And, as always, we end up in South Korea…
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[6.67]
Patrick St. Michel: It’s easy to forget that the “anti-idol” image can just be another form of marketing, and that lesson is important to keep in mind when approaching seemingly subversive artists such as Puer Kim. There have definitely been some modifications since her early indie days, but as Melissa Johnson writes, Kim has been given a chance to create a nice balance between accessibility and unease. “Bank” sounds like a relatively easy-on-the-ears affair, all of its sonic qualities taken straight from the Ocean’s 11 trilogy. Yet the lyrics add some scratches to the glossy exterior with a critical — but not too radical — take on the day-to-day grind. It’s a compromise, but one that manages to retain enough intrigue.
[7]
Iain Mew: “Bad Girls” reimagined as a song about aspiration rather than a celebration. What it loses in glee, Kim makes up for in determination and calm certainty.
[7]
Brad Shoup: “Work Bitch” was a song about shapely calves hidden beneath lyrical bootstraps; in a nice reverse, “Bank” is concerned with drawing compound interest. The clue probably should have been in the production, which was fished from the Dust Brothers’ dollar bin: jazz bass, two-note bari sax figures, and drums recorded down the corridor. Puer Kim acts like she already knows, delivering the secrets of her success so coolly, you practically have to… er, lean in.
[7]
Micha Cavaseno: If Bernard Butler had maybe a bit more flex in his wrist, his production on the bait-Winehouse imitation of Duffy’s “Mercy” could maybe echo this gem of Ronson-esque lite-funk. Like the beat, Puer Kim’s song is about a certain amount of diligence and lurk that, depending on the mood, sounds like calculated submission or anxious frustration, knuckling under the snare pops and clenching it’s jaw for the next day. It’s workmanlike in a perfect sense, but lacks a vocal energy and presence that would’ve given this just the perfect bit of buoyancy.
[6]
John Seroff: Puer’s Dr. Demento-meets-Stray-Cat-Strut shimmy shimmy evokes a less wonky Joanna Wang. “Bank” is cleverly cute, long-legged, electropop jazz with what appears to be strikingly tongue-in-cheek lyrics and an appeal beyond the language barrier.
[7]
Jessica Doyle: The melody feels too simple to stick around; I’ve been debating whether or not I care, given how much I like the idea of looking for love as Taylorist trudge. My solution to this (which is not really a solution) is to keep listening to Korean Vowels.
[6]