“‘amortage’ is a fusion of amor (love) and montage, capturing the essence of love’s journey – fleeting moments stitched together into a vivid, unforgettable reel” – this Jisoo teaser image.
I wondered what that meant. Now it doesn’t sound as silly with that explanation attached. Anyway, alright, we’re on solo number two with BLACKPINK. I remember when I saw them back in 2019, Jisoo’s solo performance was a house track. I think it was “Clarity” by Zedd. I remember I enjoyed her cover and hoping whenever her solo released, it would be in this genre. And apparently, Miss Jisoo agrees. AMORTAGE is all dance tracks, and I’m here for it. So let’s get into it!
“earthquake” is my favorite song off the album, hands down. I wasn’t sure about it on my first listen, but I gave it a day or two before listening to it again. And now I’m hooked. It totally gets better with every listen. It doesn’t do anything spectacular. But it works well with Jisoo’s voice and style.
When ranking the Pinks voices, Jisoo’s vocals are my least favorite in the group. But I think she does a good job knowing her limits and not over doing anything. I’ve said this before, but I don’t think you have to have like Ariana Grande vocals to be a musician. Or have that stop you from making great music. I always use Selena Gomez as an example for this. I don’t think she can sing at all, but she has some of THE best pop songs out there.
I noticed (and love) that Jisoo has writing credits on all these songs. I think “earthquake” is the best example of keeping it simple but having fun at the same time. They went big on it and I can’t wait for remixes of it. I need a Hitchhiker remix of “earthquake”. Korean clubs I’m sure are already working on remixes that will have the place jumpin.
The instrumentals and Jisoo’s ad libs sell the song for me. The instrumentals throughout AMORTAGE are chef’s kiss. Shout out to the music arrangement team at Warner. I saw someone on Reddit, I think, say she was reheating Kylie Minogue’s nachos. I agree with this statement so hard. There’s a lot going on in the music video. I love the dramatics and styling.
I love the lavender choice for Jisoo. It’s one of my favorite colors after baby pink and mint/seafoam green. I will at some point get a physical copy of AMORTAGE because I adore the styling in the concept photos. She really killed it with the aesthetics for this album.
And now there’s a performance video out too. Love to see it.
The choreo here is fun and easy as well. I like that there are tons of dancers and the swapping between the male and female dancers in the performance video. We have different views of the dancers in the music video as well, but idk the transitions in the performance video hit different. I will be watching every performance of this damn song. I love it so much.
So “earthquake” kicks off the album, with a bang, and I’m glad they arranged it that way. The second song is “Your Love” and it’s pretty good. Not something I think I’ll come back to. It slows things down a bit, but you can still dance to it. I wasn’t expecting Jisoo to have so much English sung on this album. She does a great job switching between the languages fluidly. I love the instrumentals in “Your Love” as well. If they released an instrumental only version, I’d play it into the ground, lmao.
“Tears” also has fantastic instrumentals in it. Another song that’s alright. It might grow on me later on. I’d say it’s my third favorite song off the album. I like the rhyme of cheers with tears. “Hugs & Kisses” is the last song on the album and my second fave song. It feels like a direct b side to “earthquake”. I love the bass in this one so much.
My favorite music arrangement on AMORTAGE. Overall, I’m incredibly impressed with AMORTAGE. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I do, but the more I listen to it, the more obsessed I become with it. I knew visually I’d love what she and her team would come up with, but wow. This is a great solo release. I can’t wait for more music from her.
So what are y’alls thoughts on “earthquake” and AMORTAGE? Have you got a copy of it? And what’s your fave Jisoo look this era? Next up, we’re talking about that SMTOWN cover album.
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Take care,
Ash💫