F.Cuz – No One
F.Cuz makes their official physical release debut with a mini-album that is so typical K-Pop, that it’s killed by it’s own originality.
Where I think the producers went wrong is in the change of style they made to the group so that they would sound more mainstream/obtain more fans. They released Jiggy first as a digital single, which I really enjoyed. Unlike other boy groups out there, the song was, as long as Korean synthpop goes, cute. It had nice hooks, likable vocals and a simple melody. But now the boys have taken the “dark+sexy” route, which is also portrayed in their music.
The title track is No One, the biggest offender in why this mini-album is a lot worse than what it could have been. All we get is an over-produced instrumental(which isn’t always a bad thing when it’s done right), a slacking and lazy verse and an amazingly unoriginal hook+chorus. There’s times wen you can repeat a word/phrase and make it sound catchy, but F.Cuz’s heavy autotuned voices didn’t get it right this time.
The rest of the material on the album is slightly better, although it’s typical K-Pop music. Go is my favorite of the new tracks ’cause it mixes an upbeat chorus with a more serious melody and is overall catchy while not overdoing the “over-production” thing. Boy Meet Girl is similar, while Because Of You is more of the same, but heading toward the R&B genre.
I was excited for F.Cuz’s first mini-album, but I was disappointed. It’s a shame they had to convert into the sexy or “beastly” image as the netizens call it, since their cute style was something fresh and new.
♠Overall Rating♠
No One is F.Cuz’s debut mini-album and it was released on March 11, 2010.
♠Tracklisting♠
1. Go♠
2. No One
3. Because Of You
4. Boy Meet Girl
5. Jiggy♠♠
6. No One (Inst.)
Ugh, I’m totally with you on “No One.” It’s very unfortunate that this is the song they chose to make into a MV, because I positively cringed at it… just too manufactured and with little originality to back it up.
But from the sounds of it, the rest of the album is pretty decent. I guess I’ll have to give it a second chance (never looked beyond that horrendous “No One” single)