March 2019: Music Review

Good Human day, Humans! Today I’ll be reviewing some of the music I listened to and liked this month. Overall, this was a great month for music; some of my favorite artists released new music, and some other songs I ended up really liking came out! (again, this is only songs that came out this month and that I listened too, so also mostly female artists because I prefer female voices and generally I prefer their music)

 

Disclaimer: this is long. like over 2000 words long. It’s my second longest post as of now. But hopefully it’s really good.

 

Playlist: My top ten releases from this month, in no particular order (all title tracks, I haven’t had a chance to listen to a ton of b-sides this month)

  1. Noir – Sunmi
  2. Woowa – Dia
  3. Come Along – Pentatonix
  4. Pinky Star (Run) – GWSN
  5. Dear Diary – Yeri (Red Velvet)
  6. gogobebe – Mamamoo
  7. Hakuna Matata – Dreamnote
  8. Bon Bon Chocolate – Everglow
  9. Four Seasons – Taeyeon
  10. Downhill Lullaby – Sky Ferreira

Here are my more in-depth reviews! There will be some for songs that aren’t mentioned in this, as previously mentioned I liked a ton of music this month, so any release I listened to more than once is going to be here. I will also be linking my full reviews when I have already posted them (which is the case for 5 songs, and I might go back and add more when I post more reviews)

Noir – Sunmi (full review here)

Tracklist:

  1. Noir

Noir is a digital single by former Wonder Girls member-turned-soloist Sunmi. Noir is her fourth release under her company, after Gashina, Heroine, and Siren, and her sixth release overall as a soloist (she left her former company, JYP, after her second release Full Moon.) Noir is a digital single preceding the American leg of her tour. The song is wonderful, and I’m sure it will be a good precursor to her comeback sometime this Summer.

 

NEWTRO – Dia (full review here)

Tracklist:

  1. Woowa
  2. No
  3. 5 More Minutes
  4. Crescendo
  5. Woowa (Instrumental)

Woowa is Dia’s newest title track, which is accompanied by the mini album “NEWTRO.” I really don’t know a lot about Dia, but one of the members (Chaeyeon) was formerly in the temporary group IOI, formed on the first season of Produce 101, alongside 10 others including Yeonjung of WJSN, Chungha (a soloist), and Mina and Sejeong of Gugudan. Woowa is the follow up to their previous release, which was WooWoo in August. Despite the similar names, the songs really sound nothing alike. I know that they had a member change between the songs, which may account for the different style, but both are very good. I haven’t had a chance to listen to the mini album, but from what I do know of their music, it will be good. I also made a full review of the song, which has more information.

 

Come Along – Pentatonix

Tracklist:

  1. Come Along

Come Along is a single release from 5-member acapella group Pentatonix. It is a cover of the original by Cosmo Sheldrake. Like all Pentatonix releases, this has a very intricate arrangement and is a testament to how much you can do with only five (albeit extremely well used and talented) voices. Pentatonix is a fantastic group, and I really can’t recommend their songs enough, although I am a bit biased since I’ve been a fan since 1st grade. Come Along is a great addition to their discography, even though it doesn’t come with any other tracks. They have been showing on their Instagram accounts that they have been working on something, so I’m crossing my fingers that will come soon.

 

The Park in the Night (Part 2) – GWSN (full review here)

Tracklist:

  1. Pinky Star (Run)
  2. TOKTOK (Thousands of Stars, Thousands of Dreams)
  3. BLOOM (True Light)
  4. Miss Ping Pong
  5. One & Only
  6. Growing ~ For Groo

Pinky Star (Run) is the title track for GWSN’s first comeback with the mini album the Park in the Night (Part 2). This is their follow-up to their phenomenal debut, Puzzle Moon. While I adore Puzzle Moon, I slightly prefer Pinky Star (Run), although I seem to be in the minority about this. I find it a bit more dynamic, and it’s very nice to hear some voices that weren’t very well heard in Puzzle Moon (especially Miya’s since she had no lines in their first song due to the fact that she was still learning Korean). The mini album is also fantastic. It came out earlier in the month, so I’ve listened to it a few times. My favorite song is definitely Miss Ping Pong or BLOOM (True Light). The final track, Growing ~ for Groo, is a tribute to their fans (their fanbase is called Groo).

 

Dear Diary – Yeri (Red Velvet)

Tracklist:

  1. Dear Diary
  2. Dear Diary (Instrumental)

Dear Diary is the first solo release from Yeri of Red Velvet. It is also technically the first Korean release from any of the Red Velvet girls since RBB (Really Bad Boy) in late November. She wrote the song herself, and it is wonderful. It’s a very slow and relaxing song, making it very calming to listen to, and the music video is simple yet stunning in the best possible way. It is part of the SM Station project, and she will hopefully release more music with the project in the future since Dear Diary is amazing.

 

White Wind – Mamamoo

Tracklist:

  1. Where R U
  2. gogobebe
  3. Waggy
  4. 25 (Solo Wheein)
  5. Bad Bye
  6. My Star
  7. 4 Seasons (Outro)

White Wind is Mamamoo’s final installment in their 4 Seasons project. gogobebe, the title track, is very fun and upbeat but still recognizably Mamamoo – even in the first few lines, it feels like one of their songs, even though it is new territory for them. I’m sure the mini album is great too, but I haven’t had a chance to listen to much of it (the only song I remember hearing is My Star, which was good).

 

Dream:us (full review here)

Tracklist:

  1. ¡Bienvenido! (Welcome Back)
  2. Hakuna Matata
  3. My Hobby is You
  4. CONG CONG (Uhh Ohh)
  5. Hakuna Matata (Instrumental)

Hakuna Matata is the title track for Dreamnote’s second release, Dream:us, following their first title track Dream Note  and the mini album Dreamlike. Both songs are very fun, albeit fairly generic. I also haven’t listened to very much of this mini album, but CONG CONG (Uhh Ohh) is really good. They certainly aren’t my favorite group on this list, but their music is a nice addition to my playlist and it can be nice to have something that’s just fun.

 

Arrival of Everglow – Everglow (full review here)

Tracklist:

  1. Moon
  2. Bon Bon Chocolat
  3. D+1

Arrival of Everglow is Everglow’s first single album. Their debut song Bon Bon Chocolat is interesting, to say the least. I like the song, but it took me a few listens. It has a lot of autotune (used primarily for artistic effect, these girls have already proven that they can sing) and takes some getting used to, but I can honestly say I love it now. It’s addictive, especially the intro (with the “na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na Ever-glow”) and the pre-chorus (with the “Everything, everything, you gotta want my everything”). Moon is wonderful – it reminds me of D-1 or Twilight from Loona’s predebut songs (Yves’ and Kim Lip’s b-sides respectively) and D+1 is a great ballad song, a good way to tie up a debut single album by showing what the members of the group can do vocally.

 

Four Seasons – Taeyeon

Tracklist:

  1. Blue
  2. Four Seasons

Taeyeon came back with a new single album named after the title track Four Seasons. Taeyeon is the leader of the legendary girl group Girl’s Generation, who are currently working on solo and sub-unit projects. Four Seasons follows up Something New in her discography, and it is an amazing addition. The song shows off her fabulous voice, and it quickly beat my previous favorite Taeyeon song, I. The music video is also beautiful, and the b-side Blue is enchanting and gorgeous.

 

Downhill Lullaby – Sky Ferreira

Tracklist:

  1. Downhill Lullaby

Downhill Lullaby is the first single from Sky Ferreira since her release of the remixes of You’re Not the One in 2014, although her last ‘real’ release (where she released new music, not just remixes) was her Night Time, My Time album six years ago. Night Time, My Time is a fantastic album, the lead single being You’re Not the One. I don’t exactly know what she didn’t release new music in that time – all I’ve gathered is that she seems to have done almost all of the work for this album, but don’t quote me on that – but now that she’s back, her new music is amazing. Downhill Lullaby is very not-radio-friendly. It’s the longest song on this list, at 5:33 long, and the production is where it stands out. The instrumental is mesmerizing, with a magical dynamic quality in the strings especially. It almost reminds me of Billie Eilish’s newer stuff (although I prefer Ferreira’s take on the style, personally) combined with Let Me In, Haseul of Loona’s solo song. I’ve been listening to this song constantly since it’s release, and I’d recommend it to anyone, even though it’s a somewhat niche style that I think isn’t necessarily for everyone.

 

This concludes the part of this review that made it onto my playlist, but these are more songs that I loved this month! These are also great, and a couple might have made it onto my top 10 if they had come out earlier in the month. There are only four of these though so this won’t be too much longer!

 

Show Me – Momoland

Tracklist:

  1. I’m So Hot
  2. Falling U
  3. Light Up
  4. Holiday
  5. What You Want
  6. I’m So Hot (Instrumental)

Momoland finally came back with I’m So Hot and the mini album Show Me. The song is quite good, probably my favorite Momoland title track. I haven’t had a chance to properly check out the mini album, but I think I recall Falling U being good. Momoland blew up in January of last year with Bboom Bboom, which they followed up with Baam. They got a lot of criticism because many people believe Baam sounds like a carbon copy of Bboom Bboom. I’m So Hot, in my opinion, does a great job of preserving that aura without sounding like the same song. The mini album comes with the original members of Momoland, without Daisy or Teaha who were added later and who aren’t participating now (although I’m not sure why.)

 

She’s Fine – Heize

Tracklist:

  1. Her Fine Weather/She’s Fine
  2. So, it Ends? (with Colde)
  3. No Reason
  4. Dispatch (with Simon Domonic)
  5. Hitch Hiding (with sunwoojunga)
  6. But, I am Your Buddy (with DAVII)
  7. Umbrella Calls for Rain (with Nafla)
  8. Tree Only Look at You (with Jooyoung)
  9. Doobling/Knock Sir
  10. E.T
  11. E.T’s Letter (Empty Version)

Heize came back this month with her first full-length album. The album has 11 tracks, and she has a double title track. Her Fine Weather/She’s Fine (which I will henceforth be referring to as She’s Fine because that is the name on the music video, the Spotify translation is Her Fine Weather) is the first, and my personal preference. My full review will come soon on this, but for now, I’ll just say it has a fantastic construction and feels poetic even if you can’t understand the lyrics. No Reason is the other title track, and it’s also very good, just less to my taste. It’s interesting though, and the music video is gorgeous (as is her video for She’s Fine.)

 

What You Waiting For – R.Tee and Anda

Tracklist:

  1. What You Waiting For

Honestly, I know nothing about these artists, but I came across this song earlier this month and loved it. The production is super intricate and interesting, and it always feels like something new is happening in the most interesting way. The artist’s voice is very interesting. There really isn’t much for me to say about this, just listen to it!

 

Spring – Park Bom

Tracklist:

  1. Spring (feat. Sandara Park)
  2. My lover
  3. Shame

This release comes from former 2NE1 member Park Bom, and the title track features fellow ex-2NE1 member Sandara Park (Dara). Spring is amazing. It’s not quite a ballad, although it’s almost there, and it shows off the vocals of both artists as well as Sandara’s rapping talent. I haven’t had a chance to really listen to the b-sides, but I have heard snippets of both, and they both sound fantastic. I can’t wait until I have a chance to properly appreciate them.

 

And that’s it for this review! I hope you found at least one new song you liked, and I’ll see you again next time I post something, probably the third part of my Introduction to Loona!

 

7 Replies to “March 2019: Music Review”

  1. Hi Nora,

    You are a talented music reviewer and such a wealth of information!!

    Do you have a preference between listening to the soundtrack or watching it as a video?

    Kim

    1. Hello again!

      I definitely prefer watching a video, I think it adds to the song, especially with very cinematic videos (like most of Loona’s videos, especially things like Butterfly or Around You), but I still like soundtracks. I find that I like soundtracks more after watching a video because I remember the video when I listen to it.

      Thank you for commenting 🙂

      Nora

  2. I really like your taste in music. I also like Pentatonix, what’s your favorite song from them?

    1. Thank you for your compliment 🙂 My favorite song would be really hard to pick, my current favorite might be their Perfume medley since I’m also a fan of Perfume, but my overall favorite is Water. What’s your favorite?

      1. My favorite would have to be Can’t Sleep Love. It’s a great song I listen to in my free time quite often.

  3. Hi Nora!
    Your list is incredible! I recognized a few names, but Pentatonix’s music was the only I’d actually heard. I really enjoyed the tracks by Sunmi, Yeri, and Taeyeon! For the most part, the music on your list is really upbeat, but I loved that you ended your list with something totally different! I agree with your comparison between Sky Ferreira and Billie Eilish, and I do prefer Sky’s take as well. Their style has such a range, a wide spectrum that I think includes singers like Lorde and Lana Del Rey. What do you think?
    Your reviews are fantastic reads for people who are brand new to the artist(s) and anyone reading your post can tell that you’re more than just a casual music fan.
    Awesome work!
    Hailey (a commenter from the Student Blogging Challenge)

    1. Hi! Thank you for your comment!

      I’m glad you liked my list! I actually don’t usually listen to just upbeat music, a lot just happened to come out this month, although I do gravitate towards it a bit depending on my mood.

      I definitely think that Lorde and Lana Del Rey fit into that style as well. My personal favorite take is still Sky’s (partly because I just adore her voice, but in some of her other songs there’s a bit of a rock influence that I love as well, such as in Everything is Embarrassing) but I like the style a lot.

      Thank you! I spend a lot of time listening to music, and I’m glad that that shows in my writing! A lot of these artists mean a lot to me and I love sharing their music!

      Nora 🙂

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