Bennie K. [MONOCHROME] (13th Single)

MONOCHROME
Speak no Evil
HOME with 2BACKKA

Bennie K.’s 13th single starts off with the a-side MONOCHROME. This song really surprised me as I wasn’t expecting it to be as down-tempo as it was. I mean Bennie K. has a few down in the tempo songs, so I wonder why it still always surprises me when I hear one from them. The arrangement is pretty laid-back, mostly the drums, but it creates such an atmosphere and makes you think of lazy days long gone. If that makes sense. YUKI’s voice is gorgeous as usual, she’s actually one of my favorite singers, she has a great voice. CICO’s rap was well placed and honestly she’s one of the few rappers in a group or whatever that actually always delivers when its her turn, I never find myself adverse to her rapping, she has a very unique and deep voice that actually pulls it off whether she’s rapping or talking. This was a good song, though not really what I would call a-side material, its  still a nice and rather mellow listen.

The track on the single is its first b-side Speak no Evil. Call me crazy but I like this song, even if it seems to go absolutely nowhere and plays like a track that’s meant to vent some anger. The arrangement is very consistent and to best describe it I’d say it sounded very frustrated and or upset, I just got that vibe from it, what with the electric guitar and hard hand clapping!?. The best part of the song was of course YUKI; CICO certainly brought the fire though, especially when she has everyone shouting: ‘FUCK THAT SHIT!’ I think I’ll have to second that, seriously.

The last track on the album is its second b-side HOME with 2BACKKA. This song sounds so familiar, like the beat is exactly like one of their old songs, I’m leaning more towards Sunrise but I’m really not sure. I didn’t too much care for this, which is crazy because normally I love Bennie K’s collaborations, but this one went clear over my head. I didn’t like 2BACKKA’s parts, they seemed terribly elementary. I don’t really recall CICO’s parts, if she even had any. YUKI was the best part, her voice gorgeous and flowing, but it just wasn’t enough, plus it just sounds too much like one of their ‘japana-rhythm’ or ‘synchronicity’ songs.

-GRADE: B+
Rating: ** stars

Bennie’s K.’s 13th single was all right but pretty weak at the same time. MONOCHROME was a nice little down-tempo tune, but not really a-side material. Speak no Evil was a fun song, that’s good if you want to vent some much needed anger, but it really seemed to come out of nowhere and clashed crazily with the a-side. HOME sounds like one of their old songs (it really drives me crazy because I think I know which one it is but I can’t think of the title, I’d have to hear the song) and it sadly didn’t do much with it and ended up going completely over my head.