Album Reviews 21st of January 2024

Proffessor Nutkins
Jan 21, 2024
5 min read

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Album review Sunday. Each Sunday I review the albums that came out over the week and share my thoughts with you. However this week is late because I forgot about posting because a lot happened lol.

This week was amazing actually. We have pour first time of having 2 10/10 albums in one review! Also our first 1 star rated song, but first off a bit of a disclaimer from me:

DISCLAIMER: I do not know that much about these artists as individuals and I do not personally know if they are bad people. I am reviewing JUST their music and what I think of their album. I do not necessarily support them. If you know something about an artist I have reviewed that you feel I should be aware of please feel free to contact me. I listen to all the music on headphones so I would recommend you to do the same. I do not listen to or rate explicit songs as I feel you can find everything needed in clean songs. All reviews are based off my first time listen and what I was thinking at the time, and I do not always know the story behind the song or the lyrics.

THE RATING SYSTEM: The overall album will be rated with a system of 0.5/10 being the worst I’ve ever heard and 10/10 being one of my favourite albums. The individual songs will be rated with a 0.5 stars being the worst and 5 stars being one of my favourites. I take into account beat, lyrics and whether it is something I would personally choose to listen to.

On to the albums!

#4 Fe3O4: BREAK by NMIXX RATING: 6/10

TRACK LIST:

DASH 3.5 Stars
Sonar (Breaker) 4 Stars
Run For Roses 3.5 Stars
BOOM 4.5 Stars
Passionfruit 2.5 Stars
XOXO 3 Stars
Break The Wall 3.5 Stars

Listen to the album

Overview: Okay, this album was literally all over the place. None of these songs feel like they come from the same album other than “Passionfruit” and “XOXO”. Like, come on JYP, what are you doing with this group, make a decision.

Due to this I’ll put a short review of each song below cos I can’t do an “overview” of my opinions with each song being so different.

DASH: You know it’s something I can see I’d play in the background but to actually listen? No, not really. It’s not that great if I’m honest. Like a title track? This feels like B-side material at best.

Sonar (Breaker): Well I already know I like this song because I listened to the single before the album. I’ve missed the NMIXX sound so much from tracks like “O.O” and “TANK”, it’s why I love NMIXX, but that sound has really disappeared. This has a hint of their original sound but if I’m honest it only delivers that in the chorus. Outside of that it’s pretty regular.

Run For Roses: I like that riff that’s playing. You know it’s not awful but it’s just a bit empty.

BOOM: I can see this one will grow on me. It’s got potential to become a favourite here. It actually feels a bit experimental and I like that in a song. It could have more energy I guess but, you know, I actually kinda like the emptiness in this song.

Passionfruit: Like it’s not bad but it’s not something I would listen to due to personal taste. I don’t like this style of song.

XOXO: This is the same as Passionfruit-I just don’t enjoy this. It’s reminding me of a New Jeans song if I’m honest. I do enjoy this slightly more though, but I can see that when this song came on I’d just skip it.

Break The Wall: I haven’t listened yet but all I can think of is Guerrilla by ATEEZ. 👹 “BREAK THE WALL” 👹. Anyway onto the actual song. This is giving “Disney at the end of the movie” vibes. High School Musical specifically. This could be a Gabriela song. It’s got that last chorus where everyone will clap along.

Overall I’m not sure what NMIXX is trying to do but there were a few good songs in this album.

#3 HYPERSPACE by DXMON RATING: 9/10

TRACK LIST

N.W.B 1 Star
Burn Up 5 Stars
SPARK 4.5 Stars
Very 4.5 Stars
Burn Up - Instrumental N/A
SPARK - Instrumental N/A

Listen to the album

Overview: What an incredible debut EP. Unfortunately I did have to give my first ever 1 star rating to a song, N.W.B. This was due to the breath sounds in the chorus giving me a mild sense of hyperventilating. But putting that song aside, I absolutely love this album. Lyrics could be improved a bit I suppose because they felt a bit generic, but sound wise it was really good. This is exactly the kind of music I enjoy and I’m so excited to see what else they bring to K-pop. Also I love Jo’s and Rex’s raps in these songs, especially in Very and SPARK, they sound so good.

#2 GOOD MORNING by YENA RATING: 10/10

TRACK LIST

Good Morning 5 Stars
Good Girls in the Dark 5 Stars
Damn U 4.5 Stars
The Ugly Duckling 5 Stars

Listen to the album

Overview: Wow. Like I don’t have words for this. Honestly I don’t really know much of YENA’s music other than “Smiley'' So I had next to no expectations for this. And if I’m completely honest I was dreading reviewing it because I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it. Never have I been so happy I was wrong because this EP is an absolute favourite already. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of this. Because both this album and the top album have exactly the same score I’ll give you my favourite song and least favourite song. This is the first time I’ve had two 10/10 albums in one week!

FAVE SONG: Good Morning is such a great pick me up song when you’re feeling down so I think this would be my favourite.

LEAST FAVE: Damn U based on lyrics but I still love this song.

#1 WHU IS ME : Complex by Hui RATING: 10/10

TRACK LIST

Hmm BOP 5 Stars
MELO 4.5 Stars
Cold Killer 5 Stars
A Song From A Dream 5 Stars

Listen to the album

Overview: My jaw is on the floor right now, I’m not even joking. Okay, so I love PENTAGON’s music, however I’m not in the fandom so I don’t know any background stuff, but I do know this is Hui’s solo debut if I’m not mistaken. I am absolutely floored right now from this EP and I love these songs so much. Another instant favourite.

FAVE SONG: Honestly probably the title track Hmm BOP because it is perfection but I also love Cold Killer because I love those rock/pop rock kind of sounds.

LEAST FAVE: MELO. Simply based on lyrics but I do absolutely love this song too.

And that concludes this week. Maybe it had started off a little disappointing but it ended amazingly. Please check out my playlist of my favourite songs from new releases - including new music I haven't reviewed but love.

Let me know of any music you'd like me to review. Every genre is welcome. You can either send me a message on Instagram or Facebook, or comment on this very post!

Have a day!

Proffessor Nutkins