Playlist: Tiffany's Reboot, Seventeen's B-side, Kevin Kim's non-existent single, I.O.I knock, knock, knock

Tiffany - I Just Wanna Dance

Didn’t think a TIffany solo project was going to be a go-to for me, but here we are. The title is co-written by Sara Forsberg, who co-wrote Taemin’s Drip Drop and NCT U’s Seventh Sense (see below) with lyrics by Stellar stalwart, Monotree, and it’s a fab 80s dance jam. With the tinny electronic handclaps and burbling bass, it picks up where the Wonder Girls’ Reboot left off.

NCT U - Seventh Sense

Forsberg’s track for the first wing of SM’s plan to take over the world couldn’t be more different, although I guess its minimalism has echoes in her track for Taemin, even if it makes Drip Drop sound like a brassy big band number. A kind of middle eastern melody makes a brief appearance then there isn’t much more than muffled percussion and hypnotic vocals that rapped and chanted. Like another unconventional number, History’s Queen, with its whispered chorus - a whispered chorus! - it took me weeks to come round to it. Promotion works I guess.

Seventeen - Still Lonely

The retro vibe keeps coming with this track co-written Seventeen’s Woozi as 80s New York disco meets 90s West Coast rap for a breezy b-side. The title track is a fine slice of toe-tapping bubblegum, but this is the groove that’s lighting my fire as the weather cools down.

Berry Good - Angel

What a bloody masterpiece. The 2014 debs have had a couple of pretty ordinary songs before this, but Angel is a beaut. It was co-written - as was much of their crowd-funded mini - by Joo Tae Young, who has written songs for FinKL and the recently returned Sechs Kies. The composer died last year of leukaemia. It is a fitting epitaph; although the song’s strength is the arrangement, credited to the Grand, and the fantastic vocal performances should not be overlooked. The electronic symphonic nature of Angel recalls Morning Musume 14’s Beyond Time and Space, though obviously is not in the same league (nothing else is). And where the Musume track works its magic through gentle tension, Angel builds to an almighty crescendo of powerhouse vocals singing in harmony. The production sounds a little cheap; but I guess you get what you crowd source.

Mixx - Oh Ma Mind

Oh Ma Mind is the debut for this quartet, and is co-written by the guy who owns their obscure agency. It’s a simple electronic urban track, with vocals drenched in petulant aegyo and lines in the chorus punctuated by what sounds like a bunch of Lovelyz uncle fans (hey! hey!). I love it.

Choyoung - Anymore

The Korean scene has been leaning into Quiet Storm lately, the lush but subdued form of soul-jazz that emerged in the 70s (Anita Baker’s Sweet Love is probably the most famous example), first with Red Velvet’s One of These Nights and now with this gorgeous track by Korean-American Choyoung. The piano tinkles, the guitar gently strums, and ChoYoung’s hushed vocal is rich and pure. The jazz chord progression in the chorus is to die for. Unskippable.

Kevin Kim - Collection

With JJCC’s Prince Mak awol and HanByul out of LED Apple, former Epping Boys’ High alumno Kevin Kim of Ze:a is one of the last Aussies working in K-pop. And let’s be honest, if they don’t have a hit soon, he may not be around much longer. His last solo effort was Knock Knock as part of the Nasty Nasty duo with Nine Muses Kyung Ri. The song was iconic disco with cheesy sax. It stiffed. Ze:a - now a three piece as a couple have gone off to military or something - have an OK Japanese song out, but this is a Korean jam written by Kev himself. It’s an electronic number with chilly vibe-like sounds that are a little dated (so three months ago according to a producer friend) but it’s the verse that’s the killer: warm, melodic and hard to forget. The rap is by Jucy from disbanded girl group Evol (also featuring an Aussie). The song has been out for a month but has no MV and practically no web presence.

I.O.I - Knock Knock Knock

The first mini from Mnet’s dystopian girl group K-pop hatchery has a clutch of listenable tracks, although the main title, the electronic Dream Girls seems the least interesting. The melodic 50s sugariness of this Duble-Sidekick penned track is innocent-themed girl group gold. The hyper Crush (Joomba Music), which could easily be a Girls Generation Japanese single, is worth a play as well.  It's no surprise that the Hunger Games-style project spawned some good talent, and there are some strong vocal performances.