Review

Random Shuffle Review: Tablo – Tomorrow (ft. Taeyang)

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With over 3,000 songs on my iPhone’s “K-Pop Singles” playlist, I thought it would be fun to add a bit of unpredictability to my song review posts. So as a result, we have the “Random Shuffle Review” feature.

The rules are simple. I fire up my playlist, press “shuffle,” and whatever song plays first gets the full Bias List treatment!

Year Released: 2011

Though I’m sure many would argue that Epik High’s partnership with YG Entertainment led to a commercialization of their music, I firmly enjoyed their 2011-18 era. That might just be the pop side of my music taste talking, but there was something exciting about the group’s usual sound being tethered to big pop choruses performed by guest YG artists. And before the group released their first album with the agency, Tablo delivered a solo album of his own.

Being part of YG had its perks, giving Tablo the ability to snag Bigbang’s Taeyang as a guest vocal. The two make an undeniably strong pair, and their chemistry transforms Tomorrow into a total standout. Written and produced by Tablo himself, the track nonetheless carries all the hallmarks of a YG hip-hop ballad. Part of that is the Bigbang influence. Tomorrow sounds like a sonic sequel to the group’s Love Song. Even the black and white music video is remarkably similar.

Opening with Taeyang’s plaintive hook, the track slowly builds. While it starts with little more than voice and piano, a strong hip-hop beat soon joins the fray and gives Tomorrow great drive. Tablo’s emotional, rapid-fire flow makes a compelling contrast with Taeyang’s more measured chorus. This is the kind of track that’s sad without being mopey. It’s angsty, but retains a strong melody and consistent structure. Those may sound like easy feats, but it can be tricky to skirt the line so effectively. Even when Tomorrow slows for its hesitant bridge, the song kicks back into gear for a dynamic finale that briefly incorporates guitar before stripping the instrumental away. This sets up a wallop of a final chorus, which surges with the kind of catharsis that songs like this do so well.

 Hooks 9
 Production 8
 Longevity 9
 Bias 8
 RATING 8.5

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10 thoughts on “Random Shuffle Review: Tablo – Tomorrow (ft. Taeyang)”

  1. I LOVE this song. I’ve recently remembered it due to SKZ’s Changbin performing it on King of Masked Singer and been listening to it a lot again. Brings back memories.

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  2. Off topic:

    I thought Golden Child’s single would release today at 12:00 am (KST Time is south korea) So 12:00 am in south korea is 7:00pm in my country!

    Because Golden Child’s release schedule was like that for so long for this “Pump It’s Ups” promotion.

    I thought it was gonna be a pre release and The full album would come out in 1:00pm (My country’s timing)

    So in the last minute I was counting like this:

    “1…..Golden Child!….2…..Golden Child!……..3……Golden Child”

    I was so disappointed when it wasn’t released , those were the longest 10 minutes of my life.

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  3. Man I replayed the shizz out of this song when it came out. IMO Taeyang sounds best with a piano behind him (ENL, Love Song, Wedding Dress, etc.). He fits in here perfectly with his R&B voice that has that slight “whine” that makes him sound desperate and sad. Table offsets that by coming off as angsty and angry and the combo makes me swoon.

    We must also lament this vid as the beginning of the end of Taeyang’s beloved faux hawk.

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  4. Yeah, I definitely don’t understand the idea the idea that 2011-2018 Epik High is any more commercial than previous Epik High? Maybe 99.. but singles like “1 Minute, 1 Second,” “One,” and “Fly” have a very similar tone to “No Tomorrow” and “Spoiler.” And have they heard “Sleeples in ___”, which is peak Korean hip hop ballad commerciality.

    In any case, I think this one is great but somewhat weaker to previous efforts. Since Tablo usually sings the chorus in songs like this, I think the addition of Taeyang really shakes up the dynamics of the song. Since Tablo’s voice is kind of thin and wispy, it lends itself really well to a natural mope factor, but not very well to full-throated pop choruses. This has led to some great moments in Epik High’s career, like “Slow Motion” off of the [e]motion album, or “Expired” off of Fever’s End”, or heck even “Run”. And this really shoves it into a conventional pop structure, since there’s no need to write around the limitations of Taeyang’s voice to make the song go any which way; so the Epik High single formula ends up sounding a lot like a 2011 Big Bang song.

    I think a solid comparison point is the other single off of this album, “Bad,” featuring Jinsil from Mad Soul Child. I think the way she generally uses her voice in solo work jives a lot better with the way that Tablo tends to write for his own voice, and it’s a really cool duet that fits more seamlessly w/in the EH oeuvre.

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  5. Man Epik High is the music to and of my soul. I listened to the Fever’s End album a lot. Still come back to it from time to time. To this day, I highly rate it as a well-thought-out personal piece of work. I did want Tablo to comeback with another album but I know he has his reasons.

    Epik High man… I’m eagerly waiting for their future album. I’m hoping it comes with a lighter look similar to the likes of Fly and Don’t Hate Me. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy their dark material, in fact, I prefer their dark material but it’s been 8 years since 99 it would be a nice rekindler of that they can do lighter stuff.

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