This was part of a “2 in1″ review with One Way’s ‘Magic‘.  To make it easier for me to link to either review individually, I decided to split them into separate posts. Voilà~!  If you’ve already read my 2 in 1 review (link), then all of this is old news to you.  Still comment, though!  I like reading what people have to say (sometimes) ;D

BEAST/B2ST are following the herds of the K-pop world this month, cutting the creativity short and sticking with a dark concept for their latest mini-album ‘Shock of the New Era‘.  Yesterday, they released a brand new MV to their title song, “Shock“…

Looking back at their debut single and MV, this new material is just about two notches better than before.  On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being mega-sucky and 10 unbelievably amazing, they were walking a thin line between 3 and 4, but have now successfully moved up to a decent 5.  Or a 6, to be generous.  If anything is above a 5 for me, chances are that I’ll listen to it a few times or it has won its ‘replay’ privileges.

There are a couple of other songs on BEAST’s new mini-album that aren’t half-bad(which really means they’re only half-good), but I’m just focusing on reviewing ‘Shock’, since it’s their title song.

Firstly, the verses.  Is it just me or are they that good?   The verses and hooks are pretty much working for me.  I like them enough to praise them.  But what ends up murdering it all is their vocals.  Let’s be frank – B2ST don’t have fascinating vocals.  The lack of special sound in their voices nullifies their music.  What adds to their demise is the mediocre rap-element that their agency has come up with.  Rapping (in essence) is all about attitude and poise, in my opinion – it’s a real lifestyle, and whichever B2ST member is rapping through out this song sounds like nothing more than an amateur.  Let me put it this way – they are acting like rappers, yes?  You know what I’m saying – there’s more to rapping than acting ruthless and memorizing swift lyrics.

Anyway, The song is generous up to the damn chorus.  I really mean that.  It’s whack and I really can’t stand a second more of bad English in k-pop music.  Actually, no, there are a handful of artists that don’t mercilessly slaughter English as bad as some of the big time idol groups (click here for a nice example) that I can tolerate.  “Every day I shuck (‘shock’).  Every night I shuck (‘shock’).”  Really?  And that’s not even the worse – I believe there’s more in there, I just can’t decipher it.  I vote they fire the person in charge of approving English lyrics, immediately.  Who can take them seriously?

Their entire album sounds like something you (perhaps) might hear in the US.  No – scratch that.  It sounds like something you would have heard 3 years ago in the US .  Living on US turf, I can tell a lot of what B2ST was manufactured to sing in this album is highly influenced from western music.  I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.  They just lack a lot of (and I probably mean this in ALL CAPS) wit.  I mean, this album may sound beautifully produced, but if the guys or the company can’t carry themselves and give this decent music a sense of authenticity, it will never work out…for me.

But I know alllllll of you fangirls see things differently. :D  So I ask you this -

What are your thoughts on BEAST/B2ST’s brand new album and title song?