Clé 2: Yellow Wood. A Dodgy Review.

Okey dokey, so for those of you who are in the K-pop scene but haven't heard of Stray Kids they are a 9 member rookie group under JYP entertainment that debuted in 2017. (Side note if you haven't listened to Clé 1: Miroh, please give it a listen as 1) it's freaking amazing and 2) many of the comparisons I am drawing are going to be about part one and so if you aren't familiar with it, it's gonna be hecking confusing for you).

So now we have the specifics out of the way lets get stuck into the review. Many of the songs are not my average listening kind of songs, but that doesn't mean I don't like them. As I have mentioned in my previous post, sometimes I can like the music of the band purely because I like the artist enough. This is very much my view towards this album.

So the first song on the album is 'Road not Taken.' This has an intense EDM feel to it; however, I bloody love it. I could happily listen to this when wanting to get hyped up. Chan and the rest of the production team did amazingly in putting this song together.

The next song is definitely the lead track, and that is 'Side Effects'. There have been some mixed reviews towards this song, to the point where JYP himself spoke up about the challenges being a musician can bring. I really like the song. I think that the voice listing the side effects of the drug Ritalin is a brilliant choice, especially given that Ritalin is used to treat and manage ADHD and 'calm' people down. It almost gives the impression that they are being restrained and medicated to hold them back in some way. I think I love this song even more because it reminds me of one of my favourite non-K-pop artists who writes a lot about his experience with being put on this drug.

TMT definitely has a different tone to the previous songs and almost prepares the listener for the mixtapes, which are more mellow in nature. I will admit I haven't listened to this much but it's a really enjoyable listen. It fits very comfortably between a more chilled, easy listening and the fast-paced songs that Stray kids have done.

Mixtape #1 is what I would call a steady summer tune. Not a bop, not a banger. I will say that I really like Felix's rap and its another subtle nod to the medication that was mentioned in side effects.

Mixtape #2, this is such a beautiful song and is what I would classify as a bath song. So chill that you could listen while relaxing in the bath (although that might just be a classification used by me). The vocals are beautiful, and Lee Know and Han have such pure, clean voices. All of them singing together really got to me while I listened to write this and that says something: I don't show emotions. They say something that everyone on this earth has said to themselves or thought at one stage. "Am I doing right or not?" and that stuck with me from the very first listen, and I think it will stay that way. The more I listen, the more it makes me feel, and I love it.

Mixtape #3, I would classify this as a chill bop and reminds me of another song that I can't quite place. But I would say that this is probably my least favourite of the mixtapes as I find the raps a little jarring compared to the rest of the song. I would have to commend the rappers of Stray Kids for this though as they are heckin' fast and the flow is really smooth. Bang Chan's clean vocals really are the selling point of this song to me.

Mixtape #4. This song, dude. THIS. FUCKING. S O N G! Words fail they really do, the music, the vocals, the raps, the lyrics. All of it is top tier, the writing, the production, just all of it. Even the video, set in Sydney, was top level and had a personal touch that I thought was so memorable and sentimental.

I love this band and in my mind they are up there with the best of the best in the K-pop world. Although it might not all be to my taste, I think that they are pushing boundaries and having something to say, and as they are proving, they are going to scream it at the top of their lungs.

I really like this album although before listening to the songs properly I would have written them off as not my style and either too much on the EDM side of things or too chill, but I think that Stray Kids have something to say about life, the industry they are in and the feelings that people go through. They are using damn smart means to show what they need to say, and I think that this is something that cant be pushed to the side as they are speaking to and on behalf of so many. With the amount of talent this 9 membered family has, I am highly anticipating all of their future stuff and hearing them use the platform they have to make changes that they want to see in the world.

In Mixtape #3 they say "I believe my family" and I think that it really shows. They were brought together by their leader but they are a family none the less.