“Nothing Much Prepared EP.25”
Bae Jiahn: Lee Youngji’s “Nothing Much Prepared” returns after 370 days. This episode was shot in a rented rural home, unlike her previous ones which were shot in her apartment. The subtitles that read “I would like to thank the residents who have been kind to us” while she cried “A pro is never fears change” is a testament to Youngji’s attitude she maintains in her show. She makes her guests feel comfortable while they talk and drink and even takes on the role of jester to make everyone involved feel at ease. Youngji revealed that she wanted to make a show that is “a fan’s favorite video of their favorite celebrity, or the gateway to becoming someone’s fan.” Indeed, her shows never fail to highlight the charms of her guests, no matter who they may be. Lisa chose Nothing Much Prepared as the first variety show to appear in eight years since her debut, and there, she talked about how she became a worldwide rockstar and the story of how she came to collaborate with Rosalía after being mesmerized by her performance at Coachella. And whether the guests are musicians like Youngji, she always asks for their advice - if they have any difficulties that no one else knows, and if so, how they overcome them or are presently overcoming them. These questions that Youngji asks, not as a talk show host but as a fellow artist who strives to learn from them, gently bring out more heartfelt advice from the guests. Lisa confessed that when she froze from nervousness on the Coachella stage, she scanned the audience for BLINKs and their lightsticks. Youngji's true respect for Lisa as an artist and the questions that came from her heart made Lisa’s answers like “I am consoled by my fans” that much more genuine.

Trampauline - “Jealousy 31℃”
Na Wonyoung (Music Critic): The 300m skyscraper called the Shard which resembles its namesake that is wedged at the end of the London Bridge overseas the entire megacity. The image of the Shard gleaming like the eye of a beast is now set on the cover of Trampauline's new EP entitled The Shard Will Find Me. The building is layered over the backdrop featuring a clear blue sky, or perhaps it punched itself out of it, adding different textures. This is juxtaposed by the soft tone of the analog instrumentals prominent in the music. Cha Hyoseon, who emigrated to a little outside the south of London, U.K. in 2018, sings to her audience about her experiences there through four tracks. The theme of the lead single entitled “Jealousy 31℃” is lukewarm jealousy. The bass groove that feels like subtly shimmering heat loops tightly to form the cornerstone, and the trombone, synthesizer, and the occasional electronic noise are mixed in to form different shards of sound that are pinned to the bass. The round and smooth timbre that is characteristic of the Fender Rhodes piano lends a sort of warmth in the blue hours of late summer, and the vocals that continuously hum along the repetitive rhythmic melody form the roof. Trampauline’s skill of building dense sounds together like a well-seasoned architect who creates well-thought-out minimalistic spaces using the bare minimum of materials can be seen throughout their past works. However, what makes “Jealousy 31℃” and the EP even more impressive beyond the fact she has come back in nine years, is their ability to create big, meticulous, monumental sounds as in MARGINAL, but on a much smaller scale with only a dream team of three people. Also, their way of capturing the world around them through the perspectives of their friends seems to continue from their previous works. They’ve collected sounds from their surroundings and then collaged them together, which runs parallel with their earliest works like “Melody Gold.” So, it seems like they will be okay even if the steely-eyed Shard does eventually find them one day. See, Trampauline has a marvelous building that is just as amazing as the Shard.