Soul Food

New Jeans | 2022 | 7.5/10
Genre: K-pop, R&B
Written By: Austin

With their debut, New Jeans suggests a trendier alternative to the idol music scene. The most notable aspect of this album that differentiates it from other idol albums is its approach to production. The producers on this album 250 and FRNK are well known for their pursuit in the experimental hip hop genre. Because of this, it is clear that each song is centred around the soundscape provided by the instrumentals instead of the traditional approach where producers had to fit the image that the executive wanted to present.

The record cannot exactly be described as cohesive since the continuous motifs within the lyricism were one-dimensional to some extent. However, the album is a complete experience in terms of sound where it is full of playful, intricate and dreamy beats, taking influences from the twee pop and hyper pop genres. A personal favourite beat is <Attention> with its approach to sampling being rarely scene in its respective field.

Looking from hindsight, the influence that this album has brought is incomprehensible. One point of constant criticism for this album is that it is a ‘commercial product’ only meant to maximise profit. However, one thing to understand is that due to the idol culture in Korea, most of the creative work is done outside of the group themselves; this is no exception for New Jeans. Hence, it would be a more holistic approach to rate this in terms of the experience it presents. In that case, the complete sound it gives to the audience deserves praise in every sense.