This week began with some devastating news: former kpop idol and actress Sulli (Choi Jin-ri) was found dead in her home, from suicide. She was only 25 years old, and she was a former member of f(x), one of the greatest kpop girl groups of all time.
Sulli's career - and f(x)'s discography - was fraught with unfortunate incidents and tragedies. She was 15 when f(x) made their studio debut, meaning she was in the midst of the (much-reported) hellish kpop training world for at least two years before that. She was one of the least-popular members of the group despite her cute exterior and bubbly presence; along with fellow member Krystal, Sulli was often bashed and criticized by internet fans since the debut. After the release of the Red Light album in 2014, Sulli left the group - officially because to her increasingly busy actress career, likely with the merciless high-stress environment of idol culture and the kpop world making quite the impact on her as well. She continued to support her group members as f(x) slowed and the remaining members began to take on solo obligations, and she even released a mini-album this year with a number of soft, introspective pop songs with lyrics touching on her ambitions and mental health struggles. It's been a harrowing, difficult time for Sulli - and this post is in her memory, with the hopes that she's now found peace, wherever she is.
Pink Tape is f(x)'s best album. Their later half of output is pretty consistently great, but in my opinion PT succeeds and excites in ways other works don't really measure up to. Let's dive into it.
As with the last time we covered kpop extensively, I have to make the concession that this doesn't necessarily sound like what you'd expect to hear from kpop. There's the hook-focused fun and easy to follow melodies, sure, but there's also a whole lot of genre experimentation and risky choices involved with this album that make it stand out far and away from a lot of its contemporary peers. Hell, to tease this album, SM released a short art film featuring the weirdest song on the album (which also happens to be the best one on it).
That art film - and the song "Shadow" included in it - is the best exhibit I've got of why I love f(x). They're quirky, they're fun, they're all strikingly emotive and uniquely eye-catching, and... they're weird. What is up with the animal heads? What's with them standing around in the dark? Why do I love this so much?!
(Whoa, watching this video is hard - Sulli looks so happy, so carefree... )
Luckily, listening to the album is just as engaging of an experience as watching its teaser. Main single "Rum Pum Pum" starts the tape off well; it's equal parts manufactured and human, with its two main melodies coming from a funky bass groove and waxy synthesizers that tease around the group's explosive vocal delivery and leaping transitions. Every member shines, especially Luna and her melodic arpeggios given alongside the hook of the last half. For a title track it's perfect for f(x); catchy, memorable, independent and fearless. The choreo isn't half bad, either.
Immediately up next is "Shadow", the tune behind the art film and the best cut on the album. This song is equal parts haunting and achingly beautiful, starting off with a music box-inspired opening that spirals with oddball samples behind the elementary and delicate singing going on. It's impossible to listen to this and not imagine the ethereal weirdness of the art film that went alongside it. The trippy air of this one is only exacerbated when you do a deep dive into the lyrics and find out it's a track about a woman loving someone and smothering them with her presence so much that the two are each other's 'shadow'. I can't recommend this track enough, it's easily one of the most unique songs in all of kpop music, ever, and I'm not just being biased in saying this.
"Underneath your feet, / without an expression, I hide behind you..."
- Sulli, "Shadow"
These two tracks are the best on the album IMO, but that doesn't mean the rest of it is a letdown. "Pretty Girl" follows next, and it's inoffensively written with actually exciting instrumentation; lots of unusual elements and fun riffs cut through to make the basic pop structure more interesting than it usually is, and it has actual moments of surprising darkness. "Kick" is much the same, but it's immediately more urgent and plays with absence in the sound, highlighting the strengths of the member's power along with their ability to deliver their saccharine verses in increasingly chaotic ways. This is the sort of stuff that made I Got a Boy so impressive, the kind of sound you really can't get anywhere else.
"Signal" is very nice, kind of lounge-y, a chill theme that has always ended up being a surprise favorite for me. Everyone's singing is impeccable on it, that might be what it is. "Step" is dance-inducing, not part the most memorable but very much worth a listen, one of the highlights of the production rather than the performance. In any other group, the incomprehensible English line(s) (from the member that speaks perfect English! why?!) would have been a cardinal sin, but f(x)'s charm and stellar record up until this point make it forgivable.
I'm going to keep it real, though: I do not like "Goodbye Summer" (or "Ending Page", the other ballad on the album). Something about a male voice in the surreal sphere of f(x)'s compositions ruins things, takes away the magic of the package. It's largely boring, the instrumentation is a bit too slow and drawn out for me to find it compelling, and I don't find myself connecting with the lyrics at all. I don't think this is a mark of low quality music, just something I don't personally connect with. Give them a listen and decide for yourself, I'm definitely biased against these songs here.
Luckily right afterwards we've got "Airplane", one of the other highlights of the album. There's just so much that works here; the backing beat is dynamic and expressive, and the lyrics are perfect ear candy, just the right amount of fun and dramatic to make emotion. It's legitimately colorful and expertly produced, the sort of great track that's rare in a lot of pop music. "Toy" right after is clumsier and even a little abrasive, but it's earnest and unorthodox, the sort of experimentation f(x) was so unique for. Their creatively was consistent, not that it always worked, but they always happened. You won't get bored by an f(x) album, you'll never be able to imagine them before you hear them.
"No More" and "Snapshot" are the least memorable songs to be found here (besides the ballads), and considering they're far from offensive, I'd say that's an achievement. You've got the tired imitation of retro Americana in "No More", the sort of boring song that's filler to us but comes across as a stylistic departure for someone that isn't in the Western pop world. I can forgive that. "Snapshot" is, like "Kick", one of those adventurous messes you heard from all experimental kpop records in 2013, no doubt popularized by I Got a Boy in the beginning of the year. It jumps from old-timey piano-and-songwriter intro to a really heavy-handed electronic backing; it's a fusion I don't think anyone can adequately paint with words. Again, not something I'm going to be bumping every night, but makes for quite the interesting listen.
I've racked my brain for a while trying to figure out how f(x) can be so near and dear to my heart even though I don't play their albums constantly, and I think that last sentence of mine is a really good take on it. Every f(x) album is an experiment from start to finish, and the vast majority of the ideas stick. All of the ladies of the group have their specific charms, and there weren't many genres they tried out that didn't fit them.
It's partly because f(x) formed such a perfect group that the loss of Sulli feels so heavy to their thousands of fans that never even got to see the group perform. Myself included. It's very sad knowing I'll never get to see one of my favorite groups as they were in their prime, but, such is life, and everyone goes. At least we have the art they all poured their hearts into; that sort of thing will always be around. Be well.
DREAM...
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