[NEW RELEASES] BOYFRIEND

“Obsession”

Label: Loen Entertainment

Genre: Dance, Ballad

Three years since releasing their self-titled debut album in May 2011, Boyfriend is back from Japan, where the six-member boy band has spent most of the past couple of years promoting themselves. Though they tried highlighting their cute, boyish side in their earlier days, the group says in the latest EP “Obsession” that they tried to feature a more mature sound.

Composers Han Jae-ho and Kim Seung-soo, who were behind K-pop girl group Kara’s megahit single “Mister” (2009), structured the EP - but, unfortunately, the composer duo’s music does not sound as original as it has in the past. Moreover, there is a lack of consistency between the album’s six tracks, so listeners will have a hard time understanding what kind of message the band is trying to convey through the songs.

Amid heated competition among the countless boy bands on the Korean pop scene, Boyfriend’s music is far from an alternative. In contrary to media hype, their vocals are still weak, and the melody development for lead-off single “Obsession” is far too predictable.

By Kim Hee-eun, contributing writer