[UNSCENE MAGAZINE] Fourteen-year-long Korean Act Dominates: The return of "Shinhwa"

Jamkkan man-yo! Wait. Before you write this off as another piece of K-bubble-crap, give me the few minutes and read on.

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First off, look here. There are in fact foreigners who enjoy the bubbly sound of K-pop. Quit getting on their cases, and get over it, please. Although, even I say this genre – as a whole – is quite recycled and incredibly repetitive. You rarely find groups that will dare to try anything new.

Shinhwa, the Korean word for legend, is the country's longest running idol group – 14 years. They have returned after a 4-year-hiatus for mandatory enlistment duties. Their album offers a refreshingly new sound to the aggravatingly recycled-like genre of K-pop, proving you can teach old dogs new tricks! (Yes, I used a cliché.)

Their title track "Venus" is a fast-paced, electro sound, which if played in a club, a foreigner could actually NOT boo the disc jockey. The same goes for their track, "Red Carpet". For the suckers of the classic love ballad, the tracks "Hurts" and "Re-love" offer listeners enjoyable, head-swaying melodies-the kind you'd find anywhere on Earth, not just Korea. My personal favorite is "Be My Love", which honestly sounds like a cooler version of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". Admittedly there is still that K-pop feel, but it's far from being as bothersome as the majority.

One may even dare to walk on the edge and say there is a Western feel to some tracks. You be the judge.

Album Reviews
By: Gabriella A. Vigier
Reviewer score: 8 of 10
Genre:K-Pop

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