BACK TO K-POP’S FIRST GENERATION: Click-B – Gate Of Honor

K-Pop’s first generation is often referenced as the foundation for the industry we enjoy now, but there aren’t enough good English-language sources that give its music the focus it deserves. I’m hoping to change that with a continuing flashback series, spotlighting personal highlights from the era – both iconic and obscure.

The era in question is often considered to run from the debut of Seo Taiji & Boys in 1992 to the emergence of TVXQ in late 2003. The music featured in this series will largely fit within that time frame, give or take a few years on either side.

It was a time of bonkers song structures, wild fashion, slamming techno beats, bad reggae impressions, flagrant use (theft?) of American hip-hop samples, hearty power ballads, foul language, the growliest rapper tones you can imagine and an anything-goes scrappiness that’s impossible to pigeonhole. To borrow the name of a popular second-gen act, these years were the “big bang” of an emerging musical powerhouse, still finding its footing and throwing everything at the wall.

Check out other “Back to K-pop’s First Generation” reviews here.

In its infancy, the idol side of K-pop made room for many unique configurations. Yes, there were the typical song and dance acts inspired by the Japanese idol system and other international pop groups, but every once and awhile the industry would deliver something a bit different.

Click-B are one of my favorite first-gen groups. Much of that is due to their super-solid catalog of music, but I’m also enamored by their blend of dance, hip-hop and rock. On one hand, they’re a band playing instruments that can churn out credible takes on retro rock music. Yet, they also functioned as a more typical idol dance act. This configuration lent itself to great genre-blending songs.

Back in 1999 when they debuted, their agency Daesung Entertainment (now DSP Media) was one of the biggest in the business – home to popular 80’s act SoBangCha and later chart-topping idol groups Sechskies and Fin.K.L. They had a ton of commercial firepower behind them, and it was put to good use on music like Gate Of Honor (환영문). It’s hard to pick a favorite Click-B title track, but this one certainly stands near the top. It’s also a great example of their aforementioned genre blend, stomping out of the gate as a fantastic rocker before unveiling catchy rap verses and an anthemic chorus underlined by 90’s dance elements. Tying it all together is a thrilling energy and anything-goes song structure that keeps things constantly interesting.

Grade: A-