The JAR makes a trek into the land of K-pop. We like to cover different things, and K-pop is definitely different. Let’s check out Moonbyul’s album!

Backstory time! Moonbyul is the primary rapper from the girl group Mamamoo. Recently they released a greatest hits and some news that one of their members didn’t resign with the label. So this feels like a good time for the individuals to start making their own marks before the group officially dissolves.

Since most people know BlackPink, Mamamoo is totally different. They integrate jazz elements, rock elements and tend to pick a few wrinkles from around the world. They also are older, so their delivery is more mature while their subject matter is irreverent. They have an entire song called 1 cm (Taller than You) making fun of their shortest member.

So they are not really the overproduced bubble gum K-pop girl squad. Let’s see how much of that carries over to Moon’s solo content.

• Artist: Moonbyul
• Album: 6equence (2022)
• Label: RBW Inc.
• Total Track Time: 22:05

Intro: Synopsis is a very R&B approach to the concept behind her album. A lot of this was inspired by ex-relationships and regrets. So the intro song is basically framing that she’s trying to remember things and organize her thoughts. Very short and simple to lead into the first real song. G999 feat Mirani starts off with English lines sounding very early 90s Hip Hop with the;”Check it out! Come on Y’all”. As for subject matter, it stays light with the beginning of wanting to just play rock-paper-scissors and look forward to the next day. So the older sound to the song really paints the picture as an elementary school romance/crush (especially since Moon is around 30, so there is probably a bit of nostalgia in the sound). It’s upbeat, fun and gets to where it has to at a great pace.

Shutdown feat Seori this has that slow slinky R&B vibe. Which is delivered well, however it brought some drama over in Korea. The pre-chorus very obviously says “She said” so given that two women are singing this song and the pronouns aren’t vague it caused an interesting uproar. Mamamoo has always been more playful and loving to buck the traditional trends by pushing the envelope with each other in media moments. So Moon continued that, which is great. The song is exactly what you want from a slow jam, so it strikes all the right chords sonically. Plus triggering certain people is always fun too, ain’t it? LUNATIC this gets across two aspects. Taking lunatic to mean crazy, the song is playful pop to begin with about being so in love it makes her crazy. However, she also loves the puns on her name especially since one of the girls from the group was Solar. So the Sun and Moon dynamic is something they steer into. So she does get a “dark side” rap verse basically about playing hard to get. SO it really gets across crazy, but the LUNA aspect being associated with the Moon also adds to the two sides approach she takes some times. Fun song.

For Me this whole song is very much that regret aspect of the relationships. Going on about staring at the phone, knowing she messed up but still longing for the warmth of their embrace is simple and relatable. The light electric guitar with no distortion during the verses before the chorus fills in more accompaniment really does keep the sense of loneliness and longing very tangible. ddu ddu ddu anyone marginally aware of K-pop probably thought this was like BlackPink’s Dudu-du Dudu-du, but this is totally different. The ddu ddu ddu echoes the sound of rain, sound of the phone ringing or crying. This is the post-breakup song about wanting things to go back to the way they were, developing habits but also realizing things drifted apart for a reason. Memories are something that get ingrained in you, be it sounds, and smells or habits; that’s just how breakups go. LUNATIC (English version) the song doesn’t change, but now you get to hear Moon sing the English instead of just translating it! Her English isn’t as polished as the BlackPink girls, but it’s not bad at all.

So the progression of the album really worked. It went from the innocent days of looking forward to just spending time together doing anything, to deeper emotions, rocky situations and the eventual breakup. It’s short because for some reason that I’ve never learned, Korea likes the singles artists to do “mini albums”, which are usually like 5 or 6 real songs and maybe an alternate version.

Either way, if you don’t love how most pop music sounds, or don’t even usually like K-pop, you might like this. Moon mixes up the sounds a bit, has more of a retro vibe to at least half of these, and she shows her range as a performer. Maybe not a dynamic singing range, but hitting the right emotions in songs is equally (if not a little more) important as having a 4 octave range.

Final Judgment: 8/10