miss A disappoints on “Hush”

miss A
“Hush”
(KT Music)

Girl group miss A’s much-anticipated second studio album “Hush” is filled with more disappointments than hits.

The group’s first album “A Class” produced popular songs such as “Good Bye Baby,” “Breathe” and “Bad Girl Good Girl,” but this time around, “Hush” is overall mediocre, to say the least.

The 13-track album begins with “Come Over,” featuring an ‘80s vibe. The track is filled with borderline tacky sounding synthesizer riffs and a repetitive melody. Listening to “Spotlight” and “Like U” conjures feelings of déjà vu with outdated-sounding hooks. Of the many retro numbers on the album, “(Mama) I’m Good” is probably one of the more promising tracks, featuring electronic guitar riffs and horn fillers.

There are some catchy tracks that have hit-song potential. Title track “Hush” is the first album with a title track that was not composed by JYP, and features a quieter acoustic vibe that focuses on the members’ vocals.

“Love is U” features a lively beat, with the mix of minor and major notes that provides a lovely mix of sounds.“Hide & Sick” and “Over U” have more modern electronic sounds with a strong bass line fit for any club.

By Cha Yo-rim (yorimcha@heraldcorp.com)


Pusha T‘s raps superb. Album? Not so much

Pusha T
“My Name is My Name”
(Universal Music)

Pusha T proves he is one of hip-hop’s most skillful lyricists on his debut album, “My Name Is My Name.”

Unfortunately, Pusha T‘s lyrical brilliance gets dragged down by the extraneous elements of the “My Name is My Name.” The 12-track album features appearances from Chris Brown, Rick Ross, Future, Young Jeezy and Kelly Rowland, but suffers from unimpressive production.

Kanye West and Swizz Beatz fail to pull the life out of Brown’s voice on the mediocre track, “Sweet Serenade.” `‘S.N.I.T.C.H.” is a compelling story about a friend looking to rat on someone, hoping to be freed from jail, but the music on the Pharrell Williams-produced track doesn’t hold up.

There are some bright spots. On “Nosetalgia,” Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar take turns recounting life before stardom, while the impressive Ross-assisted “Hold On,” features West harmonizing. “Who I Am” with 2 Chainz and Big Sean, and the Pharrell-produced “Suicide” featuring Ab-Liva are also enjoyable listens.

In all, Pusha T puts on a strong performance. But the patchy production is what prevents “My Name” from being considered as one of the top hip-hop albums of the year. (AP)



Sleigh Bells miss mark on ‘Bitter Rivals’

Sleigh Bells
“Bitter Rivals”
(Mom + Pop)

Brooklyn noise pop duo Sleigh Bells‘ new album, “Bitter Rivals,” is an unfortunate thing. Perhaps singer Alexis Krauss and guitarist Derek Miller overthought the scope of their art.

In an effort to be heavy and edgy, Sleigh Bells have slathered too much production bass and ham-fisted fuzz over their own valuable talents. This is smarty-pants angst drifting in a sea of cliche lyrics and simplistic song structure.

The title track is a mess of indecisive pace and “Minnie,” for its aggressive assault, is tempered by a refrain that finds Krauss singing in a small child’s voice. Had the album, the group‘s third, channeled the zeitgeist of guitar played by Miller on “Tiger Kit,” easily the best track, Sleigh Bells would have been much better off.

Sleigh Bells sounded more pure on last year’s “Reign of Terror.” Their power felt less contrived on tracks from that album such as “Crush” and “Comeback Kid.” But that was then and this is now, and “Bitter Rivals” is much less than their best. (AP)