2012 In Review: Part 10 – Label of the Year
[2012 In Review Series]
0. Prelude – Best Album Art
1. Introduction
2. Best R&B/Soul
3. Best Rock/Alternative
4. Best Rap/Hip-hop
5. Best Dance/Electronica
6. Best Pop/Ballad
7. Best Crossover/Miscellaneous
8. Best Original Soundtrack
9. Best Collaborative Work
10. Label of the Year
11. Rookie of the Year
12. Song of the Year
13. Artist of the Year
14. Album of the Year
15. Concluding Remarks
Welcome back to our 2012 In Review series! Today we recognize the labels and agencies that made the scene go around this year. There is a partial metrics approach to selecting this category: things like the number of releases by signed artists, sales figures, average review scores, and number of artists/works selected to this humble series and similar ones elsewhere are all useful things to take into account. So there’s a little bit of that here, but my approach is also qualitative – how much intangible impact did a label have on the scene? Did it cause trends to emerge or paradigms to shift? That’s the idea.
As always, honorable mention picks are sorted by alphabetical order of names!
Label of the Year 2012
YG Entertainment
Signed artists: 1TYM, 2NE1, Big Bang, Epik High, Gummy, Jinusean, Lee Hi, Masta Wu, Perry, Psy
Notable releases: 2NE1 – single I Love You; Big Bang – 5th mini album Alive (and repackage edition); Epik High - 7th album 99; G-Dragon – 1st mini album One of a Kind; Gummy - singles from I Am A Singer 2; Lee Hi – debut single 1, 2, 3, 4; Psy – 6th album 싸이6甲 (Psy 6th Best) Part 1 and single Gangnam Style; Se7en – mini album Se7en New Mini Album
In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Runner-up R&B/Soul Song for Lee Hi’s 1, 2, 3, 4; Honorable Mention R&B/Soul Song for Se7en’s 내가 노래를 못해도 (Even If I Can’t Sing); Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Album for G-Dragon’s One of a Kind; Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Song for Big Bang’s Bad Boy; three others to be announced
What a year for this Big Three label. It seemed like anything YG touched in 2012 turned into gold. Se7en’s comeback EP was well-received critically; Big Bang sold the second-most albums in 2012 while successfully completing a 12-country tour. 2NE1′s single was praised for continuing to push idol-music and -identity boundaries; G-Dragon’s album was praised for returning to unrelenting swagger and solidifying his musical scope. Even the rookie, Lee Hi, stormed onto the scene by topping Melon charts for 25 consecutive days and becoming the first female solo artist ever to top M! Countdown, Gaon, and Billboard K-pop charts for three weeks. If that wasn’t enough, here are two word for you: Gangnam Style. Epik High’s comeback was just about the only dud of the year, and even that’s not too concerning given that group’s stellar track record. They’ll be back big.
Aside from the commercial successes, a lot of YG’s acclaimed artistry this year can be attributed back to the company’s direction. While big labels’ micromanagement of their artists is often seen as meddlesome at best and repressive at worst, YG showed how much good that can do under the best circumstances. Lee Hi’s super debut, acclaimed for its unique interpretation of Motown-lite, wouldn’t have been possible without the agency’s repository of soul music know-how. 2NE1 does something surprising with every release (this year, it was the embracing of trance sound and a further disintegration of established member roles), which is an encouraging sign of YG’s boldness with its flagship female group as well as its comfort with diverse genres. In the meantime, Teddy, Perry, and the other in-house developers are only growing in prowess. With at least three rookie teams – a boy band, girl group, and Kang Seung-yoon as solo – set to debut and new releases coming up early for 2NE1 and Lee Hi, YG seems to have no intention of slowing down in 2013.
Label of the Year Runner-up
Fluxus Music
Signed artists: Annyeongbada (Byebye Sea), Clazziquai Project, Eastern Sidekick, Handsome People, Ibadi, Loveholics, SAZA Choi Woo-jun, Tei, Urban Zakapa, W&Whale, Winterplay, Yi Sung-yol
Notable releases: Annyeongbada – 2nd album Pink Revolution; Clazzi – 1st album Infant; Eastern Sidekick – 1st album The First; Handsome People – 1st album Are You Handsome?; SAZA Choi Woo-jun – 2nd album SAZA’s Blues; Urban Zakapa – 2nd album 02
In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Runner-up Collaborative Album and Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Album for Clazzi’s Infant; Honorable Mention R&B/Soul Album for Urban Zakapa’s 02; Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Song for Clazzi’s Love & Hate; Honorable Mention Crossover/Miscellaneous album for Handsome People’s Are You Handsome? and SAZA Choi Woo-jun’s SAZA’s Blues; Honorable Mention Crossover/Miscellaneous Song for SAZA Choi Woo-jun’s Blue Gonna Blue
Fluxus really is no longer the little label that could. Its artists, in both number and clout, have grown impressively with heavyweights and rookies alike. The versatility of this label is apparent in the wildly different genres its musicians pursue as well as the different categories that they’ve been recognized in already in the series. This is what makes Fluxus a living embodiment of what K-pop should (and likely will) look like in the near future. We’ve seen the beginning of the end of the current, five-year-old idol-dominance dynamic this year; bands and solo artists made strong commercial surges, even as existing idol groups (at least, the most successful ones) began to restructure their identities and become more artistry-oriented.
If the industry does exit the idol phase, mid-major labels will start to diversify their rosters, and I think some will start looking like Fluxus. Artists that can generate buzzes without idol-style marketing, like Fluxus’s Clazziquai and Urban Zakapa, are valuable in this new landscape. Those with old and dedicated fanbases (even if small), like Yi Sung-yol and Tei, can help push albums over MP3 sales. A rich potential for in-house collaborations and the versatility to adapt to trend changes, like Fluxus has, are also important. This label put out a ton of quality work in 2012 from its rather unique position, and turns out it was ahead of the curve all along.
Honorable Mentions
Amoeba Culture
Signed artists: Dynamic Duo, Supreme Team, Primary, Yankie, Planet Shiver, Rhythm Power, Zion.T
Notable Releases: Production and promotion support for J-Tong’s 모히칸과 맨발 (Mohawk and Bare Feet); Dynamic Duo – 6th album 6th Digilog; Primary – 1st album Primary and the Messengers LP; Rhythm Power – EP 누구 하나 빠짐없이 잘생겼다 리듬파워 (Everyone Is Handsome Rhythm Power); Simon Dominic – single 여섯시 반 (Six Thirty); Zion.T – more featured appearances than you can count
In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Best Rap/Hip-hop Song for Primary’s 독 (Poison); Runner-up Rap/Hip-hop Album for J-Tong’s Mohawk and Bare Feet; Runner-up Rap/Hip-hop Song for J-Tong’s 사직동 찬가 (Sajik-dong Anthem); Honorable Mention Rap/Hip-hop Album for Dynamic Duo’s 6th Digilog Part 2 and Primary’s Primary and the Messengers LP; Best Collaborative Song and Honorable Mention Rap/Hip-hop Song for J-Tong’s 개판 (Clusterf*ck); two more to be announced
Beatball Music
Signed artists: 3rd Line Butterfly, Bobbyville, The Freaks, Kirin, Look & Listen, Mukimukimanmansu, Puer Kim, Seokyo Group Sound
Notable Releases: 3rd Line Butterfly – EP Ice Cube and 4th album Dreamtalk; Kirin – debut album 그대여 이제 (You, Now) and five singles; Look & Listen – debut album Ready to Go; Mukimukimanmansu – debut album 2012; Puer Kim – debut EP Mom & Sex and 1st album 이응 (Yieung); Seokyo Group Sound – 1st album 우리들은 (We)
In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Runner-up Rock/Alternative Song for 3rd Line Butterfly’s 헤어지는 날 바로 오늘 (The Day We Part, Today); Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Song for 3rd Line Butterfly’s 스모우크핫커피리필 (Smoke Hot Coffee Refill); three others to be announced
(An aside: four of the albums you see above – by Kirin, Look & Listen, Mukimukimanmansu, and Seokyo Group Sound – were selected as Daum Music’s Album of the Month. That’s darned impressive.)
Pastel Music
Signed artists: Besweet, Belle Epoque, Bulssajo, Casker, Cloud Cuckoo Land, Donawhale, Epitone Project, Fanny Fink, Han Hee-jung, Herz Analog, Humming Urban Stereo, Instant Romantic Floor, JaeJuSoNyun, Jo Wul, Lucia, The Melody, Misty Blue, Ninaian, No Respect For Beauty, Park Jun-hyuk, Pony, Slow 6, Sumiara & Phonestuber, Sentimental Scenery, Sogyumo Acacia Band, Sweetpea, Taru, Tensi Love, Toxicbiasfleurivy, Trampauline, Urn I, YeSlow, Yozoh, Zitten
Notable Releases: Pastel 10th Anniversary projects; Besweet – EP Bitter Sweet; Casker – single Wish and 6th album 여정 (Journey); Epitone Project – 2nd album 낯선 도시에서의 하루 (A Day in a Strange City); Herz Analog – debut EP Prelude and 1st album Herz Analog; Humming Urban Stereo – 4th album Sparkle; Instant Romantic Floor – three singles; Lucia – EP Décalcomanie; No Respect For Beauty – debut album Why Perish; Pony – EP Little Apartment; Sentimental Scenery – EP There Is Nowhere Else in the World; Slow 6 – 3rd album Somewhere; Taru – four singles and EP Blah Blah; Yozoh – three singles; Zitten – EP 백야 (White Night)
In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Best Pop/Ballad Album for Lucia’s Décalcomanie; Runner-up Rock/Alternative Album for No Respect For Beauty’s Why Perish; Runner-up Crossover/Miscellaneous Album for Sentimental Scenery’s There Is Nowhere Else in the World; Runner-up Pop/Ballad Song for Zitten’s 백야 (White Night); Honorable Mention Rock/Alternative Song for Pony’s 안녕 (Goodbye); Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Album for Casker’s Journey; Honorable Mention Pop/Ballad Album for Zitten’s White Night; Honorable Mention Pop/Ballad Song for Lucia’s 그대의 고요 (Your Tranquility); Honorable Mention Crossover/Miscellaneous Song for Sentimental Scenery’s View; one other to be announced
What do your picks look like for this category? Discuss with us in the comments, and join us tomorrow in Part 11 as we unveil the Rookie of the Year!
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.
Sources: Photos – YG United, Nate, Daum Blog, Ceci, Frontier Times; Data – Gaon Charts
2012 In Review: Part 3 – Best Rock/Alternative
[2012 In Review Series]
0. Prelude – Best Album Art
1. Introduction
2. Best R&B/Soul
3. Best Rock/Alternative
4. Best Rap/Hip-hop
5. Best Dance/Electronica
6. Best Pop/Ballad
7. Best Crossover/Miscellaneous
8. Best Original Soundtrack
9. Best Collaborative Work
10. Label of the Year
11. Rookie of the Year
12. Song of the Year
13. Artist of the Year
14. Album of the Year
15. Concluding Remarks
Welcome back to our 2012 In Review series! Another great harvest of rock music came out of what is arguably the country’s deepest, strongest scene outside of pop. There were bands that really pushed the envelope in sound design and experimentation, and there were others that refined a good thing until it was masterful. Narrowing down the honorable mentions (especially on the songs side) was difficult simply because of the relative parity in this scene, but a few stood out above the rest.
Again, please remember that the Album of the Year and Song of the Year (and their runner-ups) are not included in the genre categories. That means that there could be a rock (or any other genre) album that isn’t being honored on this page because it’s the album of the year. As always, honorable mention picks are sorted by alphabetical order of artist names.
Albums
Best Rock/Alternative Album 2012
Lowdown 30 – 1
Simply put, Lowdown 30 opened a new horizon for Korean blues rock with this sophomore album. Painstaking attention to sound is apparent at every corner, from 처연 (Solitude)‘s distantly ringing, amorphous background tone to 암전 (Change In Blackout)’s hypnotic twelve-note riff. 너의 조각 (Pieces of You) and 플라스틱에로모듈 (Plastic Erotic Module) escape genre constraints with writhing hooks and fuzzy riffs on infinite loop. The band even went and actually rebuilt 아스팔트 (Asphalt), a grungy, auto-wah-fed blues metal track that was already so good as to be our Best Rock/Alternative Song 2011. This is one of those rare albums where each track is a surprise; if that wasn’t somehow enough for you, Yoon Byung-ju‘s chameleon-like voice add even greater dimensions to the wildly diverse instrumentation. A profound understanding of blues, punk, and its derivatives permeate Lowdown 30′s cross-genre approach, and with a hearty dose of experimentation, they craft a breed of sound hitherto unheard.
Runner-up Rock/Alternative Album 2012
No Respect For Beauty – Why Perish
Post-rock is a minor genre in Korea, even for the indie scene. So it takes some intrepidity for a rookie band to debut in it while signed to Pastel Music, and it takes even more to skip the whole EP thing and go straight to full-length. Following genre conventions, Why Perish is filled with vocal-less epics seven and eight minutes long. Yet even its heavier tracks, rife with the distorted guitar and incessant cymbals of shoegazing, are oddly clinical; there is little angst or fury seeping out of them. Instead, No Respect For Beauty fills those spaces to a suffocating density with controlled chaos. Hauntingly hollow guitar rings out over a storm of effecters and crashes (Owls on the Ground); ominous melodies rush to frantic, uneasy resolutions (Day of Departure); a buzzing abyss reminiscent of The Hitchiker‘s Hexameron (2011) stands agape in endless motion (Declaration of Existence). If there is emotion in Why Perish, it is not directed anywhere; rather, it is expended and diffused into atmosphere, usually unresolved. Through all this, the rookie band evokes a most uneasy sense of anxiety and the unknown – things that we are familiar with, but seldom experience in the full. Nothing that No Respect For Beauty does is new, but this debut effort is one of the strongest punches in the gut you’ll get all year.
Honorable Mentions
Analogsoop – Drama
Go-eun‘s do-everything vocal performance dominate what is actually very smartly written instrumentation.
Boohwal – Purple Wave
The rousing rock ballads return, but the real attractions are Kim Tae-won‘s continuing experimentation in his thirteenth album.
Galaxy Express – Galaxy Express
The ridiculous explosiveness here is somewhat analogous to getting pounced by that one-eyed leopard.
Glen Check – Haute Couture (read our review)
This endlessly danceable electro-rock hybrid was this close to being the runner-up pick.
Guten Birds – 팔랑귀 (Gullible Ears)
Rough and unkempt, with such intricacy that you wouldn’t believe it’s a three-man band.
Hot Potato – Who Doesn’t Like Sweet Things.
Kim C and his band’s observant diary is as nuanced as the period punctuating its title.
Method – The Constant
The flashiest, steeliest, most satisfying iteration yet from a stalwart of the metal scene.
Yellow Monsters – We Eat Your Dog
A striking blend of rebellious energy and unexpectedly catchy hooks.
Songs
Best Rock/Alternative Song 2012
Glen Check – French Virgin Party (audio link)
A single riff can sometimes define an album, and this is the case with French Virgin Party‘s pulsing synth rhythm. It is the song’s alpha and omega (literally – the song starts and ends on it), the tireless engine that drives the titular party to heady heights. At the same time, it captures what makes Glen Check special. Note how the band constructs this riff with a rhythmic focus – the snare, bass, and deep synth are doing the heavy lifting while the thin guitar merely rides atop the pulses. Vocalist Kim Jun-won stays out altogether, only coming in after the rave ends to provide embellishment. That’s the sound philosophy of the Haute Couture album in a nutshell. They create such dynamic energy without using the tools that make it easy to do that. The end result yields a promising avenue of future work, and as an added bonus, some of the most exhilarating three minutes of 2012.
Runner-up Rock/Alternative Song 2012
3rd Line Butterfly – 헤어지는 날 바로 오늘 (The Day We Part, Today) (read our album review)
3rd Line Butterfly’s Dreamtalk was an album based on three immense strengths: bold and fearlessly experimental soundscapes, Nam Sang-ah‘s wonderfully evocative vocals, and deconstructive yet profound lyricism. A twist, then, that its best song is actually missing one component – that lyricism. Today was probably the album’s most mundane in terms of language, but this turned out to be essential. You see, the draw of Today is its guttural, instinctive sense of longing and attachment. As Nam recounts the same melodic motif over and over again, each iteration more emotional than the last, the lyrics too repeat and grow from descriptive to spontaneous. As Sung Ki-wan and Kim Nam-yoon‘s guitar and effecter work crescendos and spills over, the lyrics too grow desperate and base (at one point, the narrator holds herself from spitting in her lover’s face). Only a full minute of soaring solos, frantically slamming piano, and pained vocalizations fill the outro; there are no lyrics, no words, and no expression, as the narrator’s emotions, like the guitars, race away from us. Nor are they needed – not anymore.
Honorable Mentions
404 – 춤 (Dance). The part-chanting, part-trembling vocals are icing on the distortion cake.
Art of Parties – 섬 (Island). The brightest, most fleeting moment in one man’s life, as told in searing heat by Kim Bada and co.
Momguamaum- Déjà Vu. Absolutely hypnotic.
Deli Spice – 聯 ‘연’ (Connection). A rousing, seven-minute return to roots for the iconic modern-rock band.
Guten Birds – 스마일, 김치, 그리고 치즈 (Smile, Kimchi, and Cheese). [No studio version on YouTube.] All kinds of fun with tempo.
Haneumpa – 잠영 (Underwater Swimming). [No studio version on YouTube.] Appropriate title – that string-guitar riff immerses like quicksand.
HarryBigButton – King’s Life. [No studio version on YouTube.] Very overtly macho; they can afford to be.
Human Race – 불면증 (Insomnia). We were overdue for a modern-rock heartbreaker this year. Wait no longer.
Lowdown 30 – 너의 조각 (Pieces of You). [No studio version on YouTube.] You think the instruments really could do all the talking… and then Yoon Byung-ju makes a good thing great.
Method – Desolation Across. Relentless play and intricate composition construct a formidable soundscape.
Monolead – Film 2-607. A vast expanse sketched in lingering sound.
Monni – Can’t Write Love Songs Anymore. When Kim Shin-ui decides to let it rip like this, watch out.
Nell – Cliff Parade. [Read our album review] A tour-de-force soundwave powered by marching snares and an inexorable riff.
No Respect For Beauty – Day of Departure. You could cut this uncomfortable atmosphere with a knife.
Rocket Diary – 야화 (Night Flower). Tasteful sensuality is more common these days, but Rocket Diary’s rendition isn’t any less fun.
Story Seller – 절대적 착시 (Absolute Optical Illusion). [Read our album review] A deliciously creepy exercise in spliced-and-diced beats and wailing string-rock.
THEATRE8 – 사람을 찾습니다 (Looking for a Person). Theatrical sound is always lovely, but Seo Sang-wook‘s stylized performance is especially phenomenal.
The Koxx – 사랑춤 (Love Dance). A hazy, dreamy call of courtship.
The Pony – 안녕 (Goodbye). A heady, nocturnal romp of an apology.
The Reading Club – 별처럼 (Like a Star). Powerful in its mellowness; the soft sound nevertheless comes across as big.
The Solutions – Talk, Dance, Party for Love. Quintessential summer jam with those rushing guitars and ambience.
Younha – Set Me Free. [Read our album review] Younha carries herself like a modern-rock veteran as a gorgeous arrangement explodes in spectacular catharsis.
What do your picks look like for this category? Discuss with us in the comments, and join us tomorrow for Part 4, where we review the year’s best in rap and hip-hop!
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.
Sources: Photos – Bugs Music and Daum Music; Naver Blog
Pastel Music’s 10th anniversary: Indie artist Lucia collaborates with Deok Won of ‘Broccoli You Too’
For Pastel Music‘s 10th anniversary, they have collaborated with an artist outside of their agency. The first collaboration is created by Lucia (aka Shim Gyusun) and Deok Won of Broccoli You Too (브로콜리 너마저).
The two artists who are known for singing out their emotions and their sensitive style, Lucia and Deok Won, have joined hands to create Why (왜죠). Pastel Music’s official says, “Broccoli You Too’s specialty, soft and warm melody is able to stand out and made in to 200% perfection as the melody meets with Lucia’s vocals and beautifully blooms.”
In about a week, it is said that they will release the second special track and many are curious to which musician will be collaborating for Pastel Music’s 10th year anniversary album Ten Years After, which is to be released in mid-December.
On the other hand, as Pastel Music has reached their 10th year anniversary, the artists Epitone Project, Casker, Lucia, Han Heejung, Yojo, Taru, Humming Urban Stereo and many others will be participating in this special album.
Check out Lucia and Deok Won’s collaborative song Why (왜죠):
Source: news-Bugs Music, Naver Music; video-BubbleFeetGravityCH2
Quick Reviews: Son Seung-yeon, J.ae, and Casker
Son Seung-yeon – 미운 오리의 날개 짓 (Flight of the Ugly Duckling)
Release: October 23, 2012
Distributor: Universal Music Korea
Genre: Pop, ballad
Rating:
I’m not yet sure what kind of artist Son Seung-yeon is, other than perhaps that she’s a more versatile Kim Bo-kyung. The reigning champion of The Voice Korea opts for a diverse potpourri of a debut EP, which is usually a solid strategy for a rookie with this much vocal upside. Flight of the Ugly Duckling is very sleek-sounding for the most part – from the sensual slow jam of Replay to the steely pop-rock sound of 저 달이 지면 (When The Moon Sets ) - there’s a lot of polish and attraction in both instrumentation and composition. More impressive, however, is the seeming effortlessness with which Son handles her various assignments: she commands the tender serenade just as firmly as the belting parade. I’m not sure how much coaching she’s had since The Voice, but this adaptive performance is impressive regardless: this is a 19-year-old rookie we’re talking about.
Apart from the painfully predictable lead single (it’s composed by Kim Do-hoon and Park Geun-tae, which gives you an idea), there isn’t much to fault with Flight. The EP does its job admirably; Son has my full attention. Let’s see what she can do with more focus.
Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)
1. Replay
2. 가슴아 가슴아 (My Heart, My Heart)
3. 저 달이 지면 (When The Moon Sets)
4. 보이지 않아도 (Though Unseen)
5. 끝이야 (It’s Over)
6. I’m Only Yours
J.ae – 멋진 하루 (A Good Day)
Release: October 24, 2012
Distributor: KT Music
Genre: Pop, ballad
Rating:
J.ae‘s music (it’s still weird to type her name that way!) is growing ever richer with every release. Her R&B ballads in the late 90s and the turn of the century followed the austerity trends of the time to the letter, but more recent works have shown eager experimentation with real-session and lounge sounds. It appears a smart direction: J.ae’s edgeless, diffusive voice blends into the sometimes brassy, sometimes jazzy ambience of these works. And so it is with A Good Day. Punctuated brass builds and gives way to smooth chorus in the titular lead single, all while wrapped in the same warm strings and shy electric chords that permeate the rest of the album.
There is sophistication and subtlety in the way J.ae does this, and it’s certainly pleasant listening. I should note that this kind of thing is rarely very memorable, though; add that to the fact that three of this EP’s five tracks are English remakes of tracks from last year’s Super Star, and we have a solid but really plain album. Recalling her discography, though, maybe this is a good place for J.ae to be.
Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)
1. 멋진 하루 (A Good Day)
2. 둘이서 (Two Of Us) – Featuring Lee Jae-hoon
3. Good Luv (Originally Super Star)
4. It’s You (Originally 넌 나의 태양 (You’re My Sun))
5. Young Forever (Originally Love Part.2)
Casker – 여정 (旅程) (Journey)
Release: October 25, 2012
Distributor: Danal Entertainment
Genre: Electronic pop, indie
Rating:
There’s a lot going on in Journey, Casker‘s first real outing in two years. Some of those things are carry-overs from the duo’s illustrious career: Lee Joon-oh‘s intricate electronic work is as evocative as ever, and Yoongjin‘s lithe voice tells the stories in familiar, enveloping airiness. I could stop writing right now and you’d know this is a solid album; Casker thrives on those two contributions, and Journey has those basics down. The album does go ahead and add a layer of deliberate pacing to fit its theme – it starts out energetic and peppy before losing steam throughout and ends in understanding serenity.
There’s also an awful lot of exposition here (especially for an electronic album), although I feel like over half the album could be told as one tale – they’re not different parts of one narrative, but rather literally the same story of regret and longing. The visceral prose in such songs as 천 개의 태양 (A Thousand Suns) relieve the déjà vu, but these are rare moments. In the meantime, Face You and Wonderful are much more interesting love stories that play on a haunting sense of unease, and The Healing Song and Blossom explore still different waters in empowerment and incompletion.
The lyrical redundancy is symptomatic of a larger condition – that Casker plays this album very safely. When it’s all said and done, I don’t feel that I’ve heard anything new. Still, the sounds are so gorgeous and the techniques – such as the usage of pads in 나쁘게 (Terribly), the muting and bit-crushing in Undo and Wonderful, and the encroaching noise in the intro track – are such a welcome break that it’s hard to fault the unambitious nature of this thing. Casker’s journey is taking a pit stop this year, it looks like.
Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)
1. Intro
2. The Healing Song
3. 나쁘게 (Terribly)
4. Wonderful
5. Undo
6. 잔상 (Afterimage) – Instrumental
7. 편지 (Letter)
8. P
9. 천 개의 태양 (A Thousand Suns)
10. Face You
11. 여전히 (Still)
12. Blossom
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the individual and not of hellokpop as a whole.
Source: Photos – Bugs Music (1) (2) (3)
Have a recent release that you’d like to see reviewed? Tell us in a comment below! Requested albums will be considered each week and may be selected to be reviewed in the subsequent week.
Album Review: Lucia – Décalcomanie
Release: October 17, 2012
Distributor: Danal Entertainment
Genre: Pop, ballad
Rating:
I was really, really high on Lucia’s 자기만의 방 (A Room of One’s Own) last year. It was generally well-received, but as far as I’m aware no one else gave it anything as high as my 4.5-star rating. I still abide by that review, but perhaps that is a disclaimer that’s needed before I start talking about Décalcomanie.
So Lucia is back with this ten-track EP. (You read that correctly – ten. For an EP.) This time, the entire album is hers; label mates like Epitone Project and Sentimental Scenery took a back seat, as Lucia composed and wrote each song in Décalcomanie.
With that level of control comes a new-found consistence. This album is, even on first listen, a lot more cohesive than A Room of One’s Own. The instrumentation remains more or less homogeneous – primarily piano- and string-based, always pleasant and played straight at some times and jazzy at others, then some sprinkles of other acoustics.
But what really makes Décalcomanie come together are the motifs. Lucia has said that the album’s theme is ‘exhilaration’, and her greatest success in this work bringing that emotion to life musically. This is found in voluminous tracks like I Can’t Fly and 그대의 고요 (Your Tranquility), both of which develop a humble opening melody into grand, rousing refrains. These feel similar in approach to Lena Park’s experiments with grandeur in Parallax – I Can’t Fly is even lyrically reminiscent of Park’s 그렇게 하면 돼 (That Will Do It). Still, Lucia works in her touch: her focus is tenderness rather than power. She breaks and pulses her voice rather than belt, and eschews sharp notes in favour of lots of breathy air.
The instrumentation follows suit. Again, Lucia builds this scale and volume using finesse; ringing piano chords and assured strings effortlessly ramp up the energy, even while leaving plenty of space for the artist’s burgeoning vocals to fill. This approach appears again in I Still Love, where a rock sound-set is used to provide an ambient, diffracting backdrop rather than as centrepiece, and in 보통 (Average), where Lucia defers to a soft chorus to express an uncontainable sense of eager love.
The ‘exhilaration’ theme is not limited to the sweeping ballads. 필로소피 (Philosophy) sings of an improbable happiness borne out of a tumultuous relationship, while 소중한 사람 (Precious Person) and 신이 그를 사랑해 (For God Loved Him) express the instinctive joy of belonging and of possessing. These are the more obvious applications. Surprisingly, even the gloomier tracks here can be read in the same context.
Lead single Savior is a sad song. The narrator chastises herself for not having known that a loved one had been her “savior”. But in this case, that very discovery is the source of a weird, primal kind of elation. The narrator says: now I know. I was mistaken, but now I know and that is what’s important. There’s a sense of regret in repetitions of “You were my savior” at the refrain, but in context this is drowned out by the stronger sense of catharsis. 연극이 끝나기 전에 (Before The Play Ends), on the other hand, focuses on a psyche frozen in the past, in a moment of glorious enrapture.
With these thematic layers as well as the poignant language and nuanced sound, Décalcomanie shapes up as a rich album. There’s a lot to listen to and listen for here. Save for a little repetitiveness by the end, this is a well-paced work with no throwaway tracks. With its tender and crisp sensibilities, Lucia’s EP is a quintessentially autumnal album; then again, maybe things like this are simply timeless.
Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)
1. 소중한 사람 (Precious Person)
2. I Can’t Fly
3. 그대의 고요 (Your Tranquility)
4. Savior
5. 필로소피 (Philosophy)
6. What Should I Do – Featuring Zitten
7. I Still Love
8. 보통 (Average)
9. 연극이 끝나기 전에 (Before The Play Ends)
10. 신이 그를 사랑해 (For God Loved Him)
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the individual and not of hellokpop as a whole.
Sources: Photo – Bugs Music; Video – DanalEntertainment on YouTube
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