K-pop playlist: Fiestar, Lee Hi, 4Ten, Snacky Chan and more

FIESTAR - Mr Black/Come and Go

A fluted new-age analogue sounding synth and the tick-tick of an old-school drum machine in the intro recall Kraftwerk’s Tour de France. There is no heavy breathing here though, just some breathy vocals and low-key rapping from Yezi. It's a nice Euro-style pop-dance track composed by Lee Chae Kyu, who wrote three tracks from IU’s Chat-Shire (including 23). The other track that really stands out is the slow jam Come and Go, written by a dude with four aliases in the Korean songwriters’ database - let’s go with Super Cheongdam, because that’s pretty cool. He doesn’t have a shitload of credits but he has one really important one: MBLAQ’s Broken - the minimalist orchestrated two-minute intro to their gorgeous 2014 mini which is one of my favourite pieces of music in K-pop or anywhere. Come and Go is a more upbeat piece that sees the chanted backing vocals add to the groove as the song progresses. One of my favourite musical tricks. There are some other good tracks on the mini too, but these two are my faves. The melancholy dance of the title, Mirror, is a little too similar to last year’s You’re Pitiful - which I loved but … IDK I am just not in the mood for a retread right now.

Might change my mind next week.

LEE HI - Seoulite

This mini has already provided Lee Hi with a zillion hits all over Asia, including Breathe, the ballad written by my bias, Jonghyun. As far as ballads go it’s - yeah, nah. It's boring af. There are better ballads on the Taemin album. Honestly I like Lee Hi’s voice - and I think of what she could do if she were at Mystic instead of YG. But well, she’s having hits, so I guess everyone else is happy. The Tablo-written track (he also produced the mini) Nothing Can Fuck Wit Us, is probably the only one I’ll end up playing. (Not embedding to it because none of the uploads are legit and it will become a grey space before too long. Hear a sample on Mnet. It has a bluesy piano loop and synth sonar echoes with a crisp percussion providing a solid base for Lee Hi’s warm, velvety vocal. It’s insanely catchy and singable. The worst is Hold Your Hand, a little bit of doowop nonsense composed by the Barberettes, which sounds like the kind of thing Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor piss out before elevenses.

4TEN - Severely

This under-rated girl group continue the new wave trend mined by others, like Laboum, with their latest, Severely. But where Laboum bounced oFf Blondie’s Heart of Glass for Aalow Aalow, 4Ten look elsewhere on the New York band’s classic 1979 album Parallel Lines, namely 11.59, a bottler of a track that pitted a serene melody against a cracking pace and power chords. There is so much to like about this it’s hard to know where to start: the staccato organ, the live drum track and tasty fills which ramp up the energy, the call and answer on the chorus, from Korean to English. It also keeps the girl group vibe in the melody and the “ooh-ooh”s which is a delightful 4Ten trademark. It’s written by Lee Changhyun, who has credits for Infinite, Boyfriend and Beast, and also co-wrote that terrible debut song for Snuper. Most important though, is that he used to be in an electro rapcore band called Lecher, where he co-wrote songs such as Blue Balls, Carnivore and Corporate Whore. Check them out!

LADIES CODE - Galaxy

It’s been less than two years since the appalling road accident that claimed the lives of Ladies Code members Rize and EunB. Any comeback was going to have to be handled delicately - no zany Catallena-style antics. But they and their company have totally nailed it with Galaxy. It’s a gorgeous song by Monotree, who do Stellar’s fantastic tracks. It starts as dreamy trip-hop with waves of synths before showing its jazz-funk colours as a sprightly rhythm steps in and out. The vocal performances are as splendid as any of their previous songs. After an awkward encounter with some ill-fitting shorts, wardrobe got their act together and found some lovely short flowing black and white frocks and pantsuits. So good to have them back. [Wipes tears from eye.]

DOUBLE S 301 - Pain

Back to the old school. This has all the old K-pop tropes. Bit of anguish. Bit of a dance beat. Bit of Latin guitar. Clothes as props for the chorry. Bit of abuse of the English language (“I’m so pain.”) By the end of promotions, they were looking a bit tired of yanking those ties around their necks, but it was pretty swish. Composer Han Sangwon has been around forever and written for everyone: Kara, Rainbow, IU, U-Kiss etc etc. He can probably do this kind of song standing on his head drinking soju. These guys used to be SS501 (with five members, duh) and their history is so long and complicated you could make a k-drama out of it. Head over to wiki if you want to riffle through it.

KIM CHANGWAN BAND featuring KOH SANGJI - Time

This seems a quirky track at first: spare, acoustic guitar; a spoken vocal that finally segues into unpolished singing; bandoneon (a kind of Argentine accordion; it’s used in the tango). But before its five minutes were over it had ripped my heart out and trampled it on the floor. The simple vocal; the subtle chord progressions, and the bandoneon - what kind of nation dances to such a lachrymose sound? - had done their work. Kim Changwan has a new album that is more rock, but he is apparently known for this kind of low-key minimalist acoustic stuff as on 2014's Whenever I Strum E Major. Bandoneon player Koh Sangji became obsessed with the instrument as a young girl and went to Buenos Aires to study it. For some time she was the only exponent of the instrument in ROK and she has played on a bunch of K-pop records, including with Ga-In. Of Time Kim Changwan says, accurately, that it’s “5 minute 3 seconds of halt in time”. And it’s a lovely way to spend it.

ELO - FWB/Wax Mannequeen

Cheapest and creepiest artwork ever. Nice one. The music though. It starts off with a Rhodes, harmonies and finger snaps; nice and moody. The male vocal (ELO) that joins is smooth, soulful, building to falsetto. His lady friend (Hoody) pipes up; singing close. Some synths play sustained chords. Suddenly it’s a wall of sound; almost prog like. Wax Mannequeen is more of the same but heavier on the prog. They are both *insanely* good. ELO and Hoody are signed to Jay Park’s label, AOMG. They performed FWB at an AOMG concert in Busan a month ago. Loses a something live, but the vocal are pretty good. Files are being taken off youtube as fast as they go up. Soundcloud file may not last.

Old-school hip-hop throwback of the week

SNACKY CHAN featuring BABYLON - Out of Time

In the style of last year’s Jinusean hit, but with less irony, thank god. It’s a little bit more chilled too, and bit more 80s. Babylon pulls out the Michael Jackson hiccups and sharp intakes of breath - this track’s got it all baby. Even the girl’s voice sped up like a chipmunk. Most importantly there’s a killer bottom-heavy groove and some popping bass. Loses marks for being only 3.13 long. Extra marks for the awesome name.