T00:36:00.000-07:00

Manabu Deto makes me want to learn Japanese because I seriously want to know what's going on with the mewing vocals, what those cleanly twisting guitar lines are coiling over in infectious ecstasy for. OYA sounds like the basterd child of The Shins and Vampire Weekend, and Fog Lamp (lo-fi, irrevocably melodic) is a masterpiece by any standard. Riffs broken by chops lit by flickering, fuzzy plucking, Wipers/ワイパー runs 9 minutes but those droning chords can go on forever. Cracker/クラッカー starts the album like a pebble skipping---delicate, rhytmic---before Fog Lamp/フォグランプ floods the gates with a dancey four count, guitars marching recklessly. And just when you think it couldn't get better, Stage/ステージ dives into Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain territory. Words simply fly out the window. Hooks, shiny chord shifts, invulnerable pop sunshine. All under 6 minutes. Rating: 10/10

Extras:

OYA interview on Keikaku
MV of しらない合図しらせる子 from 2008

KEN HIRAI, Candy

2009-10-08T21:25:00.001-07:00

Ken Hirai never shied away from pop experiments, and single "Candy," is another oddball: neonized jazz sprinkled with jungle; a wobbly dance track but is pure sonic candy that melts in the ear. Blissful and strange. The less vocal version is cyberpunk sweet. Imagine robot dancing to overlapping flirty bleeps somewhere on a floating city. "フルサ・サイーダ" mixes belly-dancing riffs with drum n' bass, while "Do It!!" is more straightforward R&B (and wouldn't sound misplaced in Fakin' Pop), Hirai's voice still as smooth as spiked honey. Rating: 7/10