INSOMNIAC SONG

26.02.2014

2NE1- Crush

This release should have been titled the CL Show. Out of all four women, it felt to the causal listener that these were all CL featuring these other chicks rather than a cohesive release by the group. CRUSH will likely please 2NE1’s fanbase. After all, there are some repetitive weak English lyrics and the usual rapping from CL combined with Bom’s lackluster vocals. There wasn’t anything really new brought to the table. I found myself struggling not to skip the song altogether. COME BACK HOME is another rather generic song. Were these all leftovers just to get something released? It wasn’t terrible, but the whole song was killed for me when they got to the 'come baby baby come baby come come' part. Was that even necessary? It didn’t add anything to the overall feel of the song. Gotta Be You might have been good by another group. Did they steal this song from another group on their label? I listened to it a few times, but I can’t shake how it sounds like something I’ve heard before. Whatever it was, the song certainly isn’t something that would stand out for me. The ladies have had much better material in the past. If I Were You tries to switch things up with a power ballad. The vocals simply don’t stand out as anything special. It’s probably the song that casual listeners will like the most because it isn’t abrasive. However, it tends to be forgettable after the first listen. Good to You follows the ballad train to an even lighter station. This track and the previous one shouldn’t have been placed on the album back to back. Instead, they should have been spaced out in order to keep them from meshing together. I’m fairly sure that the song is supposed to have a longing feel. Rather than a sensual longing, the delivery comes off as lazy. MTBD (CL Solo) sounds like the same style that she tried with her previous solo release. For someone who calls herself ‘the baddest female’, I was far from impressed with her rapping. There seemed to be a lot of filler noises in this one just to fill spaces where she didn’t have any lyrics. That wasn’t giving any credit to the lyrics she used. Borrowing and altering lyrics from Inner Circle’s Bad Boys is just lazy. Let’s not forget the random Disney and days of the week thrown in there. HAPPY has more of a straight pop sound. It’s rather refreshing after the last few tracks. Unfortunately, the song isn’t quite catchy enough to really stick with you after a few listens. If pushed a little further, it could have been a memorable pop song that might have elevated this release a bit. SCREAM was originally released as their second Japanese single. This will probably be the best song on the entire release. It’s sad considering that it’s simply a rehash of an older track from two years ago. BABY I MISS YOU is a fairly standard filler track. The ladies seem to be coasting through this release without much effort or any real strengths being shown. It doesn’t particularly feel as if they’re singing to a lover or truly missing the subject of the track. The ‘miss you’ and ‘I love you’ sound rather bland. COME BACK HOME (unplugged ver) really isn’t necessary. The biggest asset to the track is that their voices aren’t as processed and strained. At the same time, that’s also where it’s biggest weakness lies. The flaws are on display without all the extras to cover them up. However, that can be endearing. This song really expresses exactly what I feel is wrong with 2ne1 overall. They rely far too much on the lacquer their producers slap on to each track. It’s a crutch that fails to allow them to branch out and grow. Until they find a decent balance, they’ll continue to waver musically.

Rating: 2/5

Recommended tracks: Scream; Come Back Home (unplugged version)