life

2024 Wrapped

carrein

Dec 19, 2024 — 6 min read

A short reflection on stuff I listened to this year.

Top Artists

STAYC

Twas a warm summer night as I cruised the content highway of YouTube on one of my silly music video binge sessions. Unbeknownst to me, I was about to stumble upon what could only be described as the K-pop equivalent of crack cocaine - a K-pop group whose entire discography is written by Black Eyed Pilesung.

Naturally, this was very bad news.

Now that my end-of-year wrapped has been completely derailed by a lone producer and his girl group, I think the infatuation has weaned off enough that I'm now coherent enough to muster an explanation.

Black Eyed Pilseung and K-pop are essentially synonymous. These guys are the demons behind all of the bangers in the space over the last decade. They cooked up all of TWICE's older title tracks, APink's legendary run of retro hits, Hyuna's "Bubble Pop" and Chung Ha's "Roller Coaster". Their sound is so iconic that I can occasionally tell if a track is their creation (as was the case with "Cake" by ITZY). The best way I can describe their production style, in my babbling music vocabulary, is of having the characteristics of "bouncy synths" (lol I'm sorry).

A car crash in slow motion, the sugary beats of "ASAP" seeping into my ears as I watched the year-end charts I had painstakingly built, brick by brick, casually crumble under irresistible pull of the group.

But I don’t think my gravitation toward STAYC is simply a byproduct of BEP's notoriety, the girls themselves, or even their excellent music. Instead, I’d hazard that it’s my admiration for the group’s courage in continuing to push out K-pop songs that retain the kitschy aesthetics of Korean pop music. A lot of it is undoubtedly driven by my inner nostalgia for the return of the 2nd-gen bubblegum sound, but some of the drivel topping the charts now is simply baffling.

The classic structure of layered instrumentation and harmonies are slowly being jettisoned for a more minimalist R&B sound. Groups are completely shedding 'bright' concepts in favor for the more mainstream 'girl crush' styles. My biggest gripe is this newfangled trend of adding more English lyrics in an attempt to appeal to a broader audience — now having entire 'K-pop' songs sung completely in English.

All of this is to say that STAYC's brand of music is becoming scarcer in the current Korean music landscape. Songs like "Bubble" and "Stereotype" retain much of the cloyingly sweet, maximalist energy that K-pop is known for. STAYC's surge to the top of my charts this year is more of a recognition of the undercurrent of globalization in the industry then just their exceptional production. Despite the shift to cater to Western audiences, STAYC remains steadfast in expressing themselves through a pastiche of the good old days.

Luna Li

A wunderkind hailing from Toronto, Luna Li has once again blessed us this year with the release of her sophomore record, When a Thought Grows Wings. I was plenty stoked for this release, given how enamored I was with her previous album, Duality, with its rich, almost psychedelic-infused elements.

Yet When a Thought Grows Wings was not the polishing of her debut as I had hoped. Instead, the tracks elect for a more careful approach, discarding the long, sonorous, rock-laden passages found aplenty in her debut for shorter, mellower melodies. I was a little disappointed, and the album was definitely a slow burner.

There are a couple of gems still to be found, like the lead single "Confusion Song," "Golden Hour," and "Minnie Says (Would You Be My)." Sonically, When a Thought Grows Wings is more consistent in songwriting at the expense of the more dynamic sound that made Duality so much more interesting. This is probably due to how Duality was a more self-produced endeavor. This second album, which was produced more traditionally, shows in the record's narrower direction.

"Duality was very much a solo writing process - I would write & demo out the songs on my own before bringing them to my producer to make a studio version. For most of the songs on WATGW I co-wrote the instrumentals with my collaborators Andrew Lappin and Monsune and then would go home and write the lyrics and melodies on my own."

- lunalilunalilunali

Still, Luna easily makes the cut into my top artists this year, with a stellar live performance and my reverence for her Jams EP tracks.

Lamp

mitsume

Top Genre

This year, the cult of Shibuya-Kei and its little cousin, Akishibu-kei, had me in a crazy stranglehold 🥵, and I literally couldn’t fix my algorithm to escape. The genre is dangerously accessible for how creative it can be, creatively keeping itself fresh by stealing and blending aesthetics from jazz, electronic, and retro styles. Here are some of my favorite records!

Round Table Featuring Nino - Nino

A fun little sugary concoction crafted by the duo Round Table and guest singer Nino. A pretty standard Japanese pop album with sprinkles of anime sensibilities, but Nino's lilting vocals really help this record pop.

Satellite Lovers - Sons of 1973

I found a track from this album secretly masquerading as an Acid Jazz song (it most definitely isn’t lmao) in a YouTube playlist. Regardless, the song led me on a little side quest through the rest of the band's discography, right up to the album Sons of 1973. These quirky algorithms have a funny way of unveiling obscure artists and bringing them back into relevance, but I’m not complaining.

The sudden influx of listeners even saw some channels making deep dives into the band's lore.

Musically, Sons of 1973 doesn't break any new ground but embraces the easy listening aspect of Shibuya-kei to its fullest extent. Packed with light, breezy tracks, I had this record on repeat for way too long.

Girls Be - フレンチ大作戦 (The French Operation)

An enigmatic pair with only a single album to their name, フレンチ大作戦 (The French Operation) is a kitschy record that blends jazz, lounge, and spy music in one of the most compelling records I've heard all year.

The whole album feels like an espionage thriller, opening with the grind of a car crash, the clattering of debris, and angry yelling. Seguing into a jangly guitar solo with abrasive trumpets, before transitioning into the second track—a high-adrenaline riff reminiscent of a car chase.

My personal favorite moments are the odd interludes sprinkled across the record, featuring the two artists conversing in French—a fairly amusing addition in the face of a Japanese record. The album does meander a little in the middle but composes itself with some interesting art pop elements nearing the end. The outro circles back to the spy motif, electing to bring the brass instruments back!

Serani Poji - オチャメカン (Ochamekan)

Exactly how I imagine strolling into a Japanese department store in the year 2050 would sound. Extremely saccharine, Ochamekan is packed to the brim with precocious little melodies. Despite its stupidly optimistic, almost irreverent lyrics, the tracks piece together a strong narrative by employing various metaphorical objects. With tales of a floating Earthling, a lone tea shop in the middle of the night, or even a sweet goodbye to a strawberry, Ochamekan's childlike and eccentric songwriting feels almost exclusively defined by its Japanese origin.