[Album Review] SISTAR - Give It To Me

SISTAR - Give It To Me
Released: June 11, 2013
Tracklist:
1. Miss Sistar
2. Give It To Me
3. The Way You Make Me Melt
4. Bad Boy
5. Summer Time
6. A Week
7. Crying
8. Hey You
9. If U Want
10. Up and Down
11. Give It To Me (Inst.)

Disclaimer: This isn't an album review as it is a single review. But there was one song other than the title track that got me on my little fangirl seat. I'll talk about that later, on the other hand.

SISTAR.

What are you doing

Stahp it.

Oh Gad.

*DEAD*

Definitely the sexiest kpop girl group without having to expose too much nor be super skinny to prove it. Sexy without being trashy. They're like mini-Lee Hyori's. Is it too early to call them that?

With every comeback SISTAR always, always impresses. Give It To Me, the kind of song that when you hear it, you can't help but do your most shameless sexy dance; accompanied winking would be the cherry on top. This song is as sexy as it's title, but not making less of the groups' vocals.

Coming extremely close to be (in my opinion) the best of the whole album would be Crying. A soft and smooth R&B track that would Beyonce to shame. This track basically sums up what SISTAR is, real and pure talent. The beginning is slow and not that much different from other R&B songs, then at the 00:26 there's a small build up, then at the 00:49 mark, BOOM! Hyorin just belts everything into oblivion. To add, Hyorin is the genius behind the lyrics. Starship Entertainment, whatever you're feeding these girls, keep feeding them it.

Mama rates this (9/10)!

How can: I get Starship Entertainment to send me whatever they're feeding SISTAR.

[Album Review] NELL - Escaping Gravity

Nell - Escaping Gravity
Released: June 10, 2013
Tracklist:
1. Boy - X
2. Ocean of Light
3. Perfect
4. Burn
5. Haven
6. Walk out.

Warning: Nell fangirl right here.

NELL IS BACK!

One of the many underrated artists out there in the very competitive korean industry, Nell's path to music is ventures with uncomplicated, dreamy tunes meshed together with beautiful haunting vocals.

Immediately with the first track Boy - X, a simple distorted riff followed by a refreshing explosion of a piano and drum accompaniment which then dies down to simple beat and those wonderfully haunting vocals, then another burst as it enters into the chorus. My utmost favorite among the whole album. Boy - X is Escaping Gravity.

Haven, the sole english track is a tribute to those beautiful vocals begins with another simple distorted tune and soft repetitions of 'Don't cry, over me.' Then at the 4:00 mark it picks up and inexplicable sadness rushes over you as a faint 'Don't cry, over me.' is heard in the background.

My feels...

Mama rates this (10/10)!

Biased. Biased. Biased.

[Single Review] CL - The Baddest Female (나쁜 기집애)

Released: May 28, 2013

Hmm... I don't know what to feel.

I should probably say something along the lines of 'this song was a complete representation of the baddassery that CL is' 'blah blah YG rocks blah' 'Blackjacks fo' lyF!'.

But I can't. I just can't.

It's not that bad, but it's not that great either.

YG is known for giving their artists the freedom to tinker with their songs how they would like it to be and most would turn out great.

The Baddest Female is not one of the most.

This song is so overoverproduced I don't know what went wrong. It was sort of fine at the beginning then... Skrillex happened. Right around the bridge where she spouts out english phrases, right there, I lost it.

"...not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good..."

No. Bad meaning bad.

On the good side, I wouldn't argue that CL is definitely the Baddest Female. Song-wise...

Mama rates this painfully (7/10)

Another good note, 2NE1 is right around the corner!

[Album Review] Lee Hyori - MONOCHROME (Vol. 5)

Lee Hyori - MONOCHROME (Vol. 5)

Released: May 21, 2013

Tracklist:

1. Holly Jolly Bus (ft. Soonshim)

2. Miss Korea (미스코리아)

3. Love Radar (ft. Beenzino)

4. Bad Girls

5. I Hate Myself (내가 미워요)

6. Bounced Checks of Love (사랑의 부도수표)

7. Full Moon

8. Trust Me

9. Special

10. Amor Mio (ft. Park Jiyong)

11. Somebody (누군가)

12. Wouldn't Ask You (묻지 않을게요)

13. Crazy (미쳐)

14. Show Show Show (쇼쇼쇼)

15. Better Together

16. Oars (노)

After 3 long years, the Queen of KPOP is finally back.

Coming back with not only a full album but a whopping 16-track album, bless your soul Hyori, bless your soul. Heavy fangirling right now. HEAVY.

This collection of songs definitely suit Hyori more, experimenting on jazzy tunes and beats far from the current trend of electronic tryinghard pop, this is a hit out of the ball park.

The title song Bad Girls is worthy of such as it's a fun dance track that didn't venture to be overly produced or lacking.

Wouldn't Ask You is a great example of how simplicity can go a long way. A very fun song with only three elements, Hyori's voice, a guitar, and a kazoo. Srsly. It is that good. 

I have to comment on Love Radar which seems reminiscent to the earlier works of Daft Punk, anything sampling Daft Punk would be a suicide attempt 'cause they're absolute gods, but Lee Hyori and her producers did a spectacular job of retaining the dreamy feel, definitely one of my favorite tracks.

The early release, Miss Korea, to be honest, didn't quite get me at first but after listening to it a few times it grew on me. The next thing I knew, I was sitting at a club in the 50's of Korea sipping some scotch in my sequined dress and feathered boa.

Overall...

Mama rates this (10/10)!

Support Lee Hyori by purchasing her album!

[Drama Review] Bridal Mask (각시탈)

KBS' Bridal Mask (각시탈)
Joo Won, Jin Se Yeon, Park Ki Woong, Han Chae Ah

After watching Missing You, I wanted something to counteract all that... Melo. So I researched a bit and found Bridal Mask (각시탈) and I have to say

WIN.

I usually choose light-hearted kdramas 'cause when you watch something in a language you don't quite understand you'd rather laugh about it. But I thought I'd give Bridal Mask a try since it had such rave reviews and I really wanted to get Missing You out of my system.

Once the thought of having a 'superhero' at this dark period would fade from the viewers minds, it's actually a very good show. Set in the 1930's where the Japanese colonized the Koreans, a mask-wearing hero armed with an iron slingshot fights for the emancipation of its' motherland.

The first few minutes of the pilot episode, BAM! dude in a white mask and white robes comes crashing through a funeral procession in complete and utter baddassery knocking them Japanese soldiers with just an iron flute and a sense of freedom, followed by the signature 'GAKSITAAAAAAAL!' battle cry.

If that doesn't get you, I don't know what will.

The first few episodes are the get-to-know stages, so it'd be a bit boring for some but soon picks up at episode 6 where the first Gaksital is revealed. Definitely not a show for the faint of heart where each episode promises at least two action scenes, torture, a lot of blood and whole load of guns.

The actors/actresses portrayed their characters very well. Lee Kang To (played by Joo Won), the misguided protagonist, torn between his loyalty to the Japanese Empire being an Imperial officer or to fight against it and staying true to what he is - a Joseon. Undoubtedly my favorite character, I doubt anyone could have played Lee Kang To better than Joo Won did.

Episode 1

Initially seen as the cold-hearted Imperial officer, Joo Won played the part so well to the point where I harbored actual feelings of hatred for the Japanese. Then the frustration of wanting to catch Gaksital only to find out it was his (not really) idiot hyung (older brother) and killing him in the process. Every emotion he portrayed, I believed.

But every show has it's flaws. I found it rather laughable at how easy it was to break into the police station and infiltrate their armory, plus it happened more than one time, to add insult to injury they were nabbed by a number of 2 unarmed people and Gaksital versus a full police station. Seriously? Seriously.

RANT

And I must say this, O Mok Dan (played by Jin Se Yeon) I found you completely unnecessary. Ugh. Does every show need a dramatic past love? Does it really? I found that her character dragged the show longer than what it was supposed to be. More than a quarter of the show she was being yelled at, thrown into jail, tortured and kidnapped. The parts that especially annoyed me was when she found out that Lee Kang To was the young master she was waiting for, which had her raging and yelling at how she could love a traitor. THEN she found out that Lee Kang To was actually Gaksital, it had her launching in his arms saying 'I'll never let you travel this road alone...'. Guuuurrrrlll...

But that aside, the episode 28, the finale was just too beautiful. It wasn't a happy ending, rather it didn't actually end, instead left viewers to their imaginations. The final (unfinished) battle, where the Joseon citizens, men, women and children, clad in all white and wearing the bridal mask whilst carrying the Korean flag chanting "Manse!" the Korean equivalent to the Japanese "Banzai!", marching towards the police station would have left anyone in tears.

Despite being a fictional take of the Japanese colonization, you can't help but feel the emotions that had actually transpired during these dark ages of Korea. For those who think that kdrama's are just cute-sy, lovelovelove shows, this would change your outlook and give a little 101 on a bit of Korean history, it may not be the actual truth, but you can't doubt that it didn't happen.

Mama rates this (9/10)!

Would I: watch this again? Take out O Mok Dan, then we'll talk.

[Drama Review] Missing You (보고싶다)

MBC's Missing You  (보고싶다)
Park Yoo Chun, Yoon Eun Hye, Yoo Seung Ho

After being on hiatus from dramas for a few months, Missing You debuts as my first since BIG. And I have to say...

I AM DISAPPOINT.

Just goes to show, just cause you have an all-star cast doesn't mean an impeccably written plot. To be honest, I wanted to watch this drama because of Yoo Chun and a friend's suggestion finally pushed me to watch it. But it totally bombed and I got so disappointed and ugh, I just wanted to throw something.

Missing You was labeled as a Melodrama...

Melodrama - a dramatic work with an exaggerated plot and characters to appeal to emotions.
c/o Wikipedia.org

I wasn't appealed.

And that's just the problem, the writers tried to appeal too much to their audience that it was bordering on desperate. Most throughout the show I was scoffing at how easy it was for everyone to cry.

Sees person. Cry.

Sees person with another person. Cry.

Discovers person saw her with other person. Cry.

Kneel. Cry.

Stand. Cry.

Eat. Cry.

Cry. Cry.

There was just too much crying! And I could feel that the writers desperately wanted my tears. The ONLY scene where I did cry was when Detective Kim found out that there was a high probability that Lee Su Yeon (Kim So Hyun, young Eun Hye) was kidnapped by a previously convicted sexual assaulter and he said...

"Eun Joo-ya, can I go crazy? I won't go crazy as a detective, but as a father. So can I?"

A parent's love. Right in the feels.

But the rest of the show? Meh. Here's my summary of how the show went, from episode 1 - 21.

The last 3 screencaps are from episode 21.

And yeah, that's just about it.

Only the first 5 episodes appealed to me. The story of when they were children was probably the most heart-wrenching part (though not that much wrenching). As much as it pains me to say it, Kim So Hyun (Young Eun Hye) and Yeo Jin Goo (Young Yoo Chun) had a more believable chemistry than Eun Hye and Yoo Chun. Gah.

Though I loved Seung Ho acting like a mad man, great acting there buddy. The rest of the acting was done well too, but the plot didn't do them any justice if they only wanted to see how much tears one could shed in 21 episodes.

Mama rates this (4/10)!

Smells like: 20 crates of Eye-mo.

[Album Review] SHINee - Chapter 2. Why So Serious? - Misconceptions of Me

SHINee - Chapter 2. Why So Serious? - The Misconceptions of Me
Released: April 26, 2013Tracklist: 
1. Nightmare
2. Why So Serious? [TITLE]
3. SHINe (Medusa I)
4. Orgel (오르골)
5. Dangerous (Medusa II)
6. Like A Fire
7. Excuse Me Miss
8. Evil
9. Sleepless Night (떠나지 못해)

Wow.

With every comeback SHINee manages to grow, both musically and physically (Tae-Man anyone?). Midst the current trend of robotic, house-slash-club-ish, genre-confused music, they have taken a different route to their music. Despite venturing into the frequently traveled 'Retro/Vintage meets Pop' genre, unlike most, SHINee definitely succeeded, and the consummation of such is this wonderful album.

Their title track Why So Serious? in terms of production, doesn't represent the overall album, the arrangement is messy and it felt like they were talking and shouting rather singing. But I'm willing to overlook all those facts considering it's a very fun song. It's one of those that upon listening to it you can't help but get up and dance to.

I have to commend on Excuse Me Miss which, if you are a SHINee fan, would make you feel a bit nostalgic of what SHINee was like before. It felt somewhere along their Replay days and you can't help but be in awe at how much they have grown though not being completely lost of who they are.

SHINee though a dance group could definitely hold their own when it comes to ballads. Sleepless Night, their only ballad highlighted the powerful vocals of Jonghyun though not overpowering Onew's calming voice, Taemin's crispy clear notes and Key's steady notes. Minho's rapping/talking I would have done without.

Overall, I absolutely cannot pick a favorite from this album 'cause everything. is. so. GOOD. SO DAMN GOOD. I hope SHINee continues with this theme cause it suits them the most. SM Ent. you did good, you did good.

Mama rates this (9/10)!

Support SHINee by purchasing their album!