Best New Music: May 2025
A ranking and review of the best new releases from Korean, Japanese, and Chinese artists!
#20: Lexie Liu, “FFFFF”
“FFFFF” is a darkly delicious dose of hedonistic hyper-pop! Set in a macabre mansion, with a deadpan demeanor that brings to mind Wednesday Addams, Lexie Liu puts all the blame on her crush: “They say I’m a menace / It’s your fault / Passive / Then I get all aggressive / When you call.” She holds him responsible for her cravings while still indulging those cravings, treating him as the means to an end. There is no genuine affection in her voice as she impatiently asserts things like “Kiss me, don’t text” and “I don’t even care”! She needs him more than she wants him, as evidenced by secretly taking his blood whenever he joins her vampire family for dinner, by her marrying him before he can say no, and by her cavalierly holding his babies for a gothic and blood-splattered family photo!
#19: KARDI, “Not But Disco”
“Not But Disco” brings to life the borderline-spiritual experience of moving to intoxicating music in an immersive environment. It is the right kind of thrill for a rave, a dance floor, or anywhere else where one feels elated soaking in the present atmosphere. The group indicates their awareness of the emotional ascension that songs like this can provoke, saying things like “I can’t see anything,” “I can’t hear anything,” and “Maybe we’re trapped in a narrow kaleidoscope.” They provide that hypnotic, transformative sensation through vigorous instrument-playing, a combination of sly and straightforward sonic shifts, a range of vocal filters, and inimitable lead vocals that put the perfect punchiness on certain words for emphasis. “Not But Disco” ends in a blaze of glory, with glitching and beeping-out-of-control electronics colliding with dizzying drumming and guitars for the ultimate erratic madness!
#18: N.Flying, Everlasting
Everlasting is an aptly-titled anniversary release, marking a decade with N.Flying. Loyal fans will love this present, which is anthemic in a wide range of ways and a reminder that not every artist needs to swing for the fences. N.Flying’s longevity is in part due to knowing what they are best at, and Everlasting delivers it in spades. Pop music formulas and rock-ballad stylings coexist, as do moments of levity next to dramatic and OST-worthy numbers. The lovely lyrics often involve constellation-related, floral, and ocean-themed analogies. The group sings about staying on their journey far into the future, and fortunate reassurance of this goal comes the most from “Born To Be,” which could easily fit on an old-school N.Flying album. Another standout is the title track, for its Brit-pop inspiration that sounds natural for them, rather than try-hard.
#17: 20th Century Boy’z, DEBUT
This DEBUT is no soft landing and is better off for it! The underrated duo’s mission seems to be “Introduce ourselves to the world in a no-holds-barred way,” and the electronic-laced pop/rock jams nail it. “JUMP OFF” immediately fires on all cylinders, and the “ready to rage” attitude stays up until the disarmingly gentle finale (“ONLY U”). Before that, the music stays explosive. Screaming along is especially in order during “HYSTERIA 444,” although it’s hard to match their stamina! The best song is “MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.” Its intensity unexpectedly declines for a delicate moment, but after resuming rousing rock, the next verse has added rawness, as if needing to overcompensate for the moment of fragility!
#16: Jin, Echo
Soft reverb, live instruments, and melodies on which Jin’s voice effortlessly glides are just a few of the many highlights throughout Echo. The songs are well-crafted and make up for simplistic lyricism with detailed instrumentals. Jin gets right to the point, crooning through the self-explanatory “Don’t Say You Love Me” and “Nothing Without Your Love.” Two other similarly straightforward songs: “To Me, Today,” a self-reminder to live in the here and now, and a song about feeling relegated to a “Background” actor in a loved one’s life. Jin has the necessary voice for taking these songs to the next level, but the real can’t-miss gems are the ones that play it less safe. “Loser” is a head-turning glam-metal twist for both Jin and collaborator YENA, and they fully get into character as a couple having a heated argument! “Rope It” is another admirable toss in the dark for Jin; it’s his first time trying country-rock. The third new-to-Jin song is “With the Clouds,” with an atypical structure in terms of both tempo and formatting. Echo has many flavors and hopefully encourages Jin to keep exploring his vast musical tastes.
#15: Mei Semones, Animaru
Animaru is relentlessly quirky. Each song is associated with an animal, and one of them is a fictional, multi-colored creature that can best be described as an avant-garde mouse! The animal theme lends itself to imaginative lyrics, and while there are some of those, Mei Semones often speaks plainly instead, while keeping the sound anything but. “At the park, I made new friends,” she says in “Dangomushi” (aka “Roly Poly”), as string instruments take turns. “I am going to do this the way I wanna do it,” she says in “I can do what I want,” which involves abnormal guitar and violin patterns. “Sometimes I miss you still / Even though you were a rat,” she says on “Rats with Wings,” which alternates between gentler and more jagged-edged guitars. The indie-style, semi-pop/rock enigmas are laced with bossa nova and jazz stylings that make them even more eccentric. The best overall arrangement is in “Donguri,” but the most impactful song is the final one, “Sasayaku Sakebu.” Its title translates to “Whisper Shout,” which matches the personality-related distance between its choruses and verses. Some of her last words are “I will yell, this is my melody / It means something / It’s all I have.” It is a blunt yet thought-provoking note to end on, a matter-of-fact statement that concludes an unpredictable sonic journey.
#14: KickFlip, Kick Out, Flip Now!
These spry songs lean into pop-rock while mixing in electronic distortions, and the genre-mixing is just one piece of the winning puzzle. Kick Out, Flip Now! maintains a childish worldview in a good way! The group insists on making “today a vacation” (“We don’t need no education!”) in “FREEZE,” believes a genie could solve their problems in “Complicated!!,” sings about ignoring to-do lists in “Skip It!,” declares their minds to be made up “200 percent” in “Before the Sun Explodes,” and sings about being a “best buddy” on “How We KickFlip.” The other two tracks, “Electricity” and “Code Red,” express feeling flustered and confused about first-time crushing. Whether pouting about responsibilities or fussing over lovesickness, Kick Out, Flip Now! stays loyal to the boy band’s youthful and naïve image. This branding could quickly grow stale, but KickFlip show they have what it takes to avoid that fate. First of all, they indicate a willingness to challenge themselves and expand their musical skills, by already getting hands-on on the production side. Second of all, they utilize the dual connotations of their band name. “KickFlip” refers to more than just a skateboarding move. Its other inherently youthful connotation is the willingness to try new things and get up after every fall. As they sing on “How We KickFlip,” “Even if I fall again / Let’s keep going until we get it right.” Those lines can double as the group’s enduring and energizing slogan.
#13: RIIZE, ODYSSEY
ODYSSEY’s strength and staying power come from its smoothness. The streamlined sound and “going on a journey” story undergo subtle enough lane shifts to keep the drive interesting without encountering any annoyingly rocky roads! The album is full of classic crowd-pleaser material for boy band fans, from R&B-style slow songs to hip-hop-oriented ones, and the energetic and sentimental halves are neatly split up by the “Passage” interlude. But the delights that differentiate ODYSSEY are in the details: the mid-song key changes, the ways tracks relate as pairs (going from “Ember to Solar” to “Fly Up,” for instance, and prefacing “Midnight Mirage” with the sound of a ticking clock in “Passage”), the meaningful addition and subtraction (for example, the pre-journey introduction is a simple synth 2-step song, making the post-journey outro sound even fuller by comparison)... Plus, the songs’ corresponding videos check off many boxes. “Odyssey” is a cinematic montage of action, while “Passage” is a montage focused more on images. “Midnight Mirage” is animated, while “The End of the Day” looks like a live-action TV episode recap. “Bag Bad Back” alternates between black-and-white and in-color scenes and between pose-focused and dance-focused ones. The focus in “Ember to Solar” alternates between 2D and 4D and between plot-focused and choreography-focused periods. “Show Me Love” resembles a shaky-handed home movie, whereas “Inside My Love” resembles the self-made video of someone with a steadier hand. “Another Life” includes a “moral of the story”-type monologue. Lastly, “Fly Up” unabashedly embraces the spirit of 1950’s rock n’ roll and has the essence of a movie musical!
#12: P1Harmony, DUH!
Read all about this release here!
#11: f5ve, SEQUENCE 01
SEQUENCE 01 is a glitchy, hyper-pop whirlwind with corresponding bite-size music videos. But while f5ve adhere to current trends, they also stay true to their roots. “Underground” sounds straight out of the 80’s/90’s Japanese dance music scene. “UFO” has punny lyrics about gachapon, a Japanese toy, and its music video location is one that is considered the J-pop idol scene’s original turf. The Japanese “Rika-chan” fashion doll is referenced in “Television.” And the J-pop sonic influences in “Real Girl” and “Jump” are evident. The videos pair nostalgia with newness, too. Some look underproduced on purpose, like someone spontaneously decided to pull out a camcorder and film the members casually hanging out in their early-aughts fashion. Other videos are the opposite, like the futuristic “UFO.” Either way, the music shows off f5ve’s personalities and offbeat musical instincts. This group is in a position to be both widely loved and an acquired taste, and like their unreliable sound and style, that puts them in rare air.
#10: BOYNEXTDOOR, No Genre
As the album title suggests, this BOYNEXTDOOR era is defined by its disinterest in coming across in any particular way. It is not about thinking or doing as much as just being. As they put it in “I Feel Good,” “Meaning? Theme? Who needs stuff like that?”! They don’t overthink anything, for better and for worse! They do not choose their words carefully: “Get the hell outside, bruh!,” they yell in “I Feel Good;” “We just hate being lonely,” they admit as to why they won’t call a relationship off in “Next Mistake.” In addition to lacking tact, this group represents the “BOY” in “BOYNEXTDOOR” with the immature disposition that deep introspection is not ideal. Rather than look for life lessons to take from bad times, they would rather just grumble, as they do on the jealousy-focused “Is That True?” And rather than reflect on the deeper reason for a crush, their answer in “123-78” is simply, “I just like everything about her.” Their impatience is thematically appropriate, as is the fickleness of their genre leanings.
None of this is to say that BOYNEXTDOOR sound like insolent nuisances! The prickliness is amusing, the songs stay mostly upbeat, and it is commendable for a group with a baked-in concept (given the band name) to stay surprising.
A good example of this group’s unexpected take on being “the boys next door”: song teasers that just mess with listeners! Prior to the album, the group released song teasers that were not what their forthcoming songs really sound like; they were snippets of what they would sound like if coming from a music box, squeaky toy, or other plaything! The No Genre trailer also screams “Psych!” Each scenario goes against its title. For example, the segment with emotional moments in the rain is called “No Feelings,” and the photoshoot-themed chapter is called “No Posing.” Like indignant boys who do the opposite of what their parents ask, BOYNEXTDOOR thumb their noses at attempts to confine and label their activities.
As written about in more detail previously, BOYNEXTDOOR impress with how they present what people love about and expect from boy bands in new ways.
#9: Pets Tseng, Stay Tuned
Stay Tuned is a gentle and accessible meditation on life imitating art and vice versa. Soft guitars and pianos are the main events, sometimes for ballads, sometimes for more upbeat material, and always for songs with “life as a show” framing. In “Sneak Peek,” she refers to life as a “beautiful rehearsal” and hopes for a romantic run-in so she can “Take advantage of the lighting”! In “Stay Tuned,” despite the “bag of tears and a handful of snot,” she indulges in her favorite show and offers opinionated commentary on its characters. “Don’t blame me for being too into the drama,” she insists! In “Chain Reaction,” she reflects on the ripple effects of decision-making and compares them to TV spoilers. In “The Subtext,” she encourages improvisation (“Leave the blanks… come up with some ideas on the spot”), while warning not to add script elements that run too far afield of the characters’ typical traits. The last song, “What Love Feels Like,” expresses anticipation for “the next season,” and it makes an astute observation about why the TV show analogy is useful. TV shows are something that goes “From impermanence to daily life;” they become parts of people’s daily routines, so in a way, TV is life. “Count to Ten” gets at the same sentiment: TV is like a date on a calendar, something that might mean nothing to outsiders but can be personally significant and important for the viewer. Pets Tseng sings about the importance of always remembering the day of a breakup, much like someone always remembers when they tune in to a favorite show or when they found out a favorite character’s fate. Numbers are a way to recall and categorize memories, making them more meaningful and understandable. TV shows are a tool for the same ends, to make sense of the world both after and as it is unfolding. As she puts it in “Unforgettable,” TV stars who “have your time” and attention recognize “It’s short, but it’s forever,” just like life.
#8: SIX LOUNGE, more than love
more than love is an audacious alternative to the average rock EP. It gets better and more daring as it goes on, starting with a “woe is me” song about wishing they were better songwriters! “Donzoko” (“Rock Bottom”) is also self-deprecating, but with more of a shrug than an axe to grind! They decide to just dance out their feelings, which escalates to a pledge to be so honest that they get “embarrassed all the time” (in “You and I”) and to let people “laugh at [them] for being stupid” (in “Shinuhodoaitaikaradakaraainiikuyo”)! After throwing accelerating caution to the wind, their humorous brand of self-disgust culminates in “GuroiLOVESONG.” The self-described “gross love song” is enjoyably excessive, especially when a note is held for a jaw-droppingly long time!
#7: The Rose, WRLD
A hopeful streak runs through WRLD, sometimes on the surface, sometimes buried, and always returning to the theme of cosmic fate. After an echoing introductory track that references “running home to you” comes “Nebula,” on which the members celebrate finding clarity and gratitude while counting stars. “O” smartly strips away instruments to keep the album’s core message the focus: “We are the world / Our voices echo on / And pierce the walls… No colors to divide / Just come as one / We go as one.” They go on to say, “Things come and go… But the essence will remain / Where it belongs.” After singing about having hope that “Tomorrow” will be better and calling out to the universe for answers in “Nevermind,” they end with “Ticket To The Sky” and lines like “Below the stars, we ignite.” Before that, in “Slowly,” they hit an emotional low point, but lines like “Faces come and faces go” share the “This too shall pass” outlook of the brighter songs.
The myriad of ways the songs on WRLD allude to each other embodies its “full-circle” theme. For example, “Nevermind” brings to mind both “O” and “Tomorrow” with these lyrics about circles and life going on no matter what: “The world keeps moving on / What’s left if you are right / Who’s right if you are left… Running in circles / The world keeps spinning.” “Ticket To The Sky” revisits the “left” versus “right” framing from “Nevermind”: “Let the wind blow your dreams to mine / As we step onto the line.” The “line” can be interpreted as the one dividing the world into black and white. After all, “Slowly” includes these lyrics: “Hoped to paint it black and white / But the gray parts / Keep throwing me off.” Another example of an indirect parallel is how “Slowly,” with the “Faces come and faces go” remark, addresses wanting contentment in wherever, as “Nevermind” puts it, “the wind blows.”
Overall, WRLD is a thoughtful take on what it truly means to manifest dreams and keep the faith.
#6: Gen Hoshino, Gen
The moral of Gen Hoshino’s story is summed up by a line on Gen’s opening track, “Create”: “The meaning of life is to play with life itself.” Gen Hoshino takes a mix-and-match approach, stacking and sorting instrumental and vocal layers like games of Jenga. “Create” sounds like a handful of digital games’ soundtracks mixed together, and “Mad Hope” sounds like a handful of songs’ synth parts are copied and pasted into one piece and topped off with an echoing filter and some drums! Songs like “Star” and “Glitch” have instruments that operate independently more than they try to get on the same page. Songs with less turbulent tempos and temperaments still take their own kinds of risks. “I Wanna Be Your Ghost” is not the average bouncy bop, and the timing of instruments’ entrances in “Eureka” makes it seem like each gets its own final bow before the album concludes! Language is treated as a living and pliable thing as much as sounds are. Gen Hoshino overlaps trilingual verses in “Memories” and includes trilingual lyrics in “2.” He also embraces the malleability of mood, with inconsistent sincerity - his voice is comically low in “Sayonara”! - and polish, with some songs utilizing analog more than digital sounds and others doing vice versa.
#5: tripleS, <ASSEMBLE25>
This tripleS era rhymes with the <ASSEMBLE24> era without repeating it. Both take unconventional approaches to the topics of resilience and rebirth, and both eras’ main music videos thrive in a murky space between the stuff of dreams and nightmares.
In some ways, things seem more dire in “Girls Never Die” than they do in “Are You Alive,” like when girls play hand-clapping games and hold hands before jumping off a tall building in the former. But in other ways, “Are You Alive” seems to have the darker implications, like when a member angrily pushes the camera away from recording the girls’ time dancing and hanging out together. (A camera also films them dancing in “Girls Never Die,” but there is not the same angry pushback.) Both videos interrupt bleak scenes with bright spots, keeping viewers guessing as to which direction the mood heads next. The good and bad times alike have much to read into, both separately and when comparing and contrasting the videos.
The lyrics throughout <ASSEMBLE25> also take after <ASSEMBLE24>. They are about breaking out of self-imposed boxes, expanding one’s world, and valuing perseverance. <ASSEMBLE25>, however, reaps more of the fruits of that labor. After navigating the “thicket of dreams” and desperately hoping they wake up and that thicket is still there (“Sinking deeper and deeper / When I wake up tomorrow / I hope it’s still a dream”), in “Are You Alive,” they sing about finding paradise, a world full of love and harmony. Frequent nonsensical lyrics (“Lalala,” “Bum bum bum,” “Mmm-aaah,” “Oh-whoah”...) add to the “discovering a new and indescribable world in real-time” context.
Whether taking in and theorizing over <ASSEMBLE25> and “Are You Alive” separately from or alongside of <ASSEMBLE24> and “Girls Never Die,” the albums and videos contribute to one big picture: tripleS are both terrified about and enamored with the rush of being fully alive, and they frame each day as an adrenaline rush through sounds and high-stakes visuals alike.
#4: i-dle, We are
In (G)I-DLE’s “TOMBOY” era, they asked, “Why are you cranky, boy? … i-dle ‘til you can.” Now, in “Girlfriend,” the group that now goes by “i-dle” sings, “I remember how you were crazy about that cranky boy.” Another example of foreshadowing: (G)I-DLE said things like “What's wrong with cursing in such a pretty mouth? / I'm always nasty”! Now, throughout We are, i-dle curse more than they just talk about cursing! In hindsight, (G)I-DLE was laying the groundwork for i-dle, talking that talk so i-dle would be ready to walk the walk. (G)I-DLE sang about being confident, while i-dle show more than they tell. Their confidence is more overt now, as proven by starting “Good Thing” with saying “Goodbye, baby!” and with SOYEON giving herself a major haircut in the music video. The other songs on We are have the same theme as “Good Thing”: a willingness to say and do things that are hard to take back. (G)I-DLE said they were willing to be themselves no matter the social costs (“Do you want a blonde Barbie doll? / It’s not me”); i-dle now prove it (SOYEON’s Barbie-blonde hair becomes a pixie cut).
In “Girlfriend,” they issue an ultimatum to ensure a best friend doesn’t settle: “You’re not actually gonna meet, are you? / If you go back with him, we’re done as friends.” They warn someone in “Love Tease” that getting too close will make them i-dle’s “toy,” and they call a relationship a torturous “game” in “Chain.” They get sentimental later, but not in ways that strike the sincere chords they would if they came on the heels of less stubborn and sassy songs! Sincerity is further undercut by the mockery within their compliments: “It’s really, really, really good,” they insist in “Good Thing;” “She’s really, really like a good bae,” they claim in “Girlfriend.” The songs are both about drawing lines in the sand and treating the world as their sandbox! They know and make sure they get what they deserve out of life, even when that requires a sharp tongue and irreversible actions.
Other aspects of We are that allow each i-dle member to shine: the genre-hopping, which lets different voices steal the show on different occasions; the members’ hands-on roles, with each one writing and/or producing at least one of the tracks; and each member making a scene in public in the “Good Thing” music video! i-dle are the ones with “We” in their album title (in contrast to (G)I-DLE’s “I” series of titles), yet their autonomy is more apparent than ever, showing how self-empowerment and sisterhood can be strengthened simultaneously.
#3: YUTA, TWISTED PARADISE
Thanks to his singular charisma and commitment to the premise, YUTA makes “TWISTED PARADISE” an equally aching and euphoric tour de force. Sensitivity and emotional detachment remain unlikely partners, as he compares his woes to those in a theatrical tragicomedy: “A false mask / Gotta play my part… inescapable fate / Like my broken heart;” “I play the minor keys / Past this hollow mask / I cannot go back;” “Stranger in this play… you still laugh at me… Then the music starts.” He references being mocked and belittled by the person in which he remains infatuated: “You laugh, I suffered / Just help me;” “Say my name / Break the chains / All I really want to do is just stay.” In the choruses, he goes from singing about “shining like a star” to “shooting like a star” and from “drowning [in] love” to “drowning [in] blood.” His delivery adds an extra punch, as he belts out “Flying more makes me feel dead inside” with the same gusto as he does “Dying more makes me feel so alive” later. The lyrics imprint themselves in listeners’ minds thanks to his astute attention to detail, with vocal highs and lows channeled with the necessary nuance. He “plays his part” to perfection in the music video, with mannerisms of Romeo and the Joker combined; he is a character both tortured by and obsessed with his interior world. The grand finale is a high note followed by a crash, as he repeats, “You could have seen that I had” and completes the thought with “A smile” when the song ends. That swift end to all the drama speaks to simultaneous relief and eternal disappointment. Sticking this tricky landing bolsters YUTA’s rockstar credentials, and the rougher-voiced B-side, “When I’m Not Around,” is also unmissable.
#2: BIBI, EVE: ROMANCE
While many specifics are up to interpretation, this is the overall storyline of EVE: ROMANCE and its corresponding videos: Government-appointed mad scientists resurrect a man named Luca and a woman named Eve from the dead. Eve, played by BIBI, is now called “Eve-1.” It is notable that she is not described as a new Eve; she is not called “Eve-2.” If she were, that would imply that the first Eve differs from this one. The government does not want the old and new Eves to be their own women; they want a carbon copy of the money-making pop star who they were able to tout on a global platform prior to her death. The songs and music videos are about Eve-1 and Luca rediscovering and revisiting memories of their past lives, falling in love in the process.
Here is one theory as to which songs and videos are narrated by Eve and which are narrated by Eve-1. Eve sings about the past and valuable life lessons: “Derre” shows a time actions spoke far louder than words; “Burn it” suggests an imminent rebirth; “Midnight Cruise” is about tear-inducing memories; and “Hangang Gongwon” references a specific incident, when she “left you in that park the day [Eve] fell in love with you.” Eve-1, on the other hand, lacks Eve’s world-weariness, so her songs are rosier. She depicts dream-like, surreal scenes in “Sugar Rush,” imagines what could be on the “next pages” for “Scott and Zelda,” and shows the curiosity of an alien seeing humans for the first time in “Hongdae R&B.”
Not all of the lighter fare is Eve-1’s. For example, “Bam Yang Gang” corresponds to a fairytale music video, in which an image of Eve’s ex appears in her cauldron! She sings about a choice between the initial sweetness of love or of a bite of candy and decides she prefers the latter! Eve lacks the interest in a love life that Eve-1 has, and the most lustful songs (like “Meat” and “Pygma Girl”) belong to Eve-1.
No matter how one interprets the story, one should not grow too confident in their theories! Complicating factors include the lack of a clear line between an Eve-focused and Eve-1-focused half of the album, the possibility that the mad scientists go rogue and implant false memories, and the piecemeal way Eve-1 recalls things. Then there is the possibility that what sounds like Eve recalling an experience is actually Eve-1 recapping for Luca what she learned about Eve’s experience. One more wrinkle comes from the parallel to BIBI’s own story, one of an artist who craves clarity as to how “brainwashed” she used to be and why she pursued music in the first place. To regain sight of herself, she has to understand Eve and Eve-1, and they make for psychologically intriguing storytelling tools.
#1: SEVENTEEN, HAPPY BURSTDAY
Read all about this release here!
Read about past “Best of the Month” and “Best of the Year” picks here, and stay tuned for the “Best of 2025 So Far” lists!