o. “Frankly” by Voy [보이]

This is their first album. Voy are Lee ByeongHun [이병훈], a.k.a., Vanilla Voy (vocal, piano, acoustic guitar), Lee CheolHui [이철희] (drums) and Lee DongJun [이동준] (bass). Almost all the songs were written by Lee ByeongHun.

Pretty plain old-style acoustic (?) pop. The CD case design is very well-done, though.

o. “Phantom Pain” by Sugardonut [슈가도넛]

This is their first. Sugardonut are Changs [창스] (vocal, guitar), CheolU [철우] (guitar), Kim Tak [김탁] (bass) and DiAl [디알] (DR?) (drums).

I don’t know what they did with the recording or the mixing (using recording devices that record in MP3, maybe?), but all the tracks contain plenty of MP3 aliasing artifacts. It is an CD album, but it’s like listening to very low-bitrate MP3s. This is NOT the noise they sometimes put in artificially for an “artistic” purpose. This IS “MP3″ aliasing noise when the quantizer does not have enough bits (I’ve developed audio codecs before, believe me). Very very V-E-R-Y annoying.

It’s very regrettable because their music itself isn’t too bad (although they do remind me of many other musicians, later Seotaiji for one).

o. “Purple Drop” by Humming Urban Stereo [허밍 어반 스테레오]

This is their second album. Humming Urban Stereo is a one-man project work by Lee Jeereen [이지린], a.k.a. Brown Bunny with many other guest musicians.

Jeereen is definitely talented, but I am not sure if this kind of music is to my taste. I liked “Scully Doesn’t Know” from the previous album but I don’t know about “Mulder Does Know”.

o. “JuSaekManChan [주색만찬]“ by GoGuRyeo Band [고구려밴드]

This is their first album. JuSaekManChan are Lee GilYeong [이길영] (vocal), Yang AnBok [양안복] (guitar), Seo MinSeok [서민석] (bass) and Jeon SeongJin [전성진] (drums). Lee GilYeong wrote all the music and the words.

Although the basic musical style is rock, for sure, but as the name of the band suggests, they are somewhat influenced by Korean tradition music/singing. Especially noticeable is the singer’s vocalization along with the lyrics.

Yeah, this has been attempted before, and I don’t think this band will sudden change the past trend as time soon. But they are interesting still. They tend to sound a bit “old”, though. Maybe some day, it will become “new” again.

o. “Pinch Your Soul” by Clazziquai Project [클래지콰이 프로젝트]

This is their remix album (damn, I did not read the description carefully). Clazziquai Project is a one-man band by Kim Sunghoon [김성훈], a.k.a. Clazziquai.

Damn, I should be more careful when picking up a CD. I really didn’t know it was a remix album. Most of the new orchestration seems to be trying to move away away from R&B to pop.

o. “I Worry, Too” by Yoonkee [윤키]

This is his first album, I guess. I understand the effort, but I am kind of curious how one “releases” demo-tape-quality album this widely with such an effort for album designs and stuff.

o. “triangle” by Rollercoaster [롤러코스터]

This is their fifth album. They are Cho WonSeon [조원선] (vocal, keyboards), Jinu [지누] (bass, programming) and Lee SangSun [이상순] (guitars).

They seem to have mellowed down a bit. I still like CHO WonSeon‘s voice or music writings in general, but their work is not that upbeat anymore. Both lyrically and musically, they (she?) sound “tired”, not having the usual “carefree” feel. Too bad.

o. “Moida Band” by Moida Band [모이다밴드]

First album. They are Lee In Kwan [이인관] (sax), Choi Hoon [최훈] (bass), Park Kyung Ho [박경호] (guitars), Kim Jong Ik [김종익] (keyboards) and An Byung Bum [안병범] (drums).

I can’t really define their style since I don’t think they are playing just one style. But I thought they have a potentially interesting mix of instruments. I have to say that their music is based on “smooth jazz” with a lot of other influence (pop, rap, etc.), basically whatever fits their musical composition, instrument-wise.

I think their live performance would sound much better.

o. “The Vane” by Mellowyear [멜로이어]

This is the first solo project album by Shin SeCheol [신세철] of Sweater [스웨터]. In some way, this is a similar effort by Lucid Fall [루시드폴], but I think Mr. Shin’s solo project has a much “brighter” atmosphere. I like it.

o. “bombom” by Deli Spice [델리스파이스]

Their 6th album. They are Sweetpea [스위트피] a.k.a. Kim MinGyu [김민규] (guitars, piano, vocal), Yun Junho [윤준호] (bass, keyboards, vocal) and Choi Jaehyuk [최재혁] (drums, percussions, chorus).

Nothing special, I felt.

o. “Colorful Express” by Peppertones [페퍼톤즈]

Their first album. I think the main conspirators are Noshel [노쉘] (bass, sound effects) and Sayo [사요] (guitar, sequencing). They have a guest vocal, Deb [뎁] / Kim MinGyeong [김민경] and several other guest musicians.

Their music can be characterized as Japanese anime-pop, very upbeat, dancy pop. Frankly, I thought in some parts, the vocal wasn’t really that strong. But overall, not bad.

o. “Merry Maker” by Earls [얼스]

Their first album. They are Al jamix / Shin SeungHun [신승훈] (vocal), Xavier / Im SeungBeom [임승범] (keyboards), JjabJabz / Wu GyeongJe [우경제] (guitar), Hyungbass / Kim HyeongBae [김형배] (bass) and Y.P.Groove / Choi GyeongMin [최경민] (drums).

I was kind of expecting a punk band from the cover design, but they are actually playing funk/groove. They have a pretty good guest brass part (Im GwangTaek [임광택] (trumpet), Lee HanJin [이한진] (trombone) and Cho JaeJin [조재진] (saxophone)).

Very well executed overall albeit sounding too 70s…

o. “Boys, Be Ambitious” by No Brain [노브레인]

Their 4th album. They are Lee SeongWu [이성우] / BulDaeGal [불대갈] (vocal), Jeong MinJun [정민준] / VOVO (guitar), Jeong JaeHwan [정재환] / Jany (bass) and Hwang HyeonSeong [황현성] / HyungGa [흉가] (drums).

Although they’ve been around for a while, I really think there are no other punk rock band in Korea that can come close (yet?). The very fact that they play very straight forward, upbeat, fast rock is what’s attractive about them (at least to me). No gimmick, no pretense of sophistication. Just plain, simple, fast rock. They know how to carry their energy over to my ears.

o. “Calligram” by Calligram [캘리그램]

Their first album. They are Lee Geun Jik [이근직] (guitar), Yoon Gae Hwan [윤계환] (bass), Kang Mi Young [강미영] (piano), Lim Eun Kyung [임은경] (accordion) and Shin Dong Jin [신동진] (drums).

Five piece Jazz ensemble. Because of the addition of the accordion, I guess, the overall sounds has that old (or classical if you will) “French”/”European” color. Pretty standard Jazz stuff, otherwise.

o. “Another world…” by Happyband Well

They are Lee ChangHyeon (vocal), Neo (guitar), Kim SangJin (bass), and Lee YunMan (drums). A soft rock band (reminds a bit of BuHwal). Not too keen about the vocal. Well-made, but NMCoT.

o. “Prana” by NaeGwiE DoCheongJangChi

They are Lee Hyeok (vocal), Lee JuWon (guitar), Hwang UiJun (bass), and Jeong JaeHun (drums). A rock/hard-rock band (with some electronica thrown in sometimes). Well-made, but NMCoT.

o. “Mozosonyon” by Dalpalan & Byungjun

Both former members of Pipiband. Electronica/pop, I think. I think their musical sensibility and ability are top quality, but I am not sure about their “pop” sensibility (or I am not getting it).

o. “YuRiGaMyeon” by Kim YunA

Not too sure about her solo projects. This time, her musical focus was on Tango, but I am not sure it suits her voice overall. I just can’t get “excited” about her moodiness (I think it’s worse than that of Lee Sora).

o. “Songs in Air” by Sweater

They are Im YeJin (keyboards), Lee ARip (vocal), Shin JiHyeon (bass), and Shin SeCheol (drums). Made up of songs they wrote to the words that their fans sent in for some radio shows. I think their second album is still their best.

o. “Sunsick” by Roller Coaster

They are Cho WonSeon (vocal, keyboards), Lee SangSun (guitar), Jinu (bass, programming), and Son GyeongHo (drums). I think the group might be on their last life. They may need some other infusion of ideas and/or energy (especially energy), or split up do something else on their own.

o. “Dorothy in Wonderland” by Dorothy

They are Dorothy (vocal, guitar), Andi (guitar), Jonathan (guitar), and Isaac (drums). An interesting pop/rock work. Their single, “SoPung”, surely has very good feel. I don’t think there is enough marketing “push”, though. Maybe, this was just a project work.

o. First Album by Daylight

They are Kang YeonGyeong (vocal), Im SeongO (guitar, bass), and Shin DongWu (acoustic guitar, keyboards). I think this is also one of many bands that formed around a female vocal (is this a trend in Korean pop bands?). Not bad overall, but I thought the second track, “Angel Song”, sounded familiar and it turns out this seems to be a remake of a The Brilliant Green song. And why do they still put “instrument version” tracks (just without the vocal track) on the CDs? Having nine tracks aren’t that bad.

o. “Infield Fly” by DalBitYoJeongYeokJeonManLuHomReon (or just DalBitYoJeong)

One man project. I’d say folk/rock. Not bad, but really, he is too obsessed with baseball.

o. “HaNeulE PiNeun Ggot” and “DalESeoUi 9 Nyeon” by Sweetpea

They are solo project albums by Kim MinGyu from DeliSpice. Although it is a re-issue, I liked the songs on “Nine Years on Moon” better. More raw, lively and energetic.

o. Self-titled by Rockstone

They are Park GyeongHun (vocal, bass, programming) and Seok WonYong (vocal, guitar). I guess, it’s rock/hard-rock stuff. Musically, it sounds a bit passé, although recording seems to be done fairly well. NMCoT.

o. “Speed Graphic” and “Sunny 16″ by Ben Folds

These are two of the three EPs that Ben Folds are planning (actually the last one, “Super D” is almost out and on order). The only complaint is that each only has 5 tracks. Each ends too soon. Maybe, I should burn all of them in a single CD…

o. Self-titled by The Bens (Ben Folds, Ben Lee, and Ben Kweller)

Three singers with the first name “Ben”. I don’t know about Ben Lee or Ben Kweller. And it didn’t turn out the way I imagined. Wasn’t too impressed.

This is her 5th solo album. I think she wanted to write down and sing about what she felt for the past couple of years. All the tracks are slow-paced and moody. Ms. Lee hasn’t been known for her bright personality and voices, but it seems her recent emotional paths have taken that route.

I liked the songs on it although my recent preference seems to be leaning toward lighter pop/rock. Most of the tracks were arranged with “acoustic” feel with unison strings in the background.

I still adore her deep and coarse voice, but her breathing still bothers me. Some seems to still think of her as starting as a “Jazz” singer, but she never was. From an interview she did some time ago, it seems Jazz was never her “thing.”

o. “Funk” by Bulldog Mansion

They had a CD out before, but they call that a “debut EP.” And they are calling this the first album. This is a 4-piece band led by Lee, Hanchul (used to lead a lot of other bands including Zipper which I quite liked) on vocal and some guitar. The other members include Seo, Chang Seok on guitars, Lee, Hanju on bass, and Jo, Jungbum on drums.

I’ve always thought of Lee, Hanchul as a guy with plenty of musical sense and talent that doesn’t seem to get it quite right (just like Jinu whose solo albums I thought came quite short of his musical potentials, until he met Cho, Won Sun to form Roller Coaster). His band ventures quite rather successful (did I mentioned that I really liked Zipper? :p), but for some reason, he can’t keep them together for long.

Anyway, this album, backed by a home-grown (that is, “not imported”) brass section (this seems to be a trend among independent bands, which I welcome wholeheartedly), seems to work well. Some tracks can make you move to the music.

Some gripes. The arrangement for the brass section seems a bit weak although it sounds pretty good, and they were trying to promote “Funk” as their headline, but I think only a handful of them were “funk”-y. And I sometimes liked the idea of several 30-second aural interludes, but I am beginning to get annoyed by them.

o. “Ride on Live” by Roller Coaster

Well, actually, I was quite disappointed by this “Live” album by one of my favorite songwriter, Cho, Won Sun. This album does not convey the “live” concert feel at all. Although the songs are familiar, the whole thing is quite dull. I mean, you can’t avoid being less than perfect acoustically in a live concert, but I could not detect the crowd presence nor much enthusiasm.

o. The 4th Album by Jaurim

This is a bit of a disappointment as well. I am not sure I like the direction they are taking. I mean, I do understand that they would want to try “new” things as artists, but I think they have lost most of their charms from their first album. They seem to be going toward the direction that Kim, Yun-A took with her solo efforts.

I don’t know… I really liked this band. I am just hoping that this is just an experimental stage where they are trying to find something to settle into.

o. “Sae, Byeok” by Boo Hwal

This is their 8th album, I think. The interesting thing is they took Lee, Seung Chul back as the vocal, who used to sing for their first couple of albums. The songs themselves are nothing special, a very typical collection of their ballad rock. I just thought having Mr. Lee back (although it seems he didn’t sing too much on the CD) was quite amusing.

o. “The Portrait of Your Funeral” by Vassline

Thrash-metal? I guess I am out of this type of music these days.

o. “gemini” by t (Tasha)

Baby T is back! Well, I think this album does much better justice to her than her first junk. I thought she (and whoever is managing her) would know better after all that with Uptown to know that you just have to do your thing and worry about “marketing” later.

Tasha (aka. Yun, Mirae) is at her best when she’s showing off her “lyrical prowess”. She might have some difficulty in delivering the stories that the U.S. audience can related to, but given her rhyming skill itself, I think she’s there with just about any other female rappers in the U.S. When I first heard her rap in the Uptown‘s debut album, I knew she was born to rap.

But then, the amazing marketing machine was trying to turn her into an “R&B” singer. I mean, she can sing, but that’s not what she was born to. The effort to market her as such fell short big time, I think.

Anyway, I wish she continues in this path and maybe get some more “meaningful” stories and messages into her rhymes.

These have been in there for a while now, but these are what I listen to in my car if I am not listening to an NPR station.