Top Combine New EP
Okay, I know at this point you're probably going "WHY DOES SHE KEEP SQUEEING OVER USELESS STUFF" and the answer is "because I'm a giant fangirl".
Top Combine had their official press conference for the release of their newest EP on 10/29 in Beijing. They introduced 3 of the 5 new songs, of which 那群傻瓜 and 还好有你在 had dancing, and 还在 was done sitting down, and everything sounded very much live but they've improved in their singing so much. This is their first EP since Caesar left the group amid much speculation and a little drama. One major drama in this was Kenny, who reacted very poorly to Caesar's decision and smashed their "Top Combine" sign, then posted a picture of the broken fragments on his weibo accompanied by angry words. In the press conference, Kenny fell to his knees holding the repaired sign and swore to the world he would always be part of Top Combine forever, apologized for his immaturity, and said that Caesar would always be welcome to return to Top Combine.
(The inner Mars/Kenny fangirl in me squeed like mad at this point. Kenny was crying, and Mars was crying with him, to the point where Mars had to turn away from the audience like 3 times. And when Kenny dropped to his knees, Mars was the first and only member who tried to lift him up. Even when you can hear Bird saying "let him talk" and pushing Mars's hand away, Mars doesn't stop trying to lift Kenny up until he has to turn away, as though it hurts him to see Kenny kneeling.)
I listened through all the songs, and was super proud of them for becoming so diverse in their styles, as well as moving away from the standard kpop-style bubblegum pop and autotuned dance music. Mars apparently wrote all the songs on the EP, as well as some of the lyrics, while Kenny worked on styling and Bird on dance (and apparently Eunsung just kept watch over them). The best term I can think of to describe my experience with the new album is surprise--the whole thing really took me by surprise. Based on their last EP (Lucky Boys) I was beginning to find their music a little too generic and unoriginal and girly, and this album really took them in a very different (and in my opinion, better) direction. The new EP not only has surprising songs, but even the styling they used, as well as the album design, are just--more mature and interesting and artistic, and veering away from their old kpop-like style.
Here are the new songs:
1. 还好有你在 (At Least You're Here) - a song dedicated to their fans for being there for them from the beginning, and sticking with them despite the stuff that's happened. It's actually kind of a dance-beat song, but not at all the generic bass-heavy repetitive style that most Asian boyband dance songs use, and it's made of defiance and strength and the will to continue against all odds. When I saw that this song was going to be a thank you to the fans, I assumed it would probably be slow and sweet and pretty, but it really surprised me by breaking from a slow pretty intro into the upbeat dance song, and the lyrics were actually much more defiant than sappy.
2. 还在 (Still Here) - this is the pretty slow ballad song of the EP, and surprisingly the only one. This was actually the first song I heard when they debuted this and "At Least You're Here" at the Day Day Up variety show, and I fell in love immediately. Asian ballads often bore me nowadays, but this one is honest and open and emotionally very raw, and while it's about love, it's not really a love song. For one, it's not directed at someone or about a relationship in particular. It's about gritty, real love, and how it has to be hard or it won't be worth keeping. This song not only surprised me by being so good I liked it despite it being a ballad, it also very much surprised me with how mature and thoughtful the lyrics were.
3. 那群傻瓜 (That Group of Idiots) - this song got debuted at the press conference, complete with its hilariously-choreographed towel dance, which is ridiculous and awesome. I think I had assumed by the title that it was either a joke song or a sad song (with idiot being used in a self-deprecating way), but I was pleasantly surprised to find that, no, it was just a ridiculously happy song about remembering your youthful dreams and always choosing the life you want to live. And despite all the stuff that they did in Lucky Boys that was really cutesy and rainbowy and bubbly, I think in those songs the happiness was sort of...part of the act? Whereas in this song they actually look like they're just having a ton of fun and letting go, like they're happier than I've ever seen them in a song, and that was what really caught me by surprise on this one.
4. 出言不逊 (Speaking Boldly) - the title of this one is an idiom that is generally translated as "rude remarks", but the phrase literally means "making remarks without modesty". Often it's used to indicate speech that's outright rude, but in their case I think they're going for the idea of speech that's not modest, that's bold and forward and unafraid. This song probably surprised me the most out of the five. This is a work of art and badassery. I kid you not. There is /intense English cursing/ in this, and it's this sort of angry rap/hip-hop and classical fusion. I don't even know how to explain this song, except that it pretty much forever erases the girly bubblegum pop image they had before this, and that I kind of want to see them perform this live. Also it's basically a song bitching out a cheating lover. With anger. And (bleeped out) cursing. And they all use such different tones from usual in this. This may be my new favorite song. (Also, since the lyrics weren't written by any of the members, I can't tell if this song has thinly veiled references to Caesar's departure or if it's a coincidence and I'm overthinking things.)
5. 关于结束 (On Endings) - this one was also pretty unexpected, though nothing was quite as unexpected as song 4. This song is slow, but not really a ballad, and in fact the background, styling, and note progression actually make me think of old-fashioned American songs from the early 1900s. I'm not sure what it is exactly--my brain's a little fried--but it reminds me of Nat King Cole. It's got a little something between jazzy and bluesy...I'd almost go for doo-wop (or maybe swing?). I think it would probably officially qualify as classic R&B, although they do sound a bit more modern in places. Also I absolutely adore the background music. The song itself is about having lost a lover and trying to get over it. I actually didn't like this song as much the first time I heard it as I do now, after re-listening a few times to write this, but, like the whole album, it's a giant change of course for them, but one I really like.
One final thought on the last song: the one part I find really curious is the line where one of them says something about 何时能嫁给她 (when I could be married to her), where the term for "married to" is specifically one that is supposed to be used by a female. So, a female would say 嫁给 for marriage, since this term specifically connotes the giving of the person, whereas men would say 娶, which has the connotation of taking. I think this turn of phrase was originally due to the tradition of women moving to their husbands' houses upon marriage. Mars actually wrote the lyrics of this song, so I'm actually kind of curious if there's a story behind this, but I'm not sure I'll find one.
Top Combine had their official press conference for the release of their newest EP on 10/29 in Beijing. They introduced 3 of the 5 new songs, of which 那群傻瓜 and 还好有你在 had dancing, and 还在 was done sitting down, and everything sounded very much live but they've improved in their singing so much. This is their first EP since Caesar left the group amid much speculation and a little drama. One major drama in this was Kenny, who reacted very poorly to Caesar's decision and smashed their "Top Combine" sign, then posted a picture of the broken fragments on his weibo accompanied by angry words. In the press conference, Kenny fell to his knees holding the repaired sign and swore to the world he would always be part of Top Combine forever, apologized for his immaturity, and said that Caesar would always be welcome to return to Top Combine.
(The inner Mars/Kenny fangirl in me squeed like mad at this point. Kenny was crying, and Mars was crying with him, to the point where Mars had to turn away from the audience like 3 times. And when Kenny dropped to his knees, Mars was the first and only member who tried to lift him up. Even when you can hear Bird saying "let him talk" and pushing Mars's hand away, Mars doesn't stop trying to lift Kenny up until he has to turn away, as though it hurts him to see Kenny kneeling.)
I listened through all the songs, and was super proud of them for becoming so diverse in their styles, as well as moving away from the standard kpop-style bubblegum pop and autotuned dance music. Mars apparently wrote all the songs on the EP, as well as some of the lyrics, while Kenny worked on styling and Bird on dance (and apparently Eunsung just kept watch over them). The best term I can think of to describe my experience with the new album is surprise--the whole thing really took me by surprise. Based on their last EP (Lucky Boys) I was beginning to find their music a little too generic and unoriginal and girly, and this album really took them in a very different (and in my opinion, better) direction. The new EP not only has surprising songs, but even the styling they used, as well as the album design, are just--more mature and interesting and artistic, and veering away from their old kpop-like style.
Here are the new songs:
1. 还好有你在 (At Least You're Here) - a song dedicated to their fans for being there for them from the beginning, and sticking with them despite the stuff that's happened. It's actually kind of a dance-beat song, but not at all the generic bass-heavy repetitive style that most Asian boyband dance songs use, and it's made of defiance and strength and the will to continue against all odds. When I saw that this song was going to be a thank you to the fans, I assumed it would probably be slow and sweet and pretty, but it really surprised me by breaking from a slow pretty intro into the upbeat dance song, and the lyrics were actually much more defiant than sappy.
2. 还在 (Still Here) - this is the pretty slow ballad song of the EP, and surprisingly the only one. This was actually the first song I heard when they debuted this and "At Least You're Here" at the Day Day Up variety show, and I fell in love immediately. Asian ballads often bore me nowadays, but this one is honest and open and emotionally very raw, and while it's about love, it's not really a love song. For one, it's not directed at someone or about a relationship in particular. It's about gritty, real love, and how it has to be hard or it won't be worth keeping. This song not only surprised me by being so good I liked it despite it being a ballad, it also very much surprised me with how mature and thoughtful the lyrics were.
3. 那群傻瓜 (That Group of Idiots) - this song got debuted at the press conference, complete with its hilariously-choreographed towel dance, which is ridiculous and awesome. I think I had assumed by the title that it was either a joke song or a sad song (with idiot being used in a self-deprecating way), but I was pleasantly surprised to find that, no, it was just a ridiculously happy song about remembering your youthful dreams and always choosing the life you want to live. And despite all the stuff that they did in Lucky Boys that was really cutesy and rainbowy and bubbly, I think in those songs the happiness was sort of...part of the act? Whereas in this song they actually look like they're just having a ton of fun and letting go, like they're happier than I've ever seen them in a song, and that was what really caught me by surprise on this one.
4. 出言不逊 (Speaking Boldly) - the title of this one is an idiom that is generally translated as "rude remarks", but the phrase literally means "making remarks without modesty". Often it's used to indicate speech that's outright rude, but in their case I think they're going for the idea of speech that's not modest, that's bold and forward and unafraid. This song probably surprised me the most out of the five. This is a work of art and badassery. I kid you not. There is /intense English cursing/ in this, and it's this sort of angry rap/hip-hop and classical fusion. I don't even know how to explain this song, except that it pretty much forever erases the girly bubblegum pop image they had before this, and that I kind of want to see them perform this live. Also it's basically a song bitching out a cheating lover. With anger. And (bleeped out) cursing. And they all use such different tones from usual in this. This may be my new favorite song. (Also, since the lyrics weren't written by any of the members, I can't tell if this song has thinly veiled references to Caesar's departure or if it's a coincidence and I'm overthinking things.)
5. 关于结束 (On Endings) - this one was also pretty unexpected, though nothing was quite as unexpected as song 4. This song is slow, but not really a ballad, and in fact the background, styling, and note progression actually make me think of old-fashioned American songs from the early 1900s. I'm not sure what it is exactly--my brain's a little fried--but it reminds me of Nat King Cole. It's got a little something between jazzy and bluesy...I'd almost go for doo-wop (or maybe swing?). I think it would probably officially qualify as classic R&B, although they do sound a bit more modern in places. Also I absolutely adore the background music. The song itself is about having lost a lover and trying to get over it. I actually didn't like this song as much the first time I heard it as I do now, after re-listening a few times to write this, but, like the whole album, it's a giant change of course for them, but one I really like.
One final thought on the last song: the one part I find really curious is the line where one of them says something about 何时能嫁给她 (when I could be married to her), where the term for "married to" is specifically one that is supposed to be used by a female. So, a female would say 嫁给 for marriage, since this term specifically connotes the giving of the person, whereas men would say 娶, which has the connotation of taking. I think this turn of phrase was originally due to the tradition of women moving to their husbands' houses upon marriage. Mars actually wrote the lyrics of this song, so I'm actually kind of curious if there's a story behind this, but I'm not sure I'll find one.