Over the past decade, Western and Asian pop music have developed an almost symbiotic relationship, but it hasn’t been equal. Current trends, represented by the success of popular acts such as BTS, EXO and Psy, have for the most part relied on conventional beats and sounds from the Billboard Hot 100. We’ve seen a sharp rise in impeccably polished K-pop, with high production values and savvy co-signs, but reflecting the mainstream American sound. Until XXX.
South Korean duo XXX are on a mission to break this glossy feedback loop, with their blend of industrial hip-hop and EDM that weaves between genres and offers sharp political commentary. While they seem to share a similar vision and creative process with contemporaries such as Death Grips, Daft Punk and even the Avalanches, their sonic execution stands unparalleled because of how it layers abstract samples to create abrasive beats. With their distinct melange of electronic features and synthesizers, the duo’s sound is yet to be replicated.
“Second Language” sounds more fleshed out and mature than XXX’s debut, which was titled “Language.” Both albums are conceptually similar, sharing multiple lyrical themes, but their sophomore project explores new, brighter sounds that prove the duo are capable of more than just cacophonous anger. The two albums are sonically unique, but cohesive in aim; they’re two very different dialects of the same language, if you will.
Rapper Kim Ximya flip-flops between braggadocios bars and anti-establishment politics in both Korean and English, effortlessly slipping between the two at whim. However, there is at times a noticeable disparity between his vocal delivery and the sonic color of the beats. The placid rising synths struggle to accommodate his brutal bars, like on “Ooh Ah.” Also, it would have been nice to see Kim experiment with more varied verses to match the ambitious vision that producer FRNK displays on this project. But this disconnect ultimately doesn’t detract much from the gorgeous end product.
“Second Language” demonstrates a more versatile sound for XXX, trading distortion, white noise and heavy sampling for bouncy synths. Plenty of incredible Asian artists are being championed in the mainstream, but it’s exciting to see an act with enough edge to cut through the pristine boy-band culture that has dominated the Korean musical landscape.
