Since PURPLE KISS’ debut their fun, modern horror concept has been enjoyable to experience: from the badass witches they were in ‘Ponzona’ to the zany zombies in ‘Zombie’. They’ve continued to play with these supernatural, dark-with-a-twist concepts throughout their discography, and as a result it is no surprise that in their fourth mini-album Geekyland they continue along this vein. However, their newest offering shows just how effective the concept when it becomes the lynchpin of the entire record.
Title track ‘Nerdy’ presents this well as a pop track that you can imagine Morticia Addams immediately adding to her favourites playlist. An instrumental filled with strings, creepy synths and a relentless but light up-tempo beat all pull together as a fun bed for the members’ rich and almost whisper-esque vocals to shine. It’s a more understated title track in comparison to previous ones such as ‘memeM’ and ‘Zombie’; however, leaning into this more horror-based sound sets ‘Nerdy’ apart from most other title tracks we’ve heard this year.
Second song ‘FireFlower’ is a perfect summer dance-pop track, with Latin dance influences and heavy bass making it a fun listen. Gorgeous dream EDM comes by way of ‘Can’t stop dreamin’, a pre-debut PURPLE KISS song that has finally made its way to listeners in full form, and not a moment too soon. Both songs have instrumentals that are a joy to spend time with yet never overwhelm the group’s vocal abilities. Since the very beginning, the group’s unique vocal tones and ranges have been a particular strength of theirs, and it’s great to never hear their voices drowned out by the production, no matter what the genre.
‘Love Is Dead’ pulls the group more towards a rock pop sound via a groovy guitar bass and an energetic beat is a perfect fit for anyone who wants a new power song to add to their playlist. The final track ‘SuMMer RaiN’ is another classic PURPLE KISS ballad, pulling the listener back to the group’s great vocals atop a gentle guitar-focused instrumental. It ends the album on a softer note after the earlier four more faster tempo tracks and the record’s intro ‘Intro : Bye Bye Bully’. PURPLE KISS’ intro tracks are so solid that they are just begging to be released as full-length tracks, and this one is yet another to add to the list.
Geekyland succeeds as a great album on multiple accounts: there are no tracks included where you question if they were merely included to make up numbers. ‘FireFlower’, ‘Can’t stop dreamin’ and ‘Love Is Dead’ all could have been selected as pre-release songs or alternate title tracks in their own right, and that is just half the album. Yet alongside the quality of the songs is also the general semi-eerie, otherworldly quality that runs consistently through every single track on the record. Even the more conventional ballad ‘SuMMer Rain’ leans into this through the use of breathy, soulful vocals and the occasional well-placed semitone run in the melody of the pre-chorus.
As a result, the album could almost be a soundtrack to a teen horror movie (fitting, given the music video for Nerdy) due to how the record absorbs the listener in its rich, fun horror concept so effectively from beginning to end. PURPLE KISS’ earlier records saw the group going for songs that showed off their unique colours as artists, and as a result their supernatural concepts occasionally took a bit of a back seat to the group’s talent and musical growth. However, Geekyland now presents the group as album artists truly pulling off their musical vision from beginning to end. It is clear what the seven of them wish to present sonically and conceptually in Geekyland, and they do so without a single falter.
