Right before I fell down the kpop rabbit hole (I feel like I talk about that rabbit hole ALL THE TIME–to be fair, it was a defining event in my life), I was starting to get into what I call Power Coffeehouse. Power Coffeehouse included Phillip Phillips, Mumford and Sons, Bastille, Coldplay to an extent, Ben Folds Five…you get the picture.

What is Power Coffeehouse? To me, they’re songs that start with a stripped down melody, catchy and sweet, sung by a vocalist with an indie music vibe. Then BAM! In comes the bass line or the drums, like a punch to the gut, grabbing your eardrums and filling your soul with all their layers. I love that feeling! Finding it in kpop just makes it 1000x better.

CROSS GENE – “Dystopia”

This song is quite different from Cross Gene’s other works, and I like it the best of everything I’ve heard from them:

NELL – “Dream Catcher”

I love Nell’s techno vibe and very quirky sci-fi/pop art take on the video:

THE ROSE – “Sorry”

When The Rose debuted, I kept comparing their sound to Coldplay in my head. I still stand by that comparison:

AKMU – “Dinosaur”

I love AKMU’s sound–I think Soo Hyun’s vocals are so sweet and pure, and Chan Hyuk’s linguistic hooks are phenomenal (the sound of his rap in “How People Move” makes my inner lit major fist pump every time). “Dinosaur” fits the Power Coffeehouse genre better, and definitely has that kpop twist with the squeaky “dinosaur” as a background vocal in the chorus.

KIM JAE JOONG – “Now is Good”

I’ve heard a wide range of styles from Jaejoong, but this song is my favorite. As you can tell from the header, the indie vibe looks good on him!

There you have it, drama fans, a few out-of-the-box MVs to start your week. Do you have some favorite power coffeehouse songs? Share them in the comments below! I promise I’ll listen to them all.

Until next time, I remain–

Karie the Maknae

Dramas with a Side of Kimchi