(Part 3) Top 100 Albums of 2024
A ranking and review of the year’s best releases from Korean, Japanese, and Chinese artists!
Check out part one here and part two here!
#50: Red Velvet, Cosmic
Red Velvet deserve a warm welcome back to their musical and aesthetic sweet spots! Cosmic has everything fans expect and love from them. The B-sides are filled with heavenly harmonies, dreamy high notes, and romantic framing… The Cosmic era is light and uplifting much more often than it is not, but the inclusion of less-sunny moments is meaningful and speaks to the group’s range. Read more here!
#49: TAEYONG, TAP
TAEYONG’s musical storytelling involves pressing “Rewind” repeatedly, so that he can both relive the joys of first-time sensations and approach situations in more mature ways. Ironically, by putting scenarios in the context of a game, TAEYONG makes the “real world” seem easier to maneuver. Read much more here about the ways TAP and TAEYONG’s first solo mini-album share some core themes and admirable qualities!
#48: Epik High, PUMP
With PUMP, Epik High subversively treat their haters like they were right all along; they appear to feed into the “overrated” label while actually mocking it… Their message is not “We’re trying our best,” but “We’re not, and that’s fine by us.”... Epik High feel like they have nothing more to prove, so making music for the love and fun of it is what matters to them… PUMP cleverly speaks to the natural and simultaneous desires to earn more and more validation and to accept the fact that praise has a ceiling. Read more here!
#47: FUMON, When you suffer, you are blessed.
This album is split into several chapters but makes sure to keep them all part of the same book. The tone gradually changes from rage-fueled rock to a more pop-rock approach. Electronic additions in both parts prevent the songs from feeling too detached, as do intermissions that work off of each other… The album peels back layer after layer of emotions; it is a relationship recollection that takes its time. The emotional stakes are further sharpened with well-done transitions into different tempos and volumes. When you suffer, you are blessed. has admirable roughness, realness, and richness to it. Read more here!
#46: HWASA, O
HWASA showing unshakeable confidence is nothing new, but her ways of doing so have gotten more entertaining! Whether singing with an acoustic guitar in songs like “Road” or over a clubby beat in songs like “OK NEXT,” she sings about always betting on herself, deserving better, and shaking off critiques with ease… HWASA’s message of confidence also avoids getting redundant thanks to a subtle admission of coexisting insecurity. She works through self-doubt with a “fake it ‘til you make it” approach, only acting confident before actually feeling confident, as evidenced by admitting “I’m scared that I’ll get scared” early in the album (in “HWASA”), and then ending the album saying “I have no more fear” (in “O”). This HWASA era has more to it than what meets the eye but stays as fun, flirty, and fierce as ever! Read more here!
#45: Kim Sawol, Default
Kim Sawol is not a household name, but not due to a lack of talent; her relative anonymity is by design. Taking her stage name from the Korean word for “April,” her birth month, and playing peculiar roles in her music videos, the real Kim Sawol is elusive. Her genre is also hard to pin down; Default starts out as a rock album before turning into a folk one. However, the audience gets a sense of who she is through the understated yet powerful ruminations of which Default consists. Her songs do all the talking for her, with a purposeful and impactful “less is more” approach. Read more here!
#44: LE SSERAFIM, CRAZY
This era picks up right where LE SSERAFIM’s last era left off. The EASY era represented making the most out of the “good bones” the members had, building something special and sturdy out of whatever foundation fate handed them. Similarly, with the CRAZY era, they do not lie to themselves about the odds that work against them, but they do insist on playing the cards they have been dealt by their own game rules. Since they admit they cannot “change the weather,” as they say in the album’s intro, they might as well “chase lightning”! They cannot change the minds of people bent on seeing them as “crazy,” but they can turn that label into a badge of honor… LE SSERAFIM convincing themselves that they are worth the hype is not mutually exclusive from acknowledging insecurities, and they do both in thoughtful ways throughout the CRAZY songs and videos. Read more here!
#43: ATEEZ, GOLDEN HOUR : Part.1
ATEEZ are clearly in their “doing whatever we want” era!... The album’s opening monologue asks, “[W]hat should we dream of and hope for, as these fleeting moments pass?” This leads into songs that show their ideas. Life is short, and ATEEZ’s enthusiastic music is a testament to their sense of urgency to make the most of it, starting right now. There is no time to choose between one bizarre plot over another, so they combine them all! The “no time to waste” sentiment is also expressed in the B-sides, which seem to put conversations and songs on collision courses! GOLDEN HOUR : Part.1 screams “Seize the day!” in typical ATEEZ fashion - meaning in no narrow, predictable fashion at all! Read more here!
#42: SCANDAL, LUMINOUS
This J-rock group continues to impress with diverse sounds and one-of-a-kind lyricism… The tracklist order is perfect for the songs to communicate with each other in ways that emphasize the most distinguishable lyrical moments. The titles offer further assistance, like the smart placement of “Vision” and “Line of sight” before and after “LOOP,” respectively. The message with those three songs put together is about keeping eyes on the prize, despite a period of feeling trapped in an endless loop. The instrumentals also align with the story shifts; they know just when to ramp the energy back up after periods of mellowing out. Overall, LUMINOUS shines a light on the smart and ever-shifting storytelling of SCANDAL. Read more here!
#41: ExWHYZ, Dress to Kill
With a zero-to-100 intro (“Dresscode”) leading perfectly into the EDM “Unknown Sense,” Dress to Kill wastes no time instigating an adrenaline boost! The corresponding mood boost lingers across new songs and remixes alike. One high-energy track after another finds different ways to deliver fun, from the jaunty guitars in “Secret Secret” to the racing percussion in “Obsession.” Other enthusiastic elements involve a deep bass, rousing chants, electrifying synths, and often a combination of the three. There are some slower songs, but they are outnumbered, and they are faster and more textured than some artists’ fastest songs! Also, times when they slow things down exude a free-spiritedness and contentment, as opposed to gloom. This makes songs like “Our Song” and “D.Y.D,” which bring to mind sunny-day car rides, feel like mere party intermissions! Overall, Dress to Kill is a layered and engaging listen, and since it can appeal to a variety of pop enthusiasts and gives makeovers to some of ExWHYZ’s older songs, it can and deserves to attract scores of new fans.
#40: HANRORO, HOME
Great albums find the sonic equivalents for all that words fail to encompass. By this description, HOME is a great album; it mines a deep well of emotions in ways that allow listeners to intuitively know how HANRORO feels, often feelings that are hard to neatly summarize… HOME is the musical score for a rebirth - a chance to find a true “home” - with the attention to detail and variety that do the heavy subject matter justice. Read more here!
#39: ENHYPEN, ROMANCE : UNTOLD -daydream-
While this is not ENHYPEN’s most ambitious project sonically, it is elevated by its lyrical and visual contexts, with songs and videos that stay rooted in their fictional, ongoing narrative. Their vampire-and-werewolf-themed story puts songs like “Moonstruck” and “Paranormal” in an obviously different light, and songs like “Royalty” have personalized connotations in subtler ways. For example, “Royalty” is about treating someone like a queen, something their regal characters literally do in their Webtoon! ROMANCE : UNTOLD has unique dimensions to it that make it more than just a standard boy band pop album. Likewise, the repackaged version, ROMANCE : UNTOLD -daydream-, proves that conventional formulas can be steered in unconventional directions. The new songs show that following current K-pop trends, including singing in a hushed and relatively subdued manner, does not require sacrificing a specific creative vision. With this era, ENHYPEN maintain their detailed narrative through songs that are less straightforward and generic than they first seem. Read more here!
#38: NAYEON, NA
Through the NA era’s videos, NAYEON is both trying to be a star and already is one; there are tributes to her already, yet she continues generating the kind of word-of-mouth campaigns that make stars the “next big things.” The songs themselves also speak to NAYEON’s ability to be a timeless superstar. She works with an increased range of genres but returns to the cute lyricism of her past solo work (“I love you more than a mouse loves cheddar!,” she exclaims in “Butterflies;” “Love is a HalliGalli bell / The flickering glances, the hesitant motions,” she sings in “HalliGalli,” a song that analogizes love with the speed-themed card game). In short, NAYEON carries herself as the versatile icon that she is! Read more here!
#37: BOYNEXTDOOR, HOW?
They start by admitting they are only “Pretending to be calm” in front of a crush in “OUR.” They plead for a clear answer to the questions “You’re my darling, right?” and “Are you teasing me?” in “Earth, Wind & Fire.” In “l i f e i s c o o l,” they acknowledge their youth, saying, “It’s still too early to be tied down,” while admitting they’re not picky about the kind of companionship they get: “Anyone want to hang out with me?” They vocalize their “Oops!” moments, like when they say “I love you” before “Huh? What’s this? I left the mic on?” in “So let’s go see the stars”! All the while, they do not put up a front. They speak before thinking at times, as youths tend to do! Another example is in “Earth, Wind & Fire,” when they convey their honest feelings toward someone but do so at 10X speed, worried about losing their cool before spilling out all their compliments! BOYNEXTDOOR’s uncontrollable inner monologues allow their imaginations to spill into both the new video and the set of funny teaser films... Read more here!
#36: ONEWE, Planet Nine : ISOTROPY
The most frequently recurring analogies throughout the album fall into two categories: outer-space-themed ones and ones referring to dust, smoke, or other fading and/or flimsy material… When they are not singing about memory preservation, they are singing about memory dissolution. In other words, when they are not singing about making something last, they are singing about the opposite. Ironically, change is the only constant in life, perhaps besides love. Change and love, therefore, can be considered metaphorically isotropic, so ONEWE’s mix of galactic and fragile metaphors is a surprisingly apt way to depict life. Read more here!
#35: NCT DREAM, DREAM()SCAPE
This group leaves no detail unnoticed! Song lyrics, music video plots, teaser image symbolism, and more all tie into a central storyline, one that is a cross between Inception, The Matrix, and something new and undefinable. DREAM()SCAPE is doubly engaging to listen to and to watch the corresponding videos for, because beneath every hip-hop and pop bop that is simply fun and high-quality, and within every video scene that is simply entertaining, lie potential puzzle pieces related to NCT’s lore! Read more here!
#34: GARNiDELiA, Ten
This J-pop duo remains sensational! The instrumental buildup in the opening number, “-Ten-,” has a “not a moment to waste” feeling, and that momentum is sustained over an impressive time frame. The group continues to show preferences for electronic and pop sounds, but they shake things up again and again, adding rejuvenating post-chorus guitars (especially in “Soten”) and brassy finishing touches (like in “Gen Ai Yugi”). In addition to experimentation, the listening experience avoids tedium by ending with “Only,” which differs from the rest of the tracks the most, and “Future Wing,” which concludes the show with some of MARiA’s best vocals. Since GARNiDELiA’s sound is as conspicuous as ever, the title track’s music video benefits from its “less is more” approach; it plays with light, shadows, and hologram-esque filters in lieu of a plot. Overall, Ten is a testament to GARNiDELiA’s deserved longevity and enduring intrigue.
#33: P1Harmony, Killin’ It
P1Harmony’s songs have always been both playful and meaningful, but what makes them even more so now are their clearly sharpened musical instincts… Sound effects, vocals, tempo changes, and instrumentals all work together like a well-oiled machine, keeping each song surprise-filled and jam-packed… The group is unapologetic about both flexing their musical might and showing a soft, romantic side. They take music seriously, but not too seriously! Read more here!
#32: anti-talent, Beast to Human
Beast to Human is an inspired meditation on the nostalgic power of music and the grip that music has on how time’s passage is experienced. The group talks about music in the context of memories… anti-talent make sense of the power of music in insightful ways, and contrasting vocal registers and genre-blending instincts further ensure these alternative/pop songs have the depth and thoughtfulness they greatly deserve. Read more here!
#31: HEIZE, FALLIN’
FALLIN’ deconstructs memories to assess them in pieces, seeking to understand how and why they form… She appears lonely and lost in thought until the end, which aligns with the end of the album, an instrumental-only track called “November song.” There is much left unsaid, which begs the question: Are the most worthy memories those which have meanings that words cannot express? Must some aspects of memories always stay a mystery? Do sufficient words even exist to articulate a memory in full? FALLIN’ represents the alluring enigma that is the nature of memory, in ways that show the concept is always about more than the sum of its parts. Read more here!
#30: Dreamcatcher, [VirtuouS]
[VirtuouS] is a Goldilocks album; the amount of each characteristic is just right! The pacing of each song is great, with no component rushing too quickly or too slowly into the next one. There is lyrical variety but also through-lines, with many lyrics about destiny and perseverance that bring to mind past Dreamcatcher song topics without being derivative. The album as a whole has neither too much anger nor too much timidity, with piano-led bookends before and after alt-rock and pop-punk jams (“Fireflies” shows a particularly welcome new warmth to Dreamcatcher’s harmonies). The “JUSTICE” music video has neither too many Easter eggs nor too few to be satisfying, and the song itself has both surprising (with choruses focused on a stellar electronic breakdown) and unsurprising strong suits (like the time given for many different voices to shine). Overall, [VirtuouS] delivers for long-time fans through smart stylistic choices, some familiar and some new.
#29: JAEHYUN, J
JAEHYUN manages to be an open book at the same time that he conveys an air of mystery. Surface-level and subtler sources of appeal coexist in everything from the music video details to vocal colors, and together, these attributes imprint an intractable mystique on the audience’s impression of him, making it incomplete at best to characterize J as a testament to mere duality… JAEHYUN sings about love in all its multitudes and turns on a relentless charm that keeps changing forms without changing its level of sincerity. Overall, J and its corresponding videos excel for the smart and surprising ways they make audiences feel like they know exactly who JAEHYUN is and yet never fully know… Read more here!
#28: (G)I-DLE, 2
The strong suits of (G)I-DLE’s first album, I NEVER DIE, return on 2. They slip vulnerable confessions between songs that embody their devil-may-care personas, balance moments of vindictiveness with ones of pure pain, and bring back lyrics from older songs… They convincingly play the part of villainous characters who relish the demise of their enemies… but they just as convincingly act the opposite… 2 and its videos are expansive forms of expression that manage to be both exaggerated and confessional. Read more here!
#27: TWICE, With YOU-th
As always, TWICE amaze with their organic growth. Some songs bring to mind the TWICE of earlier eras, like the sweet, wholesome “I GOT YOU” and “YOU GET ME,” and the tropical-tinged, upbeat “NEW NEW.” Other songs mix things up, like the new-to-TWICE drum’n’bass style of “ONE SPARK” and the flirtatious Jersey-club song “RUSH.” The group sparkles the most in “BLOOM,” with all nine voices arranged in a heavenly harmony… With YOU-th embodies TWICE’s “better together” ethos while expanding their sonic horizons and proving for the millionth time why they deserve their global acclaim and attention. Read more here!
#26: PURPLE KISS, BXX
First of all, PURPLE KISS’s group synergy is remarkable; their voices go off of one another’s with perfect timing. They each have spotlight-worthy vocals but never hog that spotlight; they each get solo chances to shine that come about organically. Second of all, they sing powerfully and passionately without going overboard, allowing the fullness of the instrumentals to be appreciated while still proving their vocal confidence is earned. Third of all, they make the most pointed lyrics sound just as mellifluous as the plain fun ones… It is fitting that “[T]he wind tosses me” is BXX’s final line; it sums up how PURPLE KISS’s musicianship might go wherever the wind takes it, but it will always be there naturally! Read more here!
Stay tuned for the rest of the countdown!
More of 2024’s best music:
The Best K-Pop Music Videos, No. 50 - 26