[Kpop-mini] SMASH- Open fire! (1st Mini Album)
I’m sick of hearing about Shinee. So I checked out the other new boybands on the scene. I don’t particulary like 2PM or 2Am (they come together for new day or something like that right?) and so I was left with Smash. After watching the PV for Emergencey I’d say they present nothing new, but they do their genre well even so.The song is very catchy too.
This is Smash’s debut mini-album/single released on 2008-08-21. It’s only 3 tracks so I’ll review it like a single : )
Tracklisting:
1: Never ending story
2: 비상(飛上)
3: 너로 보인다
The mini-album single thing opens with a ballad, Never ending story. After some rather cute twinkling sort of piano the beat comes in. It’s a pretty laid back RnB ballad. Some of the members have really nice voices, and they sound sincere. In the very beginning the one who was singing sounded a little flat though. And the guy in the bridge- who knows what he’s trying to do. This is not a bad song though. It’s got quite pretty instrumentation and a good beat. The vocals are OK- some of the members have really nice voices- and atleast they are sincere. The rapping fits in nicely too. I really like the bit just before the end where the song changes. Not a bad song at all. It has a nice feeling to it. Pretty standard and rather forgettable though.
비상(飛上) is a fast RnB dance type song. It’s really infectious. I first went to find the PV for this to try them out and somehow I couldn’t stop watching. In many ways it’s rubbish. The dancing was really cool but they didn’t give enough eyecandy. Perhaps they should have had more rain? More closeups? Better hairstyles, less clothes…somehow their look didn’t appeal. They seem cute enough but it wasn’t really highlighted here. I mean looking at their predebut pics they are stunning (so girly <3), the PV did nothing really. Just some guys dancing and nothing to drool, no story…meh. The dancing was awesome though. Loved some of the more technical stuff they did.
And…the song was catchy. Although much like anything I’ve heard from kpop boybands it was pretty decent and not annoying- and that’s always good. You’ve heard this sort of thing a million times, yet they do it really well. Their vocals are good, the song has a nice beat and overall it sounds pretty good. The song has a darker feeling too, which is rather interesting. It also relies alot of vocals with a simple beat giving them a chance to show they can indeed sing pretty well. The song goes through some cool variations throughout too. I really like the electronic effects. Basically despite myself, I find myself really liking the song. The chorus gets me especially : )
The last track on the mini-album is 너로 보인다. It’s a very meloncholic ballad with hints of RnB. I really like the opening instrumentation, and throughout the instrumentation is simple letting vocals dominate but still very pretty complimenting their voices. I like the synth and the guitar is nice. It’s extremly pretty and sets a good mood. The boys sound really beautiful, and I love how much emotion they put into it. Their voices sound very light and pure. The rap comes in really well and I love how they distort it slightly. This is a really pretty song- it has a very light almost ethereal feeling but in the rather sad “oh woe I’m heartbroken” way. Gorgeous instrumentation and stunning vocals create a very beautiful atmosphere. The song really carries alot of emotion in it which really makes it wonderful to hear. Very sad song, I don’t think it is powerful enough to be called touching but it’s still extremly pretty. It lingers in my memory to- so perhaps it could be called haunting? Haunting, and slighlty ethereal with a soft RnB beat. Ha.
This mini album single thing presents an uptempo ballad, a dark dance number and a sad and extremly beautiful ballad. Each was tied together with a rather mature sound, and a RnB beat. I think these songs were very nice. Never ending story was the weakest, and the last track was definitly the best. Technically you’ve heard it all before, but they do it well. Their voices for the most part are wonderful (actually apart from some weakness’ in the first song their voices are gorgeous) and they incorporate the rap in their songs nicely.
Overall I’d say SMASH have potential. I think they could either continue to be just OK, or they could start experimenting and start to present something a little new on their next release. I think though this was a good release, but it doesn’t really give them a strong identity and it’s not enough to really get them attention. They have nice voices and a potential to be beautiful… they just aren’t really there yet. Right now they are good- but with all the boybands around they could just be a little better. I look forward to what they do next though. I really liked this mini-album single thingy.

) which I suppose I should have found dramatic but having already watched the drama, I was expecting and waiting for this. All I can say is yay!! They still had Chikage have a daughter.
I love how Ono and Eiji reacted.
But that girl really is slutty- wait… she’s only like 10. As if that’s really believable. She’d have to be shorter for that to be believable, never mind other stuff. And I don’t like the backstory they gave to the whole Chikage and Sakurako story. Although I guess stuff like that happens. 
The instrumentation really compliments his voice too. A fast and bitter song. I love the lyrics too. My only complaint is they could have given a slightly more interesting instrumentation/rythmns, after a while it does sound pretty much the same: however JaeJoong’s vocals are stunning and really suit the genre. He really drives the song forward with his beautiful and emotional vocals. This is one of my favourite songs from the TRICK project. And no I’m not being biased out of my love for Hero OK?
The actual songs were a mixture of the bad, the okay and the awesome. The singles have been pretty inconsistent in quality but overall there’s been enough decent or amazing songs to make this a succesful project. It’s a shame about the worse songs, because all the members have rather beautiful voices that could have really shone on their own.