[album review] Block B - BLOCKBUSTER

Block B | BLOCKBUSTER
October 17, 2012

1. 11:30
2. Interlude
3. 닐리리맘보*
4. Mental Breaker*
5. 장난없다 (No Joke)*
6. Movie's Over
7. 넌 어디에
8. 로맨틱하게*
9. 했어 안했어
10. Halo
11. 닐리리 맘보 (inst.)
12. Mental Breaker (inst.)

*recommended tracks

★★★☆






Yes, I normally don't listen to idol albums. With idol groups, I tend to just check out their singles and don't bother with their albums. But based on my limited familiarity with such albums, Block B's latest album BLOCKBUSTER is probably one of the best idol albums I've heard in recent times. Even when I just consider singles, the title track "Nillili Mambo" takes the cake. It's seriously one of the best idol songs to come out this year, and definitely tops when I narrow it down to male groups. But more on that later. There's lots to dig through in this album.


BLOCKBUSTER is full of different colours that aptly showcase the group's charms. The opening track of the album "11:30" is a suave R&B-influenced hip-hop track that is solid and really showcases the talent of the group. Taeil sounds pretty good, but it's Zico that really owns the track. Zico is hands down the best idol rapper out there right now and he shows it in this opening track, bursting into the scene with a speed rap verse which is just fantastic. He is clear, his lyrics are witty enough (I especially liked the reference to the London Olympics fencing incident. Very fresh.) and he has great flow. And then there's P.O, who probably has one of the most attractive voices in k-pop at the mo'. This song is sexy, and it's definitely a solid song that shows a different side to the group that the audience might not be familiar with.

Although "11:30" is an excellent song, I did feel that it wasn't suited to be the opening track to the album. Especially since the song following "11:30" is the "Interlude" which basically opens for the title track "Nillili Mambo". The sheer epicness of the "Interlude" and the anticipation it induces makes it far more fitting to be the opening track to the album, and it's a shame that it isn't. Nonetheless, the album has now come to the real deal.

This is the shit right here. "Nilli Mambo" is just brilliant. It's perfectly executed, with fantastic string arrangements that fuse so well with the electronic beats of the song. It's extremely similar to "Nalina", but "Nillili Mambo" is a mind-blowing upgrade from their previous single. The song blows my mind with its attention to detail every time I listen to it. There are so many hook elements in the track, aside from the main hooks; from P.O's growl that connects the instrumental opening to Zico's introduction, to the shouts of "얘들아!(guys!)" during the chorus, to the FX of the gun shots, to P.O (again)'s great ad-lib that finishes the song on a flourish... This song is meticulous and it's just choke full of details that make it such a catchy track. As if that wasn't enough, Zico's rap verses, full of punches that fit so well with the beat of the song, are so much fun with great flow and a catchy melody. Kyung follows suit pretty well, although there's that one line that seems oddly rushed which throws me off every time. The vocals aren't anything amazing here, but they fit so well into the song. And, of course, P.O. Jackpot. His voice is just so attractive in this song and it's definitely one of the best parts of the song. I want to applaud whoever thought of giving him so much lines because he fucking shines and now I have a newly found fascination with this oddball and the drug that is his voice. Putting my pyo feels aside though, "Nillili Mambo" is one killer of a track, flowing seamlessly and never boring. And just so many layers without sounding messy or painful, which is later proven by the amazing instrumental track. Seriously, the instrumental is great by itself. That's how awesome this song is. Simply brilliant. I want to give it all my loving.

"Mental Breaker" is a really fun song. Nowhere close to "Nillili Mambo" but it's got a great electronic tune and an extremely catchy chorus. I even found myself singing along to it. Kyung's rap here is much better than his in "Nillili Mambo", and Zico's bit of singing is spot-on. I love P.O's rap here as well. Seriously, at this point, this boy can do no wrong to my eyes.

My boy P.O opens the next track, "장난없다 (No Joke)", which is a daring hip-hop track featuring the rappers of the group. An okay hip-hop track, amazing idol track, "No Joke" stands out because of the context of the song and the subject matter of the song which deals with the group's comeback after the Thailand fiasco. The next track, "Movie's Over" is another smooth R&B-influenced track which showcases Zico's impressive vocal skills. With a bit more training he'll actually make a pretty decent vocalist. "넌 어디에" is probably one of the weakest songs on the album. It's nice to hear Taeil sing, but it's an extremely generic ballad track that doesn't bring anything new to the table. And I can't help feeling that Taeil's more suited to be an R&B singer than a ballad singer.

"로맨틱하게" is some jazzy fun, and P.O (never enough!)'s rap is perfect for the mood of the song. There were some vocal elements of the song that are weaker than others (I'm not sure who, but it might be B-Bomb and/or Jaehyo) but overall, another solid track that's a real joy to listen to. I'm not sure whose scatting that is near the end of the song (I'm assuming Taeil?) but it's really impressive. Definitely the highlight of the song for me.

The following two tracks of the album, "했어 안했어" and "Halo" are both rehashed songs from previous minis. "했어 안했어" is a well-polished love song, but it's nothing new and forgettable. "Halo" is better than "했어 안했어" with its hip-hop heavy beats. The rapping is smooth and easy on the ears throughout the track, and although I'm not the biggest fan of Park Kyung (I find him to be a boring lyricist), he sounds really good in this song - his voice cuts through the bass and the low notes quite nicely. The "raise your hands if you hate me" lines near the end could have been brought out more, though.

I've already talked about the instrumental track for "Nillili Mambo" earlier but I simply can't recommend it more. It's such a great track on its own. It almost sounds like a soundtrack to an awesome action movie. The instrumental for "Mental Breaker" is less interesting.

Overall, BLOCKBUSTER is an exceptional first album for an idol group. Although at this point, it'd be an understatement to call Block B just an idol group, as I believe they're something more than that. I'm glad that they seem to really know their fortes now - Zico's flow and clarity, Kyung's light tone and style, P.O's voice - and it's admirable to see how they're constantly trying to improve in their more weaker areas. And even with the filler tracks of BLOCKBUSTER that are just average, there are a couple of songs on this album that make up for it with their brilliance.


 
Block B - Nillili Mambo music video.