On the K/Queue: September 2018

Great mini albums by Sunmi, GWSN and more

7 min readOct 4, 2018

Can we just skip over the whole Cube thing and discuss the other Cube thing? Controversy might currently float around the group, but Pentagon is still going strong, promoting its new single and one of the month’s highlights, “Naughty Boy.” What’s offering somewhat of a lighter note on all this is Paul Jack, the lovely plush frog pictured above who has been hanging out with the boy band in nearly every Instagram post. It’s in reference, of course, to the single’s music video raining with frogs. It’s a shame Paul Jack has to become a mascot during a not-so-great time, but he doesn’t seem to let that negativity get to him, so we shall just keep moving along too.

Here are some great mini albums from this month. The rest of the round-up singles and other tidbits are below.

Alone in the City

Dreamcatcher

With yet another gothic, guitar-thrashin’ title track from Dreamcatcher, it’s safe to say got its aesthetic on lock. What makes its mini albums exciting, then, are the wilder genre-blending experiments, like “Trap” which doubles down both on the EDM and metal poles of the group.

Present: You

GOT7

The (deserved) buzz behind the Spanish version of GOT7’s new title track only scratches the surface of the group’s great full-length album, filled front to back with dance-pop as dynamic as its lead song. The epic, sentimental ode to self-love “I Am Me” is one of many standouts equally worthy of attention.

The Park in the Night

GWSN

Rather than showcase all its skills at once, the rookie girl group makes its first impression by sticking to the feather-light dance-pop of its solid debut single. But while it establishes an enchanting personality for the new group, the back half teases an assertive side perhaps saved for the next round.

Remember Me

Oh My Girl

The bass-heavy beat of the title track may not sound entirely congruent to the mini album’s painterly visuals, though the shake-up works wonders. The group continues to split the difference between synth-pop bashfulness and R&B cool, adding in ad libs in “Echo” and an actual rap in “Twilight.”

Warning

Sunmi

“Siren” turns into a mad sprint as Sunmi bets it all during the single’s dramatic center, close to how “Heroine” blazed a trail in its chorus. Other new tracks mellow down into more sultry pop: the dusky, slow-burning funk of “Black Pearl” especially sets a mood best fit for the mini album’s dreamy imagery.

WJ Please?

WJSN

While Cosmic Girls cools to a slightly more bashful group in “Save Me, Save You,” the rest of the album, especially “You, You, You,” rides high on the epic sounds signature to the group. The last two tracks signal an early close with their stylistic detours, but it’s overall a more consistent affair.

More K-pop from this month…

French producer Hcue calls up A.C.E. for his new single, “I Feel So Lucky.” If you ever wanted the boys to record their own version of Drake’s “One Dance,” consider your wish granted.
While the as-usual high-energy pop of “Right Here” keeps the “good, but not great” streak of The Boyz, the group tucks in the sleeper hit “KeePer” from the summer to remind they’re great, if not even better over some laid-back funk.
GFriend’s back in Japan, this time with a new original single, “Memoria,” coupled with the Japanese version of “Time for the Moon Night.” It’s a heavily sentimental string-driven record pretty familiar both to a release from King Records, a label full of anime themes, and the catalog of GFriend.
My favorite Japanese K-pop release this month, though, is the new VIXX single, “Reincarnation,” the title track off of its new Japanese album. The group has had an impressively productive year already with Eau de VIXX (a personal favorite from April) and it just keeps better with this solidly assembled dance-pop record.
Other Japanese K-pop releases: Day6’s very-Day6 pop-punk number, “Breaking Down”; ONF’s Japanese version of the glowing EDM-pop “Complete”; SF9’s Japanese version of garage-pop banger “Now or Never,” due out end of October; Taemin’s big-beat dance-pop “Eclipse” fittingly made to go with his solo Japan tour; Twice’s first original Japanese album, BDZ, which is an album with songs and one of them is a good ballad titled “Wishing.”
With now five girls in its roster, Girls’ Generation re-brands itself as Girls’ Generation Oh!GG for new single “Lil’ Touch.” Like I blurbed elsewhere, it’s a welcome attempt to revamp the group with a change-up in voice that was frankly well overdue.
High School Rapper 2 winner HAON signed with Jay Park’s H1GHR earlier this year, and his debut project TRAVEL: NOAH is a solid showcase of his talents. While his Groovyroom-produced single “NOAH” has the newcomer alongside his label head as well as Hoody, I prefer the album cut “OOOOOOL” as a highlight from his EP.
T-ARA’s Hyomin slides in late with a summer jam in “Mango.” I’ll let you decide if the pun on the fruit works as a viable hook, or if those tropical pop vibes are not past its expiration date. Maybe if it arrived a few months earlier, it would’ve found a better audience in me.
The summer feel trickles in the new 100% single, “Heart,” as well with a balmy dance-pop sporting a flute line as a hook. The title of its new album, Sunshine, seems to continue on the trend, though it follows more like the group’s previous single “Grand Bleu,” a dedication to love that wears its heart boldly on its sleeve.
Jimin Park serves relationship drama in “April Fools,” the lead single off of her new Jiminxjamie EP. This month was already full of dramatic numbers (hello, Sunmi) so I preferred the more laid-back yet still hearty R&B “Count You Out” off of the project.
I remain conflicted with Kisses and her new single, “24hr Store,” a melancholy R&B song about, uh, depressive nights that results in binge-eating. While the chorus leans really straight into it to the point it kinda makes me uncomfortable, the song on its surface glimmers pretty if you see it from enough of a distance.
After a great coffee-shop pop track and a straight-up made-for-OST ballad, Park Boram delivers a solid R&B single in “One More Shot.” Though the drums makes it more pop than her previous singles, the mellow production retains an intimate atmosphere that still feels familiar to the singer.
Playfulness still plays key for Pentagon in “Naughty Boy,” filled with a lot of vocal performances as express and fun as “Shine.” I mean, one of the hooks takes inspiration from a frog’s croak. How more playful can they get?
S.I.S. returns with a bubbly single, “Say Yes,” that has the girl group ready to do cartwheels if only you would just look its way. The cutesy ad libs and pouting personalize the song while that layering of voices in the chorus sound oddly satisfying.
Not only did SHINee decide to re-package all three releases from The Story of Light series, the group also threw in a new song, the pretty straightforward R&B “Countless” that fits into the project as a nice epilogue.
Chungha, Soyeon of (G)-IDLE, Seulgi of Red Velvet and SinB of GFriend teamed up for a SM Station single, “Wow Thing.” The girl-group dream team rocks a retro R&B beat that modernizes the riff from Lil Kim’s ’90s classic “Crush on You” (or maybe the one from Ariana Grande’s “Right Here,” which is more up Chung Ha’s alley).
Sori’s “Touch” with Basick never lets down from the moment the speedy, loosely garage-R&B beat kicks in. The urgent rush to move on is understandable from a song impatient for the guy’s next move.
It’s a shame “I Mean” is UNI.T’s last single because the group seemed to get on a better groove on its second try with its bouncy, kinda-throwback dance-pop track. Like Line before it, the rest of the Begin with the End mini album is filled with ballads. Sure, “Shine” is also included as a bonus track, but couldn’t they cut at least one more dance-pop song with this unit?
Jellyfish Entertainment rookies VERIVERY borrows New Jack Swing and other throwback R&B sounds for its jubilant single, “Super Special.” I still welcome any attempts to re-purpose that retro pop style, so I’m a fan of the group’s debut outing.

You made it to the end! Here’s a YouTube playlist of all of the featured songs this month to take home.