Ukrainian pop: Svitlana Loboda - Down With Love (К Чёрту Любовь)

Eastern european rock often is rather sexual which can become a bit tedious when it done on routine, and even though I believe Svitlana could go easy on the lip-expansion, the video "Down With Love" does a great number of combining sexual tension with violence, making the borderline between sex not as clear as it normally is. As a fantasy it is surprisingly sublime and reminds me of Anna Sedokova's Between Us and "Heart In Bandages" in that the video creatively evolves inside its discourse.

• Svitlana Loboda - Down With Love (К Чёрту Любовь)

Kpop: Bubble X (버블엑스)

Bubble X's new video "Hit It" is a retro styled video with a really catchy soundtrack, but somehow I felt they had this coming as there has been something in their sound since their (formal) debut last year that has been promising more somehow. Together with Soliloquy they make up the new mini-album.

• Bubble X - Hit It (히릿)
• Bubble X - Soliloquy (혼잣말)
• Bubble X - Back Then I Wonder Why (그땐 왜 몰랐을까)

Jpop: Sasanomaly (ササノマリイ)

Sasanomaly (Sasano being his real name) or Nekobolo is a songmaker that has done lots of electronic songs using Hatsune Miku vocaloid among others, but in we can hear him sing himself in the beautiful video Synesthesia Ghost. The video makes a great use of animation where the animators (hands) are allowed to show but it just makes it even more metaphoric, a kind of love story where the main person transforms along with the girl he is chasing, the singing of Sasanomaly carrying us along.

• Sasanomaly - Synesthesia Ghost (共感覚おばけ)
• Sasanomaly - Re:verb
• Sasanomaly - Baloney Speaker (戯言スピーカー)
• Sasanomaly - Onomatopoeia Glasses (オノマトペメガネ)
• Sasanomaly - Things I Want You To Hear (きかせたいのは)
• Sasanomaly - Self-inflicted Achromatic (自傷無色)

Kpop: Turbo (터보)

There is a time for nostalgy and it seems this year may be the year for old kpop groups to return. Enter Turbo, the successful group from the 90s which now has returned 15 years after they disbanded. The song isn't too bad at all, actually, and ofc it is fun (or maybe not) for one-time fans to see their heroes return. ;-)

• Turbo - Again

Kpop: Taemin - Drip Drop & Press Your Number

We have already seen Taemin from Shinee do his solo debut in 2014 with "Danger", but new his first full album is being released and so here are two full videos, and I like both about equally. "Press Your Number" works better musically but maybe "Drip Drop" is more fun to watch.

• Taemin - Drip Drop
• Taemin - Press Your Number