2020 B-Sides: First Quarter

With so many great comebacks this year and many groups releasing arguably their best title tracks to date, many casual fans of certain groups may have missed out on some incredible B-sides. But fear not! The Kraze is here this week with some of the B-sides we enjoyed for the first quarter of the year.

January’s Pick: “Fire” by SF9

“Fire” by SF9 was mentioned in our article “Nine B-Sides From SF9” back in July, so it should come as no surprise that this track was one of our favorites from January. The track has made a lasting impression and is still arguably their best B-side to date. The pop track with a Latin kick may not mean much lyrics-wise—after all, it is just about the boys seeing a girl so beautiful they can’t help but stare even though they’re too nervous to approach—but it’s the opening of the track, beat of the verses picking up into the bridge before kicking off for the chorus, and the repetitive nature of the chorus that has us putting this track on repeat 11 months after its release. You can read our review for their first album FIRST COLLECTION here.

February’s Pick: “Red Sun” by Dreamcatcher

Dystopia: The Tree of Language marked Dreamcatcher’s first full-length Korean release and the release of title track “Scream.” With Dreamcatcher, you’re always bound to get an amazing title track with some equally amazing B-sides and that’s exactly what “Red Sun” is. This track was promoted alongside “Scream” back in February and even received a special clip video in April. The eerie dollhouse vibe mixed with some baroque elements commonly heard in Japanese visual kei group Versailles’ discography is a very different direction for the queens of metal pop, and it only gets more interesting during Dami’s rap verses when the hip-hop elements are introduced. If you missed it, you can read our review of the album here.

March’s Pick: “After Dark” by Ong Seongwu

While track “WE BELONG” was released in January, Ong Seongwu’s first mini-album with B-side “After Dark” wasn’t released until March 25, 2020. While known for his K-Dramas and as a member of former group WANNA ONE, we’ve gotten to see many sides of Seongwu, but he shines in his debut mini-album LAYERS. “After Dark” opens with a twinkling synth beat and his soft voice and it stays relatively soft and slow throughout. There’s no real tempo changes, but there are buildups into the choruses, which is where his voice truly soars. It’s a beautiful B-side and has a dream-like quality to it due to that twinkling synth heard throughout. While the track itself is beautiful, it is also rather sad as Seongwu expresses the struggle to find himself to the point of losing sleep.