BACK TO K-POP’S FIRST GENERATION: K-Pop – Shadow

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.

Yes, there was actually a K-Pop group called… K-Pop. How incredibly meta. This comes only two years after the term “K-Pop” was first coined in 1999. It really didn’t take the industry long to fully embrace the branding.

K-Pop (the band) only lasted two albums, but their first is well-worth seeking out. It comes in the post-Backstreet Boys/Nsync era and echoes those sounds the way many boy groups of the time did. It’s become something of a pet project of mine to seek out as much music from this specific sub-genre as I can – no matter how obscure. And believe it or not, K-Pop is nowhere near the most obscure group working within this realm. You can find their music on streaming and they have their own namuwiki page.

On to Shadow, which was the biggest hit of their brief career. The song marries new jack swing influences with the slamming Swedish pop sound that dominated the early-2000’s. It’s not a particularly notable example of the form, but the track is well-produced and polished to a fine sheen. I love how aggressively the percussion hits, especially as it stabs its way toward the chorus. Shadow’s hook employs a catchy run up and down the scale, utilizing familiar melodies to maximum effect. It’s a blast of fun, throwback energy and there are many more tracks like it on their album.

Grade: B