Review: Kyungsoo – "Blossom"

With his new EP, the Korean multi-hyphenate Doh Kyungsoo (D.O.) moves on from the autumnal wistfulness of last year's Expectation with the hopeful spring of this year's Blossom.

Over the years Kyungsoo has developed an impressive catalog of low-fi pop that contrasts the bombast of the K-pop world from which he comes, and has given him his own lane in the often congested world of K-pop soloists. With the first album of his independent label, CompanySooSoo, Kyungsoo continues marching down his unique path while allowing for a colorful palette to soundtrack him as he goes.

The album's single, "Mars," begins the album by skipping toefirst into a bouncy uptempo tune where all the elements of the song converge to create a perfect little bit of pop harmony. Kyungsoo's strength as a vocalist has always been his ability to convey emotion with each syllable he wraps his tongue around and this opener is no different. It also acts as a signal of where Kyungsoo's ambition lies and informs the listener of the musical departure from Expectation and Empathy.

The follow-up track "Simple Joys" is, well... a simple joy. Here, Kyungsoo extols how love allows us to appreciate the small things in the world that we can otherwise overlook. It may not be revelatory in its lyrical theme, but it sure does understand what it wants to say and Kyungsoo understands how to convey it.

The pre-release track, "Popcorn," is next, and, for good reason, it has attracted the most attention. It’s Kyungsoo embracing a silliness to his romantic earnestness that makes the song feel fresh while still feeling like a traditional Kyungsoo serenade. The somewhat corny simile of a love like bursting popcorn wins over the most cynical listener through the pure strength of Kyungsoo's vocal conviction. And if you don't believe me, even his bandmate Baekhyun recognizes.

The tempo changes with the track four ballad, "Good Night." Perhaps it’s where I am in my own life that made this song strike such a chord with me, but "Good Night" is as effective a ballad as you will find anywhere. Instead of singing to a significant other, he provides a song of quiet strength and calm to himself as he is left alone with nothing but his anxious thoughts at night. Here, Kyungsoo the actor delivers the lyrics like a lullaby and it falls over you like a warm blanket, encouraging the rest we all seek.

"My Dear" is an acoustic-pop song that most resembles the Kyungsoo of the past. And while that may sound like a good thing, unfortunately, this love vow is not as effective as what he’s done before. The song has its heart in the right place, but I found myself thinking of previous Kyungsoo songs that did this style better. I forgot it as soon as it ended.

He redeems himself with "About Time" — the album closer. Here, he reflects back on the sentiments of previous songs and finishes the collection in a collision of the album's infatuated jubilance with sober reflection. It acts perfectly as a bittersweet cap on the themes of love, time, and memory.

Blossom offers a number of entries to the current Kyungsoo playlists of earnest love and equally earnest regrets. I didn't end up liking it as much as I did Expectation, but I appreciated the shift in instrumental direction to profess a different set of emotions and avoid repetition. If this is where Kyungsoo goes when controlling his artistic career, he'll be fine.

3.5/5