Red Velvet - Queendom

Release Date: August 18th, 2021
Genre: kpop

Red Velvet is awesome, and I credit their 2019's ReVe Festival into helping me get into kpop, but some of their songs are borderline, "typical" kpop. Both Twice and Iz*One had reality shows to show how they debut, but I rarely watch Red Velvet's extra content, so it does make me wonder if that's a reason I don't "stan" them as much.

Review: So the title track, I was expecting a statement, but it's very low-key. It took maybe a few weeks for it to warm up on me, but I still think it's too quiet. Then with "Pose," this song confused me at first because it sounded like shit, but no no, that "pose" section is kind of awesome. I loved "Knock On Wood" on first listen just because the melodies were so pretty during the chorus. "Better Be" sounds like a Red Velvet song if that makes sense. I loved "Pushin' N Pullin'" on first listen too, easy to get into. And finally, "Hello, Sunset" has such an interesting instrumental to start it, the song has a nice lullaby cradle to it.

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. Queendom 7/10
2. Pose 10/10
3. Knock On Wood 10/10
4. Better Be 8/10
5. Pushin' N Pullin' 9/10
6. Hello, Sunset 8/10

Summary: This album is tricky because it honestly sounds good, but I don't know why I don't care about the songs. I like it when groups do what they do best. I guess in my mind, "Psycho" is one of their best title tracks, and Queendom wasn't it. The b-sides are good, but I still go back to "The Perfect Red Velvet," not sure how often I'll revisit this ep.

Key Tracks: Pose, Knock on Wood, Pushin' N Pullin'
Rating: 8/10