reviews: 2ne1 1st mini album / brown eyed girls sound-g…

do you love me
- brown eyed girls / abracadabra

i don’t care
- 2ne1 / i don’t care

the last korean album i bought was loveholic’s self-titled debut in 2003 when i came to visit seoul with a friend. though i enjoyed that album, i frequently and vocally categorized the korean music industry as imitation is a form of a money-making machine. derivative beats, plagiarized songs and styles, and processed bands with pretty faces — the music industry thrived on building off the successes of famous musicians from other countries. a little ne-yo here, a piece of o-zone there, and production values to rival what’s coming out of studios in the states created a successful formula for mainstream success in korea.

that said, i love 2ne1’s new album. it’s edgy and surprisingly fresh. it’s not the most original thing i’ve heard, but the group’s first mini-album showcases a range of styles with a tracklist full of viable singles. while mini-albums usually serve as vehicles for glorified singles with a supporting tracklist of backseat fillers, 2ne1 lights it up with fire, keeps it cool with i don’t care, and calls out the faces, a veiled attack on boy bands perhaps, with pretty boy. doing their best gwen stefani impersonation on the latter track, 2ne1 tells the pretty boys that style is no substitute for substance over a track laced with horns and a marching beat drum track. it’s very much hollaback girl, but it’s still fun and very much their own song. the group feels at home on every track without trying too hard to impress. it’s a sincere effort, and credit goes to the producers for creating a track list that puts the spotlight on the girls and their talents.

the brown eyed girls have taken over seoul with their hit song abracadabra, but their full length album sound-g has fewer standout tracks than 2ne1’s mini album. abracadabra and both versions of its racy music video have created enormous waves in seoul, but the rest of the album sinks. the album’s opening track glam girl with the lines, “i’m so gorgeous, baby,” sounds like something off a drag show soundtrack. candy man, released as a single before the aforementioned abracadabra sounds dated with its group-led chorus. if this album was a person, it’s a career woman in a power suit. it’s heavily produced and, for a male, hard to relate with.

their two competing singles, 2ne1’s i don’t care and brown eyed girls’ abracadabra, show precisely how these two groups differ. the brown eyed girls have the sex appeal, the more radio friendly track, and the experience. 2ne1’s on the scene with a lot to prove, but their track is emotionally honest, personal, has the more memorable hook, and doesn’t have you thinking nasty dirty thoughts. time and popularity will dictate who lasts the longest, but my money is on 2ne1 becoming the song more people will remember years later.

2ne1 / 1st mini album : 3.5/5
brown eyed girls / sound-g : 2.5/5