By: Penny Rae Hawkins

Get ready to have a summer that’s “better than ever.”

Los Angeles rockers The Wrecks announced April 8 via Twitter they will be joined by Girlhouse and Mothé for their Better Than Ever tour. The tour kicks off June 10 in Fresno, Calif. at Strummer’s Bar & Grill before visiting 30 cities across the country in support of their upcoming sophomore album. 

Singles from the album “Lone Survivor” and “I Love This Part” are currently available on all streaming platforms.

All dates, tickets and VIP packages can be found here. 

Image credit: Sound Digest

By: Penny Rae Hawkins

Thursday’s Child hasn’t got much further to go. 

On April 14, the official Tomorrow X Together posted a teaser for their upcoming EP Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child. While only clocking in at 23 seconds, the anticipated follow-up to The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape already has the fandom buzzing. The clip racked up over one million views, 115 thousand retweets, 160 thousand likes and nearly ten thousand comments on Twitter in the first three hours after it was posted to the BIG HIT MUSIC official Twitter. Additionally, Twitter user @txtgenleaders noticed the music used in the trailer was identical to the clip used in Yeonjun’s Minisode 1: Blue Hour teaser.

However, this release is already proving to be far different from their first Minisode. Between shattering glass, a red and black color palette and a prophetic outro to their performance at the 2021 Melon Music Awards, this comeback seems to promise something much darker than the group has ever done before. According to Famlii, the phrase “Thursday’s child has far to go” comes from the nursery rhyme “Monday’s Child” and is often interpreted one of two ways. 

“The traditional meaning is associated with Thursday children having a long, successful life without limitations,” an anonymous author wrote. “Thursday’s child is sometimes associated with children having special needs or setbacks in life. This concept of ‘far to go’ implies that children have obstacles to overcome.” 

Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child will be released May 9 at 6:00pm KST (5:00am EST) and is currently available for pre-save on Spotify and Apple Music. Watch the full teaser below!

By: Penny Rae Hawkins

Run the World! Queendom 2 has arrived.

Queendom 2, the sequel to Mnet’s Queendom from 2019, is already off to an ambitious start. For starters, this season is hosted by none other than Taeyeon, the leader of legendary girl group Girl’s Generation and a solo artist in her own right. She’ll be introducing challenges and performances for Queendom 2’s crop of hopefuls for the crown: WJSN, Brave Girls, VIVIZ, Kep1er, Loona and Hyolyn. The introduction of a contestant debuted in 2010 came as a shock to myself and the rest of the girls, prompting Dayoung of WJSN to wipe down Hyolyn’s chair before she was properly introduced in what is sure to be an iconic moment. 

The theme for this first episode was “Signature Song.” This proved an interesting challenge for the contestants, especially for rookie group Kep1er who have one proven hit to their name with “WA DA DA.” Veteran performers like Brave Girls and Hyolyn, who was a member of SISTAR, had years worth of material to choose from. Similar to Hyolyn, VIVIZ had an entire catalog of GFRIEND songs to rifle through as well as their newer work as a trio. The scoring of these performances are determined not only by global votes, but YouTube views on full-length videos of the performances posted after the episode’s conclusion. 

Unfortunately, the competition began with bad news. Despite the six groups that were meant to perform in round one, LOONA had to drop out of filming after all twelve members tested positive for COVID-19. This left the remaining five groups to prepare show stopping performances to prove themselves worthy of the throne. Luckily, LOONA will be allowed to complete the first round’s mission once all members have recovered. 

VIVIZ opened the competition with a mash-up of GFRIEND songs “Time for the Moon Night” and “Rough.” The girls’ costuming was delicate to the point of being doll-like, perfect for their elegant choreography and angelic vocals. Raising a glittering crown to the sky, they continued the program’s tradition of elevating K-pop standards into high art. Midway through the performance amidst the stars, a promise to other GFRIEND members and Buddy was put on display. This promise? “We will meet in the end. Even though we trapped in the time and lost in the way.” It proved to be a particularly emotional performance for VIVIZ member Eunha, who cried as soon as she left the stage. She later stated it was due to her previous uncertainty as to whether she’d ever be able to perform GFRIEND songs again after the groups sudden disbandment in May 2021. Overall, it’s a touching tribute and a tear jerking display of talent regardless of your knowledge of the members’ past.   

Hyolyn followed up with a reworked version of “Touch My Body” by SISTAR, an iconic summer jam if there ever was one. Eschewing traditional royal imagery, Hyolyn declared herself queen of a tropical paradise. The set design evoked lush jungle imagery complete with massive ferns, colorful flowers and a digital waterfall. Despite a delay in the performance caused by a shoe malfunction, the performance was a seamless celebration of summer. If the malfunction hadn’t been revealed, it’s doubtful anyone would have noticed. The vocals were pitch-perfect and a display of pure joy, and the inclusion of choreography from her iconic solo hit “Dally” are a sharp stroke of genius. Even with an army of dancers behind her, it merely took a single champagne glass of glitter to prove why she’s the only soloist competing: because she can.

In the pre-credits preview for next week’s episode, members of WJSN are seen panicking about harm they seem to have unintentionally caused. It’s deliberately unclear whether another group’s performance or another contestant’s safety has been endangered, but it’s a gripping tease that I will surely tune into next week for the full explanation. 

Queendom 2 airs every Thursday at 9:20pm KST (8:20am EST) on Mnet’s YouTube Channel and Viki. Episodes can be rewatched on either of these platforms after the end of the live broadcast.

Image credit: Mnet Official Instagram

After debuting in 2020 with “Blaze,” Diadem have kept their eye on the five-piece Korean rock band for more kick ass tracks. On February 8, these dedicated fans received just that with the band’s first extended play Fighting. The album features six tracks, including full versions of previously released demos “Holler” and “Higher,” and brand-new tracks “Azalea,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Paradise,” “Delight” and title track “Good Night.” 

Unfortunately, Fighting begins with its weakest tracks. The mixing for the long-awaited studio version of “Holler” is a tad underwhelming, not helped by the guitars being pushed so far to the back of the mix they’re nearly inaudible. It’s saved by angelic harmonies and fist-pumping conviction from the band’s rhythm section, particularly bassist Arem, but is overall underwhelming. Fighting’s opening track “Delight” misses the mark by the skin of its teeth, a strong track that misses a golden opportunity for a face-ripping guitar solo that Iree is beyond capable of. The If you ask me, somebody should ship Travis Barker out to Seoul to work with these talented young women. Some minor tweaks and more consistent production would shoot Rolling Quartz to the level they’re clearly ready to reach. 

The strongest songs on Fighting live at the end of the album. Title track “Good Night” is a dark metal track where Jayoung sings from the perspective of a sadistic narcissist who has you, the listener, exactly where she wants you. With a deep voice and well-executed rap that doesn’t hold back, the vocalist is more than capable of selling this dark concept. Aided by hard-hitting drums from Yeongeun and stealth support from Hyunjung, this is easily the standout track on Fighting. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Paradise” has much lighter lyrics without losing its edge, delivering precisely what it promises. 

“Azalea” soars into an entirely new emotional realm that can only be described as heartbreaking. The song’s repeated line “even if I die, no tears fall,” alongside delicate and intelligent guitar picking from Hyunjung and show-stealing solo from Iree, strike you in the heart with its intensity and melodrama. There’s really no flowery language or sweeping metaphor that could accurately describe “Higher.” It just rips, plain and simple. Its mosh pit-ready energy and unwavering eye towards victory makes the song one of the album’s points, just an unbridled display of pure, uncut talent. 

Regardless of your fluency in Korean, this is a solid debut album for any rock radio playlist. While not a perfect record, Fighting spotlights a band bursting at the seams with potential. 

NMIXX are beyond ready to show the world just how “freaky, fresh and fishy” they are.

On February 18, the upcoming JYP girl group released a highlight medley for their upcoming debut album “Ad Mare.” The album includes the title track “O.O” and the controversial “Tank,” which garnered a divisive response in early teasers for the group’s debut. 

While the debut single will release on February 22 as planned, the debut showcase has been postponed. According to Soompi, “New Frontier: Ad Mare” will take place on March 1 due to member Bae testing positive for COVID-19. 

“Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Jinni, Jiwoo, and Kyujin, who received negative results, are under self-quarantine,” D. Kim reported. 

The teaser showcased impressive vocals from the girls with a hard hitting, almost militaristic groove for “O.O.” There’s something otherworldly about “Tank.” Confusing lyrics aside, the song snippet sounds like top shelf DCOM cheese, like a “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century” track that was left on the cutting room floor in favor of Protozoa. 

It’s a sound JYP has struggled to consistently nail down in the past with other groups. Will this septet of insanely talented girls break the streak? 

Are you excited for NMIXX’s debut? Check out the full teaser below!

 

 

 

It’s the moment Diadem have all been waiting for. 

Korean rock band Rolling Quartz is gearing up to release their debut album Fighting on February 8. The track list includes studio versions of previously-released demos of “Holler” and “Delight,” as well as the live tracks “Rock and Roll Paradise” and “Higher.” Rounding out the track list is brand new song “Azalea,” a song with a title as beautiful as the ladies themselves. 

According to the band’s YouTube page, fighting is an interjection “used to convey encouragement, incitement, or support.” The phrase is typically pronounced “hwaiting” or “paiting” in Korean, but maintains a powerful title for a first release even without the cultural context. 

Commemorating the release of the album, Rolling Quartz will be making an appearance at the Feast of Pleasure! 2022 Kyung-Rock Jeol. The online festival will be hosted on the Crying Nut YouTube channel. The event will begin streaming at 6:00pm KST on February 9 and go on until February 11. 

The five piece rock outfit debuted on December 30, 2020 with the single “Blaze.” The aggressively defiant track introduced singer Jayoung, lead guitarist Iree, rhythm guitarist Hyunjung, bassist Arem and drummer Youngeun to the growing Korean rock scene. As of the publishing of this article, the music video for “Blaze” has amassed nearly one million views on YouTube. 

With only three days remaining, anticipation continues to build for the group’s first mini album. I see no reason why they shouldn’t live up to the hype.