[Reviews] OH MY GIRL’s “Labeled”, RESCENE’s “Pinball”, and VAHN’s “Feeling” are some latest standouts – Asian Junkie

Whereas I’m really months behind on this for sure stuff, I believed I might begin with extra mainstream and up to date tracks that I loved.

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OH MY GIRL – “Labeled”

“Labeled” might be not essentially the most predictable supply of enjoyment for my style, however they actually bought me on tapping again into the dreamy, fairytale kind of soundscape. The piano melody and orchestral composition have classical underpinnings, whereas a Jersey Membership bounce excessive of it was a novel and surprisingly interesting alternative. That combo supplied ample alternative for catastrophe, however the manufacturing made it seem virtually seamless.

In the meantime, the central melody is pieced collectively in a manner that’s a gradual burn however extraordinarily addictive, and it grew on me over time. There’s no in-your-face swelling of the refrain, but it surely subtly gnawed at me with melodic jabs, and I finally discovered myself floating round the home to it. The English hooks of “generally I dive into your dream/generally I cry to make you smile” are straightforward remembers, however the best way the entire thing appears to glide alongside is what actually makes this good.

It’s a track about cherishing previous reminiscences made, and the vocal supply is appropriately candy, but in addition they carry with it a way of playful power that stops it from getting boring at key moments. Actually solely the rap verses are seemingly misplaced for the soundscape, however I get it must be included for idol causes. Regardless, if “Labeled” didn’t hook you at first, you then’re in the identical boat as me, however its enchanting move finally gained me over on repeats. Welcome again, OH MY GIRL.

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RESCENE – “Pinball”

Maybe one other shock right here, however whereas many have seemingly topped “Love Assault” as the following trendy basic or one thing, I felt “Pinball” was a superior expertise, offering one thing far more layered, nuanced, and long-lasting. It’s a particularly cohesive R&B effort, and regardless of having a vibey really feel to it, it’s feels much more dynamic than its predecessor.

The dreamy sound has an addictive rhythm to all of it, and is enhanced by the pure vocals of the members, who handle to inject their very own charisma into it and avoiding making issues sounding nameless and perfunctory like many related efforts can. Nonetheless, the middle of its enchantment is the refrain, which options a number of memorable sections, together with the apparent “I’m enjoying pinball pinball pinball” title shout, the members harmonizing and emphasizing “now”, after which taking it down the dimensions and increasing the final two phrases of “gyesok hae mireo on jongil“. It’s only a extremely addictive method that retains the listener coming again for extra as a substitute of feeling stale on repeats.

Notably, it additionally has a bridge to make it really feel like an entire track, and it simply has little touches and does minor issues proper, which helped “Pinball” to separate themselves from the vibey pack. Equally, RESCENE are definitely starting to make a reputation for themselves, taking the powerful street to relevance as a bunch from a small firm.

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VAHN (NINE.i) (Feat. BLKZEN) – “Feeling”

As someone largely unfamiliar with NINE.i, a lot much less VAHN, I clicked on the music video for “Feeling” with none expectations, even perhaps wanting ahead to rapidly closing out of one other launch as I went by means of my routine of listening to new stuff. For sure, this captured my consideration from the get go, and discovering stuff like that is what makes that repetitive course of value it.

Construct round a chugging guitar and synths, the core of “Feeling” is mainly being a dramatic head-nodder, and the frequency with which the discharge finds interesting melodies is slightly outstanding. Enhancing that is VAHN’s raspy vocal, which gives a uniquely expressive tone that’s fitted to each a solo profession and this particular sound.

But regardless of these positives, the star of the present is undoubtedly the exuberant, fleshed-out refrain that features a number of memorable hooks and simply provides to the truth that the track is jam-packed with memorable melody. On the very worst, it’s one thing worthy of a cruising, feel-good (sarcastically) playlist. Talking of which, I favored the contrasting components of loneliness with the upbeat sound, which kinda additionally weirdly provides it J-pop vibes since that’s a distinction loads of idol songs play with.

“Feeling” isn’t flawless, because the rapping is … wonderful sufficient to not influence my enjoyment of the track, although it does really feel shoehorned in, and perhaps VAHN felt it was vital because it was all in English. Additionally, there’s a late pause within the music the place issues grind to a halt within the music video, however this fortunately doesn’t exist on the audio, which as a substitute sees a quick dropout earlier than launching proper into an brisk climax that rides to a clean conclusion. Actually wanting ahead to listening to extra from VAHN now, and perhaps it’s time to look again and see what I’ve missed.

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Slowly however absolutely catching up, man.