Kang Daniel is back with his new full-length album ‘The Story’. Let’s dive right in!
The Story
We start off with the opening track ‘The Story’. The synth pop track has cool instrumentation and a very interesting layering. I really enjoyed this track! Tip, get your good headphones out. It’s worth it. The lyric ‘my life is like a show’ kind of fits with the eerie synth in the back that reminds me of a haunted circus.
After that comes the first of two title tracks ‘Upside Down’. This pop track has such a laidback 90s feel. I really love it! The music video has some literally gravity twisting dance moves and it was really cool to watch.
‘Loser’ featuring Dbo is up next. The instrumentation is more minimalist, but has some fantastic samples in the back. The R&B track is slow and feels quite raw. The chorus is a straight up vibe.
After that comes ‘Parade’ which is the second title track. This is a modern pop track with creepy organs and quite a diabolical energy. We go from creepy to summer pop in a couple of seconds and it’s quite the wild ride. I’m obsessed.
Next up is ‘Don’t Tell’ featuring Jessi. We’re going Latin pop with this one. The guitars are fantastic and I really enjoyed the blend of Jessi’s rap verse with Kang Daniel’s vocals. Grab your partner or your friends for a dance session.
‘Ride 4 U’ has a slower pace and introduces us to some of the best vocal moments of the album. I loved the moment when the instrumentals cut out and we solely get his vocals. It’s fab and the playing with the echoing effect was great.
Next up
After that we get ‘How We Live’ featuring Sokodomo. I absolutely love this old school hip-hop moment. The brass! I am obsessed. This summer hip-hop meets pop is such a vibe. Sokodomo’s feature is fantastic. What a great combo!
‘Mad’ featuring Chancellor is next. Chancellor has writing credits on almost all of the tracks together with Kang Daniel himself. This is another synth pop track that meets Chancellor’s fabulous R&B vocals. I dig this one a lot. Play this track to your exes or anyone you’re fighting with. The ‘Why are you so mad’ chanting by Kang Daniel just hits different.
We finally got our first ballad with ‘1000x’. It’s a fantastic vocal strong ballad that still has a lot of power behind it. I loved the chorus.
The closing track is ‘Moment’. This is such a soft closing track. Listening to this after ‘1000x’ is an emotional rollercoaster. Grab your tissues folks.
Overall, Kang Daniel did a fantastic job with ‘The Story’. The musical variety is insane and each song hits differently. The features are fantastic and well balanced. I like it a lot, and I’m sure it will resonate with fans and non-fans alike.
Go ahead and listen to it here.
