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symeraid-s · 1 year

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2022 Retrospective: Album of the Year

This is a list of all the albums released in 2022 that I bought, ranked by the total album score. This is going to be a long one, I apologise.

Number 1: WOODZ – Colorful Trauma (7,6/10)

This is the one album, I bought this year, where I have all tracks on my playlist. And though I listen to a few of them more than the others, they are all fantastic. WOODZ really shines in any style and this album only serves to prove that more. The packaging is fine. It’s slightly bent, but I think it’s supposed to be that way. It’s still weird and looks wrong.

Dirt on my leather 8/10 – Rock and Roll in its purest form.

Hijack 8/10 – Lowkey could have been the title track.

I Hate You 8/10 – Pop/Rock how it should be.

Better and Better 7/10 – I can’t tell, if I like this song because it’s good, or because WOODZ sings it.

Hope to be Like You 7/10 – Makes me sentimental for some reason.

Number 2: E’LAST – ROAR (7,4/10)

I really wanted this album to be my album of the year, but it ended up having one song that dragged it down to number 2. I still love it regardless. I has some of their best songs so far. Funny story about it: I’m very confident, that I ordered a random version from Amazon, but I got both. I’m not complaining though, because that means I got Poison and Nightmare in high quality. Which is the one complaint I can make about the album as a whole: The final song being different between the red and grey version. It’s an odd style and I hope it doesn’t become regular for them. On the other hand, if you have all the versions of all their released mini albums, the spines combine, which is really cool.

Intro 8/10 – Unironically one of my favourite songs on the album. And I prefer it as an Instrumental track.

Creature 7/10 – Probably their weakest title track to date, but it’s still a good song.

Desire 7/10 – Funky with some really good vocals, but a tiny bit messy.

Shelter 9/10 – Showstopping, spectacular, etc. with absolutely fantastic live vocals

Let Me Free 6/10 – The one song I don’t care about on the album.

Grey Version: Nightmare 8/10 – Songs titled Nightmare can’t seem to do no wrong.

Red Version: Poison 7/10 – Stellar vocals and an In high note. What more can I ask for?

Number 3: PURPLE KISS – Geekyland (7,2/10)

This is probably PURPLE KISS’ strongest mini album so far, music wise. It has both one of my favourite title tracks and my favourite B-Side from them. The packaging of the album could be a bit better though. It kinda falls in on itself, like there is something missing. But it’s not as bad as memeM (which I’ll get to eventually).

Intro: Bye Bye Bully 8/10 – Out of all Intros PURPLE KISS has done so far, this needs to be turned into a full song the most.

Nerdy 8/10 – It’s HIP but make it funky. This is exactly the type of energy I need from them.

FireFlower 7/10 – Just a tiny bit generic.

Can’t Stop Dreamin’ 5/10 – The chorus doesn’t really fit with the rest of the song.

Love is Dead 8/10 – My favourite B-Side from them so far.

SuMMer RaiN 7/10 – Makes me emotional for some reason.

Number 4: Max Changmin – Devil (7/10)

The Devil Album is one of my favourite albums of the year. Changmin really went all out on this one and it shows. The theatricality packed into this album and this man is really astounding. The album design is really nice. It’s a simple hardback album that is covered in red or black velvet, depending on the version you own. It’s very nice to look at and touch, but I fear it might also catch a lot of dust easily.

Devil 7/10 – I don’t think this song would be as good, had any other vocalist sung it.

Maniac 8/10 – Just immaculate vibes.

Fever 8/10 – A one man musical. Also, something only Changmin could pull off.

Alien 8/10 – Helium but make it bisexual.

Dirty Dancing 6/10 – I like the verses, but the chorus is painfully generic.

Airplane Mode 5/10 – It’s inoffensive, but nothing more.

Number 5: TAN – Limited Edition ‘1TAN’ (7/10)

For a debut album this one is really good, but also needs more songs. It’s also really small and thin for a K-Pop album, which isn’t a bad thing all things considered.

Fix You, Part 1 7/10 – Needs to be longer and a Part 2.

DU DU DU 8/10 – The best debut song of the year.

My Girl (for FAN) 6/10 – It’s cute but nothing special.

Number 6: SID – Umibe (6,8/10)

SID remains as my favourite Japanese band and while this album isn’t their best, it’s still a good album. Their music sounds ethereal. It does remind me of why I love them so much. Different from K-Pop albums, J-Rock albums have no merchandise, and are mostly standard disks, so there is nothing to complain about.

Keibetsu 7/10 – It’s cool.

Daisuki Dakara… 7/10 – The slow pre-chorus is kinda weird, but everything else is fantastic.

Jusangatsu 6/10 – Weirdly slow.

Gairoju 6/10 – Mitsuyubi but make it melancholic.

Ekitai 8/10 – Beautiful and haunting.

Damashi Ai 8/10 – A banger with a fantastic guitar solo.

Shiroi Koe 5/10 – One of their weaker ballads.

Jiu no Kuchizuke 8/10 – I really like the inclusion of traditional instruments and it’s perfect for Heaven’s Official Blessing.

Yureru Natsufuku 7/10 – Natsukoi, but not as catchy.

Umibe 6/10 – Has Sea sounds mixed into the instrumental, which sounds really pretty.

Number 7: Jaejoong – Born Gene (6,7/10)

Everything about this album is pretty. Jaejoong is pretty, the music is pretty, the packaging is pretty. NOBODY LIKE YOU actually barely missed out my top 10 songs. Jaejoong is one of the best K-Pop vocalists and he deserves much more. The packaging is pretty, but also nothing special. It’s just a box.

NOBODY LIKE YOU 8/10 – An uplifting song enhanced by Jaejoong’s vocals.

Tick-Tack 7/10 – An odd collaboration, but works beautifully.

BPM 6/10 – The chorus is great, but the rest is just fine.

I Want to Ask You 6/10 – A nice ballad, showing off Jae’s lower register.

Locking Love 5/10 – Has very romantic lyrics, but not much else.

Broken Mirror 8/10 – Has amazing chord progression. I also demand a live recording of it.

Walking on Water 7/10 – Reminds me of the old Disney Renaissance Musicals.

In the Rain 6/10 – Reminiscent of Ladies Code’s The Rain.

Number 8: ATEEZ – The World Ep.1: Movement (6,7/10)

This album really feels like a massive tonal shift for ATEEZ, but not an unwelcome one. I mean, Guerrilla is a fine title track, but there is one song on the album (we all know) that would have fit a bit better. Though Guerrilla captures the essence of the album and concept perfectly. The Album design is very similar to their other albums. It’s a box, though not as hard to open as Beginning to End (I will always be salty about that…). I think the most I can say about it, is that the colour gradient is pretty.

PROPAGANDA 7/10 – The perfect intro for this album.

Sector 1 7/10 – Would sound a lot better without the Autotune.

Cyberpunk 9/10 – Yeah, this is my new favourite song of them.

Guerilla 7/10 – It grew a lot on me. I really like the pre-chorus.

The Ring 5/10 – It could be a lot more.

WDIG (Where Do I Go?) 6/10 – The chorus doesn’t seem to fit the song.

New World 6/10 – Kinda generic.

Number 9: Forestella – The Beginning: World Tree (6,6/10)

I had barely gotten into Forestella when I bought this album purely because it looked pretty. I listened to Save Our Lives before. It’s a fantastic song. But this buy was purely because of morbid curiosity. Something I appreciate about this album is also that there are instrumental versions of all songs on it. I’m not including them in the score though. So yeah, the album is just a book, but the cover art is pretty, and the styling is gorgeous. Though there is a lot of photoshop involved in the photoshoot that makes the members look very odd and is unnecessary.

Intro: Runes 6/10 – Very pretty but seems to be silent for 10 seconds.

Save Our Lives 8/10 – Amazing chord progression combined with absolutely fantastic vocals and harmonies.

Moonlight 7/10 – Very haunting. It literally gives me chills.

Stay 6/10 – The harmonies are beautiful, but it’s probably the most uninteresting song on the album.

The Forest Song 6/10 – Beautiful highnotes. They could do without the choir though.

For Life 7/10 – Woorim’s vocals in this song are perfection.

Number 10: KEY – Gasoline (6,5/10)

This was probably the album I was looking forward to the most this year. Except for Minho’s but that’s an entirely different thing (and an album I don’t own yet). And I wasn’t disappointed. Well, mostly. The album does have some stinkers, but also some B-Sides that I really love. But I do have to complain about the album design. The VHS version is fine. But sadly, that’s not the version I have. I have the floppy disk and honestly. Whoever designed this was a sadist. You literally have to try and peel off the sticker holding the album together carefully or you will rip it. So yeah, it looks cool, but it’s not functional at all.

Gasoline 7/10 – Would be better without the chant.

Bound 9/10 – Absolutely fantastic. Should have been the title track.

Villain 7/10 – Pretty solid collab but should have been a Minkey subunit.

Burn 7/10 – Nice song with amazing vocals.

Guilty Pleasure 6/10 – It’s not a guilty pleasure song, but still nice.

G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time) 5/10 – I really don’t like the chorus.

I Can’t Sleep 6/10 – Causes Insomnia (real story).

Ain’t Gonna Dance 7/10 – Almost painfully gay.

Another Life 7/10 – Nice to finally have this song.

Delight 5/10 – Solid vocals, but not much more.

Proud 6/10 – Great, very sweet lyrics, but not much else.

Number 11: Kang Daniel – The Story (6,4/10)

As his very first album, this is pretty solid. It’s nothing outstanding, but still really good. I do believe that Daniel doesn’t need this many collaborations though. The packaging for this album is my favourite of the year. It’s supposed to mimic a book, but is a box. Yet the way it opens is just so satisfying. The way the cover fits the box is perfection.

The Story 7/10 – The perfect introduction to the album. Could have been the title track.

Upside Down 6/10 – A little too generic for my taste.

Loser 6/10 – Tries to cheer the listener up but falls flat.

Parade 8/10 – A concept I haven't seen done often in K-Pop. Daniel needs to do more stuff like this.

Don’t Tell 8/10 – The best collaboration on the album. This song is for the bisexuals.

Ride 4 U 6/10 – I don’t want Kang Daniel to die for me.

How We Live 6/10 – Kinda cute, but not much more.

Mad 6/10 – Daniel and Chancellor are a great team.

1000x 6/10 – Really pretty vocals.

Moment 5/10 – An okay ballad.

Number 12: ONF – Storage of ONF (6,4/10)

This album was a pleasant surprise during their military service period. The songs on it are nice and the remastered songs are a nice surprise, even though they don’t sound different to the OG songs to me. The packaging also looks really cool. It’s a ring book, essentially, with a planner and even foils to stick your photocards into. But it’s also the worst. The CD is in the cover, and I spend a good half hour trying to get it out without accidentally snapping it. I even googled, if I was supposed to get it out or if it’s just decoration. It’s also stuck in a giant plastic box, which seems really unnecessary to me.

Your Song 7/10 – As a song for the fans, it’s really nice and cute. Just like ONF. Makes me miss them.

Runaway 6/10 – The verses are really nice, but the chorus is a bit generic.

Traveler 5/10 – A boring ballad.

Gucci 6/10 – Just a tiny bit obnoxious, but also funny.

My Song 7/10 – Your Song, but as a ballad. Cute and wholesome.

On/Off (Remastered Ver.) 6/10 – Probably their most underrated title track. Doesn’t sound much different from the original.

If We Dream (Remastered Ver.) 6/10 – Still a nice ballad. Doesn’t sound much different though.

86400 (Remastered Ver.) 6/10 - Also still a nice ballad. Also doesn’t sound much different.

We Must Love (Remastered Ver.) 8/10 – Just as good as the Original.

Complete (Remastered Ver.) 6/10 – Still lowkey generic.

Number 13: Onew – DICE (6,3/10)

Finally having an Onew album that’s not just filled with ballads feels like a fever dream somehow. Onew is really good with cheerful songs and should do more of them. This album gives Atlantis a run for its money with shitty packaging though. It’s a thin, large magazine that doesn’t even properly protects its CD. It almost dropped to the ground and shattered when I unboxed it. That’s something so simple and yet they fucked it up.

DICE 8/10 – It’s cute and funky. Just like Onew.

Sunshine 8/10 – Similar to DICE this song is Onew in a nutshell.

On the Way 6/10 – His vocals are impeccable, but there is not much more to this song.

Love Phobia 5/10 – I appreciate the attempt, but it kinda falls flat.

Yeowoobi 5/10 – The verses are nice, but the chorus takes me completely out of the song.

In The Whale 6/10 – I wish there was something more going on.

Number 14: ONEUS – Trickster (6,1/10)

I bought this album out of morbid curiosity. I really don’t like the title track, but I heard one of the B-Sides in a random K-Pop video and I bought the album to see if there was anything else salvageable. There wasn’t really, but the album is still kinda nice overall. The album design is really cool though. The box looks like a giant card set and it even includes poker chips and its own 21 card set. The only issue I can find with it, is that it’s hard to open, because you don’t open the packaging at the side, but at the top. And it’s made from very thin cardboard.

Intro: Who Got the Joker? 6/10 – Too short

Bring It On 6/10 – Has good parts but is way too generic.

Skydivin’ 5/10 – Not as good as B.A.P’s SKYDIVE

Firebomb 6/10 – Really cool verses with a very painfully generic chorus.

Fragile 6/10 – It’s fine.

Mr. Wolf 8/10 – Should have been the title track.

Bring it On (English Version) 5/10 – If I wouldn’t know this is supposed to be English, I wouldn’t have realised it.

Number 15: Stray Kids – ODDINARY (5,8/10)

The ODDINARY album is fine. It’s not bad, but also not the best. I don’t have particularly strong feelings about it. The design is also simple. It’s just a box. It’s not easy to open, but also not too difficult. It’s just perfectly fine packaging.

VENOM 7/10 – Could have been the title track.

MANIAC 7/10 – The worse Maniac titled song this year, but still a bop.

Charmer 6/10 – I like the instrumental.

FREEZE 4/10 – The verses and pre-chorus’ are cool, but the chorus is the worst.

Waiting For Us 6/10 – It’s fine.

Muddy Water 6/10 – Has some good ideas but doesn’t execute them as well as they could be.

Number 16: TXT – Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child (5,8/10)

When I said, that I really liked the style of LO$ER=LOVER I didn’t expect them to do it again. And to be fair enough, while they tried, this Minisode is not as good as LO$ER=LOVER. I think they went a bit too far off the edge with this album. And the packaging… oh god the packaging. First of all, the protective covering is too small and so pulls the edges back a bit, making it look… not great. The photobook also creaks when you open it, which is a red flag to me. And the merch… it’s also bad. There was some sort of DIY 3D paper logo in the packaging that you need glue or duct tape for to build. I also ripped it while trying to build it.

Opening Sequence 7/10 – A great opener for the album.

Good Boy Gone Bad 6/10 – Goes a bit too far with the dark and edgy concept.

Trust Fund Baby 5/10 – I… I don’t know if they know what a trust fund baby is. Also, this is slightly creepy.

Lonely Boy (The Tattoo on my Ring Finger) 5/10 – A little too much autotune. This also is a weird ass song name.

Thursday’s Child has Far to Go 6/10 – Kinda generic.

Number 17: PURPLE KISS – memeM (5,6/10)

Overall, this album isn’t terrible. But it also includes one of the worst songs of the year, which drags it down a lot. RBW also really took inspiration from Happyface and the packaging of Summer Holiday for this album. It’s very thin cardboard and I ripped one of the edges while trying to open it.

Intro: Illusion 5/10 – The worst of their intros to date. The background sample is slightly obnoxious.

memeM 3/10 – Has parts that I like, but God damn, this is a style that doesn’t fit them at all.

Oh my Gosh 6/10 – Really generic.

Pretty Psycho 8/10 – Should have been the title track.

JOAH 5/10 – Gives me Taylor Swift vibes.

Hate Me, Hurt Me, Love Me 7/10 – Really cute and uplifting.

Cursor 5/10 – The chorus doesn’t fit the song.