Release Date: 5 February 2024
Song Count: 10
Rating: 7.7/10
Description:
From one rather unfamiliar genre yesterday to another for yours truly, today's album got me plunging the waters of Korean pop music with boy band P1Harmony's debut album Killin' It. These guys have been in the scene together as one force since 2020 and released several EPs and singles prior to this album, and while they haven't been in the public eye under the name P1Harmony for that long of a time period just yet, they have enjoyed plenty of success with their discography, garnering a wide and dedicated audience.
The songs Killin' It offers are varied in ambience and invoked emotions, but carry an accessible and polished sound throughout all of their runtimes, firmly giving them a signature K-Pop flair alongside the consistent language switching between English and Korean. The tracks alternate between faster-tempo, catchy dance tracks that frequently feature rap verses and slower, more melancholy sounding songs, lyrically all tied to general topics of love, dancing and partying. The calculated production of these tracks and the samples use lift the more upbeat songs up to a brand new level - the best example being the track "2Nite" with the bass-heavy sections of the instrumental hooking the listener in alongside the guitars, electronic samples, sound effects and percussion and leading to an immensely high build-up and a smooth payoff that oozes an ambience of unbridled effortlessness - an absolute "jam", as one could call it.
This level of polish that is very characteristic of a lot of Korean pop music unfortunately also acts as this album's main drawback, particularly in the tracks that demand a more somber atmosphere around them, where the dissonance between what type of energy is being aimed towards and what musical tools are being used within the songs end up making the piece feel less authentic and impactful when looking at the big picture. "Sad" songs typically require an air of authenticity in them through the incorporation of rawness within the music, whether that be with the instruments, vocals, or another factor that ties the pieces together and forms the intended connection with the listener to successfully invoke the emotions portrayed, which these songs end up lacking significantly. Thankfully, the songs with these problems don't make up a very significant portion of the album as a whole, and are practically exclusively contained within its first half.
Overall, Killin' It was quite a fun listen and a great example as to what Korean pop can have to offer at its best that many people that dismiss the genre as a monolith may miss.