Rundown: B.I, woo!ah!, DRIPPIN, CSR, Park Jin Young, Ryu Sujeong, SECRET NUMBER, more

A lot of releases since the last update and surprisingly a decent amount of quality. ====== VICTON – “Virus” [embedded content] Broken record from me but definitely tired of hearing verses like those with vocal processing that’s pitched like that. —— DRIPPIN – “The One” [embedded content] A bit weird in that the crunchiest sound is during the verses, while the chorus kinda opts for more generic melodies. I liked what they were cooking up overall, tho. —— JUST B – “ME=” [embedded content] Sonically (and titularly) similar to TXT‘s emo rock efforts last year, just nowhere near as catchy or well executed. —— SECRET NUMBER – “TAP” [embedded content] Sections of this vaguely reminded me of KARD‘s formula for success but without the groove, chorus melody, and charisma that made those great. —— FIFTY FIFTY – “Higher” [embedded content] Considering the strength of their pre-release track (I’ll get to it), a bizarre choice to use this rather dull effort as their debut single. —— Park Jin Young (Feat. Gaeko) – “Groove Back” [embedded content] It’s listenable in a generic way, but it tries very hard to be a viral earworm and is instead just repetitive. —— B.I – “Keep Me Up” [embedded content] Greatly prefer him rapping like on “WATERFALL“, but this dreamy soundscape works well enough for the most part. —— CSR – “LOVETICON” [embedded content] Definitely won’t begrudge anybody who loves them, as I think they have slick production, a sense of direction with their concepts, and great music videos. But I do think they, and to some extent groups like VIVIZ (sorry), sorta prove how important at least one mature power vocal (like Yuju) is to executing these songs to their full potential. —— woo!ah! – “Rollercoaster” [embedded content] A solid bit of bubbly throwback dance pop that had the potential to be great. While I’m used to songs being pitched high, this was just a bit too much on replays for me, to be honest. If it’s within your tolerance range, then this should be pretty great. —— Ryu Sujeong (Lovelyz) – “Pink Moon” [embedded content] Nice bit of city pop. Not much that sets it apart from the rest, but rock solid.