My ears perked up more than once. While listening to CLOSE YOUR EYES' fourth mini album '256th Note'. Seven tracks that make you want to hear them again, that don't tire even after repeated listens, unfold a world of lyrical pop. I thought the pre-release single 'Open Your Eyes' was uncommon, and my anticipation hardly faded throughout the entire album. Amid rich genres and performances spanning jazz, hip-hop, country, and bossa nova, the boys' soft voices come through. There's no sense of strain from digesting unfamiliar music, no forced attempt at a mature expression. CLOSE YOUR EYES expands the appeal of K-pop they've offered so far.
After hearing 'Open Your Eyes' first, waiting for the album was unavoidable. The album's theme is jazz. The ambition is to bring jazz's free improvisation and smooth rhythm transitions to the group's strengths. The quick breathing of jazz duo DOMi & JD BECK or the lively ensemble of band Ezra Collective come to mind, and the restrained mood led by the members' vocals is supported with vivid movement by Yohan Kim's piano and Jacob Skesney's saxophone performance. Notably, Yohan Kim belongs to SM Classic & Jazz, SM's classical and jazz label, and K-pop fans interested in SM's classical or jazz projects can get the impression that their jazz arrangement has been completed as a single track.
What's interesting is that 'Open Your Eyes' faithfully fulfills its role in foreshadowing the album. All tracks on the album are arranged coherently, and their common theme is tied together with an improvisational yet refined, composed atmosphere. Let's listen to 'Drop That!', which sampled Yoon Si-nae's 'Enjoy This Night', evaluated as Korea's first jazz funk track. Within the elasticity reminiscent of New Jack Swing, trip-hop realizing a calm combination of hip-hop and house music is heard. Creating a danceable rhythm by weaving the texture of old jazz with repeating beats also has a point of contact with British jazz rap group US3's 'Cantaloop'. The strategy of weaving foreign sensibility together with memories of Korean pop music and dancing suits today's boy groups quite well.
The flow doesn't break. In the piano loop-based hip-hop track 'Vibe Check', it's not difficult to recall the name of Japanese hip-hop producer Nujabes. In the following 'Slowly Bleed', the country-like ambiance of steel guitar and the rhythm of hip-hop, along with experimental facets that hazily fill emotion with reverberant sound in the latter half, are heard. Like bringing a fountain pen dipped in ink to a blank staff, the outline of the music gradually spreads and the album's emotion deepens.
There is joy in simply discovering meticulously designed musical elements. The delicate piano and brass performance supporting the voice of the sweet lo-fi R&B track 'Fool For You', or the way 'Baby Bossa Nova', featuring singer-songwriter Joo Hye-rin, leaves traces of bossa nova in its guitar riff while moving into tempo-driven pop. The composition of the fan song ballad 'Eternity' that calmly returns to fans after traversing various tastes also pleases.
CLOSE YOUR EYES touches on diverse music genres yet does so without force. This is thanks to the clear melody and lyrical sensitivity at the center of the music, from the intended music-as-literature concept of 'All the Poems and Novels Within Me' onwards. The jazz touch seeping into the restrained 'X', the rough rhythm of 'SOB' with world-renowned electronic musician Imanbek all had consistency. Previous attempts are closely stitched together in '256th Note'. Even as the surrounding landscape changes, the team's outline becomes clearer.
At this point, I want to mention the name of Director Lee Hae-in, who handles the group's producing. The secret to Lee Hae-in's taste earning "trust and listen" among K-pop fans is meticulous observation. After carefully examining what artists under their care can express well and what strengths they have, music and image are selected. It's a strategy that makes you think of the team's character before the producer's name. When previously handling LOONA, Director Lee Hae-in focused on the appeal of individuals by imprinting stage confidence and each member's individuality strongly. Long trainee life and singing career are completed with the principle that a character not far removed from their actual personality is given to K-pop members and one must understand the person standing on stage.
When handling the boy group CLOSE YOUR EYES, that perspective is applied more broadly. Members Jeon Min-wook, Ma Jingxiang, Jang Yeo-jun, Seongmin Kim, Song Seung-ho, Kenshin, and Seo Gyeong-bae each have distinct personalities. Characters that hardly overlap are clear. Conversely, their voices have more appeal when together. Despite being a group planned through the survival program 'Project7', the team's concept and name are imprinted as though it should have been made with this lineup from the start. It's a directing that understands how to stand on stage, how to become known to the public.
Recently, that vision has reached solo artists as well. It's 'All the Colors I Am' by solo artist Ryu Su-jung from Lovelyz, released through AllMyNeuroctics.Dot, a label co-founded by Lee Hae-in. In this work where Lee Hae-in serves as overall producer and Heath Noise as music producer, Ryu Su-jung successfully combines various ideas she has presented in solo activities so far.
Ryu Su-jung's musical task was to add the moment of sincerely confessing delicate emotion with her husky tone since her Lovelyz era to her clear taste toward indie pop. The psychedelic texture of 'Diamond' and the dream pop of 'Frendly Fire' cast a cool light on Ryu Su-jung's voice. Sharp emotion emerges within the delicate tone, and thanks to the cold space, even small trembles and hesitations are felt closely. It's a result of Lee Hae-in's suggestion to "become better known as a singer creating your own music" acting positively. In the music video of 'shoulda woulda coulda', from Lovelyz to watching growth as a solo artist, that affection is felt abundantly.
There is a common point in the comfort felt from CLOSE YOUR EYES, Ryu Su-jung, and AllMyNeuroctics.Dot. In the moment a K-pop fan who likes CLOSE YOUR EYES' kind melody takes interest in jazz performance, or an old fan of Ryu Su-jung discovers new emotion in a familiar tone, there isn't a single point of force or coercion. The obsession with 'perfection' demanded of K-pop or ostentatious production is not Lee Hae-in's grammar. It's also far from the attitude of being hooked on a certain genre and style and charging straight ahead. From the kindness of a K-pop director who understands K-pop, comes the leisure of allowing expectations. In a K-pop market overflowing with words explaining newness, I'm not the only one who wants to linger a little longer in this meticulous world.
Kim Do-heon (Popular Music Critic) / zener1218@gmail.com
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