PSY is a household name in South Korea as a singer, but aside from that, little of note has been recorded of apart from the huge hit back in 2012 Gangnam Style. This means that PSY has spent quite some time in the musical wilderness. This has changed somewhat with the release of this album, which reminded the public that PSY still had some musical appeal, at least even temporarily. This album features another big hit from it, named That That which features SUGA of BTS. Regardless of the time lost in between hits, let’s take a look at this album and hear what it sounds like.

9INTRO begins with some heartbeat based sounds and launches into something really trashy and awful to listen to, even for the worst of K-Pop. It sounds really ordinary and low, and proves exactly why PSY never reached the heights of BTS. Some of the melodies here are okay, but this is a throwaway listen. It’s a poor excuse for an introductory track on an album, and the whole thing sounds really weird and unusual, not in a good way. Regardless, you can easily skip this tune. A really ordinary listening experience, and not worth your time. Avoid this, by all means.

That That (prod. & feat. SUGA of BTS) is the main hit here. It begins with some catchy brass sections and some contemporary lyrics by PSY and SUGA. No wonder this song has been a tremendous hit, it sounds instantly like a classic Pop tune in the K-Pop mould. A really awesome and catchy listen, this is a really uplifting, danceable and catchy tune from 2022. The lyrics and Rapping here perfectly complement the song at hand, and this sounds warped, colourful and interesting. A great mixture of sound, production and singing/rapping, this is a definite hit. “Do what you wanna! Say what you wanna! Do what you wanna!” is chanted at the end here. A great song, period.

Celeb is terrible from the start. It is a parody of what could be potentially good music. It sounds like a rubbish piece of Pop music with piano galore that, frankly, falls flat. Nothing good here, just enough for you to hurl this entire album into the nearest bin. It’s an awful listen, and PSY no doubt knew he could do much better than this garbage. In any case, this is not worth your time or ears. Forget it. The lyrics are pretentious, selfish and awful, and the instrumental section of this track is beyond terrible. If you want to hear absolute rubbish, this is your go-to point. Avoid at all costs. A joke.

You Move Me (feat. SUNG SI KYUNG) is another awful tune, which has processed vocals and clean guitar arpeggios to match. It sounds weird, because it is. A strange tune with some quacky Fender Stratocaster guitar parts throughout, this sounds really weird and unusual. The chorus is quite melodic, but honestly, this is not really appealing music throughout. In any case, this is an improvement on what has come before, but it sounds really much like more of the same here. It’s a super soppy and weird song to listen to, and quite frankly, sounds very cheesy. Fairly forgettable and Disco influenced, in the worst way possible, this is not really worth listening to. Very soppy, poppy and ordinary, you can skip this one if you wish. It ends with mellow vocals and clean electric guitar arpeggios to conclude. Weird.

Sleepless (feat. Heize) is a Korean love ballad. It has the guest singing sweetly over acoustic guitar and PSY doing the verses. It sounds fairly odd, but is supposed to be. It is weird nonetheless, but soothing and reassuring for music of its kind. An unusual, yet sweet love ballad, this is very beautiful and precious listening. A better point of this album, this sounds like a great piece for young lovers to enjoy. Wonderful and tuneful listening, this sounds very pretty and sweet, albeit weird. A really super sweet tune to hear anyway, this is a lovely listen throughout. Great song.

GANJI (feat. Jessi) begins with some digital bleeps, dirty basslines and some weird K-Pop styled singing and performing. It is an unusual listen all the same, and it sounds quite quirky as a result. This tune is actually quite good compared to the majority of the other tracks on this album. The lyrics and singing are fairly simple here. Jessi’s performance is quite good, and fits the music very nicely. An awesome, melodic and good tune to listen to, this is the better element of this album. Less than three minutes long, this is a good short and sweet listening experience. Excellent for what it is.

Now (feat. Hwa Sa) begins with a quick 4/4 kick drum beat, and launches into a rather awful 1980s sounding tune. It’s not the best, nor the most pleasant listening experience here. Hwa Sa’s vocals are quite nice, but this song sounds, quite frankly, awful and horrible. This is puerile rubbish, and it deserves to go into the dustbin of history. You should definitely skip this tune, it is not worth it at all. The high pitched key, cheesy sounds and awful musicality to this song ruin it all. A difficult listening experience to get through. The sounds and sonics are interesting, although their quality is sub-par. A musically deflating and draining listen. Avoid.

Happier (feat. Crush) begins with some unusual sounding piano parts, some calm vocals from PSY and Crush and a memorable Pop tune at hand. Again, this is very cheesy sounding musically but it works nicely on this song. It is an interesting listening experience, to say the least. After some time, the chorus kicks in with violins galore and the whole thing sounds really cool, clever and awesome. This is a good example of postmodern K-Pop that is made for the masses here, and it does sound really quite cool. Nonetheless, an interesting ballad that is designed to win over K-Pop and Pop fans, more so than appealling intellectually to one. A pleasant tune to listen to and enjoy, although this music is clearly aimed at teenage girls than any other age demographic here. In the second half is some simple and rather boring sounding Rapping. Eventually, this tune reaches a very awful climax towards the end, before finishing up. Good but far from great.

Hello Monday is a chugging piano ballad that has a good mixture of English and Korean singing from PSY. It is a short and sweet ballad to hear, and works nicely here. PSY sings very well here, and this tune sounds very impressive. He may not be the greatest K-Pop star, but PSY is undeniably the most important of them all. This set of songs proves that. There is a weird set of sounds to match the professional Pop production, and this tune is quirky, but good. Many clever and nicely assembled K-Pop song elements are present on this sub three minute long Pop piece, but this is way more textural than song based. Towards the end is a strange and unusual montage of sounds, particularly with the real bass guitar playing here. A good listen, all the same.

Everyday begins with a harp like looped melody, some reversed guitar feedback and launches into a miserable sounding tune by PSY. This isn’t impressive, and easily should have been dropped from this album. It is real rubbish, and worth skipping from the start. The melodies present aren’t hugely original, either. Regardless, this is barely okay, and sounds much more like quantity textures than quality Pop music. In any case, this is a good example of how bad today’s music can be without getting too technical about it all. A really moody, naff and uninspired piece of music to listen to, there is nothing special about this song. Please just avoid this music. The build up and climax are lame as well in the second half. The chanted Korean vocals towards the end are awful, and the music to match is not great either. Lame with a capital L, PSY proves exactly why he needs to stay in Korea, and go nowhere else musically. A poor musical statement.

forEVER (feat. TABLO) begins with some delayed and jangly guitar parts, with TABLO softly singing in English over the top of it all. It quickly launches into a good piece of music that is quite soothing. A really good tune to listen to, this is quite romantic and soothing sounding. This album’s music is very much a mixed bag, and this song has an awkward lyrical message in it, too. A really strange listening experience but something that K-Pop fans can relate to. Pretty soppy for a love song, but something that works in the right mood, this is an interesting tune to listen to and hear. A good and interesting listen that has a lush outro, but not a great song by any means. It ends smoothly.

Dear Me is the last tune here at over four minutes in length. It begins with a nice melody, and launches into quite a good song for its K-Pop intentions. It sounds really lovely, fluid and well-delivered. PSY obviously knew his craft, for the most part. This launches into a good chorus that sounds energetic, lively and wonderful. A really quirky but quite good listening experience. In any case, the music here is okay although nothing super special is on offer here. It is enough to put one off K-Pop for the rest of their lives. A good listen, without being an overly great one. The key change towards the end is, along with most key changes musically, awful and unnecessary. A drag to get through. Fortunately, it ends with a fade out and this ordinary album finishes. Meh.

This is not the greatest Pop/K-Pop album of 2022, let alone of all time. In fact, aside from the main hit, this is very ordinary music designed for dollars, not for artistry. PSY may have had his moments in Gangnam Style, but otherwise, he is quite unimpressive in this 2022 release. Should you listen to this album? Probably not, it’s sub par and mediocre.

Lame.

4/10