There are few things I enjoy more than a great summertime song. They’re bright, they’re exciting, and they remind me of my favorite time of the year.

There’s no telling what this summer in K-pop will bring, but over the next few weeks I’ll be flashing back each day, showcasing a highlight from past summers. The rules are simple: I fire up my carefully compiled “K-pop summer” playlist, hit ‘shuffle,’ and if the song that pops up hasn’t already been featured on the site, it gets a post and mini-review of its own.

So, get ready for a summer of K-pop on The Bias List!

(View all the Summer of K-pop songs here)

<< Song 17 >>

SHINee – Punch Drunk Love (2013)

Punch Drunk Love catches SHINee at their funkiest. It’s the kind of track that’s so perfectly arranged and performed that it feels as if it spawned from thin air. Of course, something this great takes a lot of effort, but none of that can be felt across Love’s punchy groove. From verse to chorus, the melody is pop perfection, allowing for spontaneity while maintaining a meaningful structure that keeps the energy flowing. Its vocal arrangement is stellar — as expected from SHINee — but it’s the little instrumental touches (chugging guitar, nimble synth) that really push this over the edge. K-pop simply doesn’t make songs like this anymore.