[ASKKPOP] [Album Review] 'Akdong Musician' - Play
Ayear has passed since the adorable sibling pair that isAkdong Musician(a.k.a.AKMU)won the second season of 'K-Pop Star.' The young and gifted duo signed under oneof the flagship names in the K-Pop industry,YG Entertainment, around a month afterwards. And here we are today,11 months having passed since the duo's induction into the monolithic label. Inthe span of nearly a year, the two siblings have composed a full-length albumentitled 'Play,' which was releasedonline almost three weeks ago on the 7thand physically on the 9th.
Thealbum in no way contains any of the razzle dazzle that is commonplace amongstidol groups. There's no confounding concepts, clumsily penned lyrics or fulsomeproduction. Instead, the album impresses solely with musical authenticity, whichcan be evidenced through the production of the songs, written and composedentirely by the elder brother,LeeChan Hyuk. Quite an impressive feat if you ask me considering the guy isonly 17. The realization made me take a good, long, hard look at my own life and wonderwhat I'm doing with it…
'Play'is not an album symptomatic of the typical "YG Sound" or what some may declare"hip-hop." YG has been identified asthebiggestmainstream hip hop label in the eyes of the hoi polloi mainly because thecompany introduced artists that were more hip hop style than not. In the early days of YG, it was mainly strictly hip hop withJinuseanand1TYM. However, hiphop is not the only genre the label rigidly sticks to. In fact, YG appears tobe the least restrictive in the production processes of its artists, allowingsome degree of artistic freedom. That is, if the artists visibly show aninterest in production andiftheyhave a knack for it, e.g.Psy,G-Dragon,Tablo,etc. AKMUhas also joined the roster of producers but the group's sound is far from hiphop; it is more folk and acoustic. Short rap verses are peppered here and therethroughout the album but they are like the side dishes to the vocals, which isthe main course.
Thetracks on 'Play' are extremely easy on the ears; the melody of each song issimple and the lyrics are straightforward. …or are they (cue dramatic music)???Don't be fooled by the siblings' sanguine countenance or the fact that they arebarely past puberty. The lyrical content is disarmingly diverse, especially forsuch a young contender in the music scene. I commend the duo for being sorefreshingly witty and poetic, reaching the audience with vivacious eloquence.
"Melted," one of the title tracks on thealbum laments a society that is shaped by selfish, unsympathetic individualswithout regard for others. The lyrics in the beginning conveys this distressthrough lachrymose lyrics that translate roughly as such: "The blue sea that the sun washed crimson has dyed black / The white skyfrequented by clouds and rain is tinted grey / The darkness that entered my heartstays / The cold shadow that envelops the night hardens." Cryptic, wouldn'tyou say?
"200%," another title trackon 'Play,' is more direct in lyrical delivery. The song celebrates the tinglingsensations of the unexplainable feeling that is love, which I'm certaineveryone can relate to. The lyrics are playful and mischievous, expressinginfatuation with lyrics that go something along these lines: "It must be L.O.V.E, 200% sure of that / I wantyou really, I mean really / It's the truth, I really like you / My blushing faceserves as proof." You can't get more candid than that. If the guy stillisn't catching on after you serenade him with these lyrics, then you can safelyassume that he is an utter ignoramus and move on.
Ihave analyzed the lyrics, but what of the musical composition? For certain, LeeChan Hyuk is a creative genius but even creative geniuses fall short sometimesand stumble. 'Play' is indeed tastefully composed but disappointingly enough,it did not make any daring leaps. The production is borderline near perfection, but I was still left desiring something more. As I have mentioned earlier, thealbum allows for easy-listening on the ears. However, the melodies are onlysubtly different. The only tracks that stood out melodically to me and stuck inmy head were "200%," "Melted," "On theSubway," "Hair Part," and "Galaxy." The rest of the tracks,including "Artificial Grass," "Anyway," and "Idea" sort of blended together in a mix of guitar chords, piano, andharmony. And I had the album on repeat for the past week, nearly enough tomemorize the lyrics for each song. Yet I still can't discern what the tune isfor some of the songs on the album. Is that AKMU's fault? Not necessarily.Other artists that also specialize in just one genre such as rap or rock haveto constantly reinvent their sound and add in new constituents, not only in orderto keep the audience interested but also to mature as artists. I guess we'll just have to wait and see where AKMU's musical gift will take them from here.
Myruling on AKMU may appear a bit harsh since they're young rookies and they still haveroom for growth. I won't deny that 'Play' was a very solid effort and the songs wereincredibly fun to listen to. However, as awesome as the album is, it doesn'tsatisfy completely. It is missing that "something." Lyrically, the songsimpressed but many other artists also produce a similar kind of sound that AKMUdoes in K-Pop. ThinkBusker Busker,10cm,Roy Kim,John Park, etc.These artists revolve around making acoustic guitar/folk/ballad-type music, agenre that is popular yet commonplace in South Korea. I certainly hope that our sibling duo will experiment and be brave enough to go againstthe tide in the future.