Board Thread:Off-Topic/@comment-29512888-20190707144659

Welcome back to another super delayed episode of the series!

Introduction
Sadly, May didn't deliver as much as April in terms of quality, as most of the songs were just "pretty good" and nothing else. However, there was still enough decent stuff to gather for a full list with a few honorable mentions. Here we go!

Honorable Mentions (none of them have lyrics, and the guilty pleasures are not eligible for my final list anyway so ignore them)
Two huge guilty pleasures, especially the last one! Just like early 2000's pop, 50's rockabilly is another style we don't get enough of in K-Pop, and I would love to see more. Pity that this song only lasts 1:56, but oh well. The vocals can be a bit too shrill, to be fair, but that traditional touch in the production is enough to save it. And this one is even better. Darn, trot is really rocking loud this year! Not as much as this actual rock song, though. It starts boringly, but then it explodes into a lot of rock coolness. And this rocks even more! I swear, it was not a coincidence! Oh, and this song also features strings a la GFriend... way to raise the quality up to the stars, Eunjung!

9. Ladies' Code - Feedback
Out of all the surprises we could have this year, this one was definitely what I expected the least to happen. I'm just touched by these girls' determination to calmly accept their friends' deaths and move on peacefully, and it's important to point that out because, sadly, not everyone is able to move on from big traumas, so this brave action might hopefully help those who are in need of some comfort. Anyway, this is their new feature track and, while it's pretty far from their pre-trauma singles in terms of quality, it's still quite pleasant with the blocky rhythm and the slight hints of new jack swing in the production. I definitely wish these girls the best of luck, and may EunB and RiSe rest in peace. They will be deeply missed.

8. NCT 127 - Highway To Heaven
Although we are moving to a much more light-hearted topic now, courage is still the main feature behind the release of this song, which is meant to promote their US tour that will take place during this year. NCT have already started to dive into the Western market with an incredibly lame song called Regular, but they completely redeemed themselves with this anthemic 80's-inspired song that is driven by a cool pulsing bass and great vocals from everyone involved. The lyrics are even better, as they talk about love being so strong that it can help people solve problems. It might be a bit cheesy, but the idea is sold perfectly and makes for a song that would fit perfectly as the last number of each performance, as it really gives me those nostalgic vibes. I hope everything in the tour goes well! Oh, and please don't perform Regular, you've already embarrassed yourselves enough lol.

7. OTOT - Start Me Up
On the other hand, no one knows a single thing about this/these/??? artist(s) and this music video has only reached 1266 views at the time of writing, but I don't give a damn because this song is great and deserves some attention. As already said in the Western May thread, sometimes you see a song that is too weird and out of this world not to be liked, and this one fits perfectly into this category. Start Me Up tries to recreate the world of retro video games with an instrumental-only track, and the result are more than appreciable. There are lots of things going on in here, from he weird "DUN" sounds, to the ascending cascades of synths, to the bassline, but everything is united together perfectly and the final result is just as enjoyable as riding that race car in the video above. Innovation isn't something you get too see very often in K-Pop, and this song does it really well.

6. Jenyer - Illusion
Speaking of innovation, the director of this music video is definitely a genius for featuring not only same-sex attraction, but also two drag queens! I'm not a fan of drag queens in general, but the LGBT community in South Korea struggles to have its right recognised from the State, so efforts like this are always a great move as long as they're done right. As for the song, it's a typical 80's bass-driven synthpop song in the style of Kim Lip's Eclipse and that NCT song above, but it doesn't matter because both Eclipse and said NCT song are cool as f so it's always a good idea to pay homage to something good in an equally good way.

5. NCT 127 - Superhuman
And now we go back to NCT and the real star of the show off their latest album: Superhuman. Easily one of the best EDM songs this year, Superhuman is particularly entrancing thanks to its buzzing production that always gives me chills when I hear it - it's just a bunch of WUBWUWBBBZBZBZBZBZBZ, but it's done very well and it meshes with the anthemic synths in the chorus just as properly. Not really much to say about this one, except that it's great and I love it.

4. Hitchhiker - Nada
Going back to the topic of innovation, Hitchhiker brings his own variation to the hackneyed reggaeton/Latin trend of the latest month with Nada, which uses most of the tropes from the genre (stiff percussion, mid-tempo rhythm, catchy lyrics, etc.) and blends them into something new and more infectious than 99% of reggaeton songs in the world. It might be because of the flute riff that goes over the percussion, but the actual reason is that incredibly funny chorus that consist of nothing but a jumbled mess of samples Spanish syllables, which are ordered in such a weird way that it's impossible not to bump your head or at least smile while hearing. I guess reggaeton is not everyone's cup of tea, but I dare you not to jump on the floor and twerk like crazy as soon as that beat drops!

3. IZ - Eden
While DAY6 have not come up with anything for their comeback yet, IZ makes up for that with even, an astonishingly rocking piece that goes even harder than DAY6's entire discography. I particularly love how the song stars in a chilled out way with a nice guitar riff and then it increases on and on until it bursts out into that amazing mess of guitars. If you're into DAY6 and you already miss them, too, this one is a definite recommendation.

2. Taeyeon - Voice
Taeyeon has always been a pretty hit-and-miss artist, to be fair, but oh boy, did she hit this time! Voice is an amazing power ballad full od power and emotion, where not one single thing is added without matching the melancholic feel of the performance. From the sad piano, to the drums, to the guitars in the background, everything suits Taeyeon's voice amazingly and gives her enough room to shine as she wishes she could see her ex-lover again. It's a situation where you would love to move on, but the thought of him/her is too strong to be fully able to commit to your task, and you just wish you could have news of them one last time before ultimately leaving the past. It's an amazing song overall, and it was really, REALLY close to filling that #1 spot. Sadly, the honor went to someone else. Guess who they are?

1. Oh My Girl - The Fifth Season
So Taeyeon's song was calibrated and balanced, but what about this one? Well... this one is an even more sophisticated case, to the point where it doesn't even sound humanly possible to make something this great. Nothing is left at random: the vocal melody is sweet and breezy but not too overwhelming, the backing strings are beyond any idea of perfection and accompany the vocals very carefully, the piano is gentle and adorable and OH MY GOD WHEN THE GUITAR KICKS IN AFTER THE CHORUS. Just... how can you not love it? It makes an already flawless song even more heavenly, and the whole thing just gives me goosebumps because of how great this is. It's one hell of a masterpiece, and it deserves to be accurately protected and beloved as it should be. Not only is it the best song of the month, but it's also the best song of the entire year so far (although Target's Beautiful is up there), and I doubt anything else this year will reach such levels of art. Congratulations to everyone involved, I'm really heartwarmed.

Recommendations
I'ts an injustice that K-rap can't be as good as this song nowadays.

Speaking of injustice, TS Entertainment, WHERE THE F ARE SECRET???

It's produced by Sweetune, and that's all you need to know.

That "time is ticking" refrain is a whole load of cringe, but everything else is noteworthy enough to save the entire song. Maybe early K-Pop wasn't that bad, after all.

On the other hand, retro concepts are (almost) always good in K-Pop.

Let's celebrate 2NE1' debut anniversary with this amazing B-side! Yeah, I know I'm super late, but ignoring 2NE1 is a huge crime.

And let's also remember Pristin and the huge waste of potential made by their terrible agency. Seriously, Pledis, they didn't even last 2 years (not counting the sub-unit activity)! 