AMORTAGE is the break-out EP from former BLACKPINK member Jisoo. It consists of four short pop songs meant to define her new career. Yet, in her attempt to carve out an independent identity, Jisoo fails to produce anything truly original in a musical scene that requires innovative approaches to stand out against the industrial churning of standardized pop stars—but in an industry that prioritizes sales and streams, perhaps that’s good enough.
In her time in BLACKPINK, Jisoo provided a melodic and smooth counterweight to the group’s generally more bombastic sound. While not music I have much flagrance for, admittingly, the chemistry between each member fostered a more dynamic sound, where they could bounce off one another and provide a diverse array of “bangers” and slower pop ballads. Without this dynamism, Jisoo’s performance falls flat because she lacks the singular charisma needed to carry the weight of an entire project on her own.
This weakness is foremost evident in the intro track earthquake, considered the stand-out of the EP, featuring a throbbing slap house beat accompanied by airy vocal melodies and vague refrains of “it” hitting her “like an earthquake.” The track conveys a sense of tension or sensuality absent any proper bite or evocation. The production is too clean, the lyrics too simplistic, and the chorus collapses any melodic tension built through the verses through a bubble-gum breakdown of childish onomatopoeias. Additionally, Jisoo’s restrained vocals appears to be less intentional than the product of a lack of confidence in her performance or skill, which remains a recurring theme of the EP.
The following track Your Love is an all-too-familiar retro-inspired love song, featuring a synth lead and drum machine loop ripped straight out of the 80’s. Lyrically, this is as bland as a pop love song writing gets with tired metaphors for “your love” and sickeningly sentimental refrains of how “the world slows down when we’re together.” Jisoo doesn’t seem able to write with much specificity or provide any unique sentiments that reflect the specialness of this love, and instead defers to repeating the word “love” ad nauseam. This overly-sugary sweetness would have been saved with a stellar vocal performance, but that doesn’t get served, leaving the listener with a measly cavity.
Tears alters the mood with a breakup song that, in liking to the preceding track, feels like a template for a pop song without the evocative lyrics and emotional performance to stand out. The slappy bass and snappy percussion create an effective groove but are a mismatch for the emotional tone of the track, producing a flat baseline for a still underwhelming vocal performance. Admittingly, the bridge contains some catchy vocal and melodic refrains, but the chorus fails to carry the weight and loses the track’s momentum. Similarly, Hugs & Kisses is another bitter breakup song about a terrible ex filled with the tired lyrical cliches of the past 10 years of dance pop break up hits, repeating the same underwhelming missteps of Tears.
AMORTAGE is a short, vapid product of recycled k-pop cliches in lyrics, production, and themes without any of the passion or personality that could be found in her former participation in BLACKPINK. Jisoo has, of course, still been massively successful in her break-out career and anything she releases is bound to appeal to her fandom because of the attachment to her persona. The lifelessness and repetitiveness of AMORTAGE is secondary to its function as PR-Production for a brand. Jisoo, the brand, has an endless stream of products, TV-acting appearances, and fashion brand deals that function both as commodities to consume and advertisements for those commodities. Thus, AMORTAGE is just one among many of Jisoo-branded commodities that, in the consumption thereof, also functions as just another advertisement. In an age of hyper-consumerist art, the only metric that matters is streams and sales, and by that measure, Jisoo succeeded in everything she set out to do.
But for me, AMORTAGE still receives a 3/10.
