Rapid Review: 4Minute's "Volume Up"

Welcome to another Rapid Review! This week, we’re going to look at 4Minute and their “Volume Up” EP. I originally intended to review their first EP, “For Muzik.” But that album wasn’t as interesting to me.

MACG Playlist: Great Debut Tracks

Debut songs are a tricky thing. You have to introduce yourself, as a group or a soloist, to the public after months of waiting. Yes, you are much more than one song, but you still want to make your best impression. Today, I want to take a trip down memory lane and discuss some of my favorite debut songs. These artists hit the ground running with stellar debuts that captured our attention and love..

Rapid Review: Geeks' "Backpack"

 For this edition of “Rapid Review,” I wanted to revisit one of the first Korean hip-hip albums I heard. I actually listened to more hip hop and rap than mainstream pop when I first got into Hallyu. I still listen to a few songs from this album but haven’t listened to the album in its entirety in a few years.

Rapid Review: Ladies Code's "Pretty Pretty" and "Bad Girl"

Welcome to another Rapid Review, dear reader. Continuing our journey into 2nd generation Kpop, we’re checking out Ladies’ Code. Today, I’m reviewing their first two albums, “Bad Girl” and “Pretty Pretty.” I initially planned to only review the first album, but the run time isn’t even 15 minutes.

Ladies’ Code debuted as a five-member group in February 2013 under Polaris Entertainment. Interestingly, some of the ladies had already made a name for themselves prior to debut. Sojung was a top-eight finalist of “The Voice of Korea” season one, and RiSe represented Japan in the Miss Korea competition in 2009. The other three, EunB, Ashley and Zuny, all trained in various other companies pre-debut.

Rapid Review: "Busker Busker's First Album"

 Welcome to another round of Rapid Reviews! Lately, I’ve been focusing on girl groups from the 2012-2014 range. I did that because frankly, the boys get plenty of attention. However, I’m taking a brief break from mainstream K-Pop to talk about Busker Busker! Busker Busker was a 3-member indie rock band that formed around 2011.

Rapid Review: Ha:tfelt's "Me?"

Welcome to another Rapid Review! This time around, I’m exploring HA:TFELT and looking back at her 2014 album, “Me?”

While K-pop newcomers might only know her by HA:TFELT/Ha:tfelt, this artist has gone by many names during her long career. Debuting in 2007 in the legendary girl group, Wonder Girls, Park Ye Eun (A.K.A Yenny) is many things. Leader, lead guitar player, model and now an indie artist. She debuted as a soloist in 2014 under JYP Entertainment but signed with her current company, Amoeba Culture, once her contract expired.

Rapid Review: F(x)'s "Pink Tape"

Welcome to another Rapid Review. Today, we’re going to look at f(x)‘s “Pink Tape.”. The second album from the group, it made quite a splash at the time, being the only K-pop album on Fuse’s 2013 Top Album list. Over the years, it has become an iconic K-pop album for the second- and third-generation fans. I wanted to take this time to see if it still holds up. To me, f(x) was an outlier. They weren’t as pristine as other groups at the time. Now that girl groups are even more popular, does it still deserve its iconic status?

Rapid Review: RaNia's "Just Go"

Welcome back to another Rapid Review. We’re back at it with another 2nd generation girl group! I’ve been at this for quite a few reviews but every time I feel like I’ve fully explored this period of Kpop, I find a new group that invigorates me. And this week, that group is Rania with their first studio album, “Just Go”.

Rapid Review: SPICA's "Russian Roulette"

Welcome to another Rapid Review! I’ve used this series to explore K-pop albums made during 2012-2015. Thus far, I’ve reviewed albums or artists that I know and love. Well, I decided to journey a little further out by listening to artists I myself missed. I got into Hallyu around 2013 but mainly listened to underground artists for a while. Today, I’m looking at SPICA and their first mini-album, “Russian Roulette.”

The group debuted in 2012 and made a name for themselves with their strong vocals. Unfortunately, they disbanded in 2017, but it’s never too late to discover a new band.

Rapid Review: FIESTAR's "Black Label"

 Welcome to another Rapid Review! This week, we dive back into our look into early third-generation K-pop with FIESTAR. This is my first ever listen to them … I think? Like I’ve said, my friends gave me a lot of suggestions, and it’s very possible they got lost in the shuffle.

Rapid Review: EXID's "Hippity Hop"

 Welcome back to Rapid Reviews! This week, we explore another album from 2012, EXID’s “Hippity Hop.” Unlike SPICA, I do occasionally listen to EXID, although I only started after the infamous fancam of “Up and Down” went viral. That being said, I like their style and eagerly look forward to their comeback.

Rapid Review: VIXX's "Hyde"/"Jekyll"

Welcome to another Rapid Review! Continuing into our dive into third-generation K-pop, we’re digging into VIXX‘s “Jekyll.” VIXX is a group close to my heart. They’re one of the few artists who just ooze theatricality and epicness from concept to comeback stages. Still, it’s important to look back on an artist’s beginning to better appreciate their journey.

Rapid Review: Primary's "Primary and the Messengers"

 Published on MacGMagazine, March 16th 2020, 4:00:52 pm

As part of this new series, Rapid Review, I wanted to focus on older albums and EPs. I’ve noticed a lot of Hallyu fans joined the fandom during 2016-2019 and might have missed out on some lesser-known albums.

Today, I’m talking about the Korean producer, Primary and his 2012 album “Primary and the Messengers.” While he’s been on the Korean underground scene since 2006, this is the first album after he signed with Amoeba Culture.

Album Summary

It’s actually a double album, clocking in at about 71 minutes. This is one of the first albums my friend recommended to me as I was discovering K-pop. It’s honestly one of my favorites, but it’s been a while since I’ve really listened and examined it.

Most of the features are indie or underground artists such as E-Sens, Beenzino and Junggigo. This album is curious because it carries retro grooves like “Question Mark” and “Meet,” but it’s not afraid to shake things up. In “Far,” the instrumental is simple and mournful and then switches to sultry in “Mine Tonight.”

Primary has a distinct sound, but he still manages to diversify his style with his rotation of featured artists. “Poison,” for example, beautifully balances the simple instrumental paired with Zion.T’s ethereal vocals and E-Sens’s gruff rap.

Overall, it’s just a chill album that’s great to play in the background that has amazing bops. In 20 tracks, Primary manages to showcase a wide range that never left me bored or annoyed. Also, the bonus track, “거기서 거기읾” is a hidden gem.

High points:

Poison, I’m Back, Too Far and Playboy’s Diary

Low points:

Friendzone/Clean Entrance, High-End Girl,

In Conclusion

While there are some songs that I didn’t like, they didn’t drag the album down or the songs I loved. This album helped me find a lot of the artists I love today. It sounds as amazing as it did six years ago. I recommend this for someone who loves New Jack Swing or who wants to listen to more than standard K-pop fare.

Album Rating

7.5/10