K-trot? Why not?
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[7.11]
Jonathan Bogart: Aw, I love you too.
[8]
Frank Kogan: Deep molasses beats at the start, perfect for Minzy’s and CL’s slow desperation. Then, about 30 seconds in, a release into “I love you,” slight and bright and a rhythm they’re calling “trot” but that’s not as fast and two-step as I imagine trot’s supposed to be. Then a verse, and a pre-chorus interlude that allows Bom to emote, then back to the dancing “I love you’s,” etc. I like that 2NE1 and Teddy and co. aren’t standing on past achievements, and this gets me whenever the bass asserts itself. But I think I’d have preferred the whole thing as dark molasses.
[7]
Anthony Easton: One of the things I loved about generic ’90s English house was when it would use a found sample to introduce what would turn out to be a set of fairly generic beats. I cannot find out who did the original line of this, but this and the general happy energy remind me of that place. The rest of it — the sung “yeah yeah yeah”s, the pouncing beat, the place where love may refer to any number of things, most of them unrelated to a long-term commitment, and that line where she sings “bring me back” — is pleasant enough, but I still love 2NE1 mostly for its corporate construction. Like the Jeff Koons of K-pop.
[7]
Alfred Soto: A multi-part symphony much like the one appearing on the Donna Summer album on which its namesake shares space, delineating every psychic peak and valley. As usual the voices have a welcome frisson to which the backing track can’t catch up.
[4]
Iain Mew: They seem to be getting more subtle with each passing single, but that just means that they’re showing everyone else how to do this whole dance pop thing in slightly different ways. Here it’s by taking a bunch of current in sounds and taking all the edges off them so that they sound newly warm and encompassing, and floating feelings across them in a way that aches. Still time for a deliciously unsubtle blast of CL at the end, too.
[9]
Colin Small: The song is great in between when she stops speaking in English and when the bass drops. The rest is merely good.
[5]
Edward Okulicz: “I Love You” is as club-ready and propulsive as any loud-but-drab number polluting the charts in the Anglosphere, but so much more bright-sounding. For much of its running length, it could have been anyone, then just one impeccably impish “bring it back” at 2:45 and it’s unmistakeably the same women who thrilled us with “I Am The Best.” The thrills only multiply from there.
[9]
Patrick St. Michel: After a year of trend pieces and made-for-Nickelodeon movies, K-Pop is ready to rush the English market. Earlier this week, Wonder Girls released “Like Money,” an all-English single featuring Akon as the recognizable Western name. Girls’ Generation, meanwhile, still have a David Letterman appearance and a photo with Bill Murray under their belt while they plan their next move. Yet I’m convinced that, if any of these groups can breakthrough, it will be 2NE1, because songs like “I Love You” (set to be released in English, probably around the time they tour America this summer) demonstrate the depth their music can obtain. Last year, 2NE1 mostly puffed out their chests, sonically body slamming folks on “I Am The Best” and hating some “you” on “Hate You.” They’ve also had less confident moments – “Ugly,” “Lonely,” “It Hurts.” “I Love You” isn’t as easy to classify. The lyrics focus on unrequited feelings, of not knowing if those affections are returned and waiting for phone calls that may never arrive. The actual music, though, blows this emotion up, the chorus in particular turning those three titular words into something that sounds like life or death. The group has even said this takes elements from traditional Japanese enka singing, a genre best at turning lost love into epic material. “I Love You” is rife with a tension that builds as the song bounces through its various segments, and it looks like 2NE1 are headed towards some sort of climax when CL raises her voice before singing “we can’t go wrong.” But then the song swivels back to a quieter bounce, the sound of constantly refreshing your text messages to see if they finally got back. Even the outburst at the very end is just the sound of someone letting their guard down and letting frustration seep out a bit. 2NE1 have never sounded so vulnerable, while still sounding so big and catchy. They turn the everyday into something massive and something I can’t stop listening – I hope this takes off abroad.
[10]
Brad Shoup: Can trad and modern cancel each other’s pleasures out? CL seems to think so, and she does her best to rock this pleasant voyage.
[5]