[Review] Son Dam Bi ‘Dripping Tears’
This review appropriately follows in the footsteps ofSon Dam Bi. In the same way that she kept the K-Pop world restlessly awaiting her comeback, I delayed writing this review. Though the two weeks or so of this writing this review are pale in comparison to the two years in which Son Dam Bi maintained her distance from releasing new material. However, if my multiple listens and opinions of her latest mini-album release, ‘Dripping Tears‘, serve as any clue, the product was well worth the wait for hardcore Son Dam Bi fans. Yet those unfamiliar may be left wondering why such a big fuss was put up about her return.
The first track of the mini-album is a brief introduction appropriately titled “Return“. The lyrics, all in English, appropriately express her acknowledgement that she has been away for a while and that she has been missed by her fans. This is a blunt, yet mostly effective, attempt to form an intimate connection with her fan base, especially from an international standpoint—hence the English lyrics. While intro tracks of this short nature are rarely worth mentioning in a musical sense, I enjoyed the montuno-esque solo piano introduction that gradually layered into the more electro-dance music that many would associate with her.
The title track “Dripping Tears” starts off with similar instrumental elements as the intro did: an acoustic piano juxtaposed with a dance-based background. However, the stylistic elements are far different, and the juxtaposition between the two create for an interesting sonic effect. The piano, accompanied by the solemn rainfall, create a melancholy atmosphere. This is transposed over a typical moderate tempo dance track. We’ve seen this type of sonic atmosphere achieve great success before, notably withSISTAR‘s “Alone“. While “Dripping Tears” is a different genre of dance music compared toSISTAR‘s sad disco track, it creates for a rather enjoyable listening experience. Yet despite this, what potential there would have been for a memorable “wow” factor is not present. Repeated playing of this song renders the song vanilla. The video tried to compensate for this, but the “artistic” intent just ends up being awkward. Not to detract from the nice listen, this song will sadly only likely be remembered due to its association withSon Dam Bi‘s name, which explains its somewhat poor chart performance.
On the occasions that I would simply play this mini-album in the background, I would often times mistake the next track “Did I Think” as a continuation of the previous song. The instrumental builds and overall feel are rather similar. However, there are certainly elements in this track that make it perhaps more of standout track than the previous. For one, Son Dam Bi appropriately experiments with her vocals more here than the previous track. I say “Did I Think” in many ways resembles the vocal and compositional style of J-Pop artistUtada Hikaru—who I am self-admittedly a huge fan of.Son Dam Bi‘s sampling of her falsetto-like vocal quality over a dreamy piano based instrumental conjures up direct images of Utada. Also, “Did I Think” is filled with a lot more dynamics in its composition whereas the only change of pace in “Dripping Tears” appears in its middle 8. It’s due to these elements that this track is one of the stronger and compositionally more complete on this release.
The next track “Emergency Call” is a more energetic dance tune.Son Dam Bidemonstrates a stronger vocal presence in this piece, her voice projecting powerfully in the refrain sections of the song. This matches the intensity of these sections well, which is dichotomous from the mellow, more minimalist, verse sections. “Emergency Call” is certainly an enjoyable dance track, following in the vein of what one would expect withSon Dam Bi‘s work to this point. Is it the greatest dance track to ever be released? No. But as a filler piece, it certainly stand heads above many others I’ve come across.
The final piece, “Loved and Missed“, is the most ballad-like ballad on this track. This track is the most vocally impressive track on the piece, withSon Dam Bieffortlessly demonstrating vocal control between her crooning whispers and soaring full voice. However, at the same time, this piece also demonstrates that she is not nearly of the same vocal caliber demonstrated this year as, say,AileeorBrown Eyed Girls’Ga In. Thus, the ballad lacks any lasting effectiveness from this standpoint, but considering her circumstance, she does pull all of the stops that one would normally expect.
“Dripping Tears” is not a bad mini-album, however, the overall effort was mediocre on every level. This resulted in one of the most anticipated comebacks this year to be among the most disappointing. I’m not buying the idea that she’s becoming more mature with her increasing age: this music doesn’t show refinement or taste that would only come with aging. It is just a weak comeback. I’ve read in media outlets that many considerSon Dam Bito be the Queen of K-Pop. While at some point, this may have been an appropriate title, her crown has been lost.
