BUZZ, the one band I find comforting to listen to (1, because they’re one of the very first Korean rock groups I had ever listened to, and 2, because they’re, well, really good) has come back. I wasn’t expecting them to ever return, to be quite honest. The last I’d heard of them they had disbanded and Min Kyung Hoon had taken the road of a solo artist.  Which I was fine with, but now that they’re back, I’m beyond happy.

The big news, though, isn’t that they’re back but that they’ve come back with a new lead vocalist. *gasps*  Clearly, I was butthurt by the announcement. I mean, c’mon now, how could THIS voice be replaced?

Personally, I would have loved for Min Kyung Hoon to stay with Buzz, but he’s supposedly a busy man and he’s also a solo singer now, so I see why they chose to hire a new guy to replace him.  Some shoes to fill…

Buzz has returned with their latest LP, “Fuzz Buzz” and the first single is titled “I Hate Women“. I believe they’re going to promote another song, as well, which is totally fine by me.

Min Kyung Hoon’s replacement is 19 year old Na Yool. Yeah, 19!  I read they really tried to find a male vocalist who would work well with the band’s style and I think they did a perfect job of doing so.  Na Yool has a very similar vocal quality to Kyung Hoon, but where Buzz is really going to thrive from this change is his refreshing and young sound.  It’s kind of like what happened in the Harry Potter films when they changed the actor who plays Dumbledore.  Granted, the original actor passed away, but the same idea applies to Buzz.  The late Richard Harris and Michael Gambon both portrayed the same character their own way, both very likable and very well done.

While I will forever love the sophistication and technique of Kyung Hoon, Na Yool has his own thing going on, too.  I love his falsetto.  You can tell he’s young, but there’s a nice maturity in his singing that I can’t help but acknowledge.  All I’m really missing is an emotional connection between him and the music.

And speaking of the song, am I the only one who hears Radiohead‘s “Creep“? That similarity kind of throws off the awesomeness of the single for me because I don’t need Buzz to crash and burn right out of the gate with plagiarism claims.

That aside, the structure and transitions of the song are really well done.  The drums really give this a good sense of completion.  Then again, that’s their job.

I recommend the rest of their new album “Fuzz Buzz”, it’s definitely worth listening to and, personally, contains better songs than the lead single.

Thoughts?