Written by Anne-Elise Tidwell
Korean-soloist Yves (born Ha Soo Young) is leaving her mark on the alternative music scene after international success with her track “DIM.” She is back after the most successful year of her almost decade-long career with her third EP, “Soft Error.”
Yves has reached new and unprecedented levels of success after signing with Seoul-based indie record label Paix Per Mil in 2024, where she began her “journey to serenity” as a solo artist. She has since gained over 1 million Spotify listeners after just two years in the company.
Moving beyond her girlgroup origins, Yves has crafted her sound in a way that blends her traditional K-pop roots with experimental techno-beats and house synths, incorporating multiple genres throughout her discography.
From electro-pop to alternative rock, Yves’s dynamic artistry explores a large spectrum of emotions that can appeal to a wide audience. She is able to emulate aspects of genre-defining artists like Caroline Polacheck, FKA Twigs and Avril Lavigne, while utilizing iconic K-pop elements and marketing strategies, from the promotional structure to her captivating choreography.
“Soft Error” was released Aug. 7 and features six tracks with two collaborations, including Mexican bedroom-pop artist, Bratty, and the highly-anticipated collab with UK garage singer PinkPanthress. The record explores how people often cover up their internal struggles and instead turn to digital means to process emotions. It was produced by label-mate IOAH, who is known for “following the sound that stimulates his senses” and “boundlessly making beats,” according to Paix Per Mil’s website.
Though this record is not my favorite of hers, her digital Y2K-inspired sound is perfectly articulated on the later half of the album. Despite a strong finish, the EP could have better reflected its electro-pop direction overall. With an artistic direction that thrives on bold risks and a commitment to chaos, the first half unfortunately falls short.
White Cat, the album’s opener, features a compelling cyber-pop sound, but the intense, repetitive synth line ultimately prevents the song from accomplishing its attempted grand ending. While it tries to have an authentic eclectic edge, the song also seems to appeal to the broader K-pop market, making the track feel disconnected from the rest of the album.
Unfortunately, this frustrating pattern of undercommitting to its own experimental instincts carries throughout the EP, including her collaboration with PinkPanthress.
Soap begins with a fun, sing-songy sample of Rebecca Black’s Sugar Water Cyanide. It perfectly captivates both Yves and PinkPanthress, yet the initial hook is immediately disregarded and replaced with a tame, repetitive prechorus, leaving little room for the track to grow.
For a collaboration that was so highly anticipated, Soap is another disjointed track that lacks a cemented vision. Instead of committing to its initial playful sound, the song loses its way and misses an opportunity for the pair to forge an exciting, new creative space they could explore together.
Aibo has similar limitations, but Bratty is able to channel her own distinct sound that gives the song a clearer focus than its counterpart.
The EP takes a sharp turn in the last few tracks and feels like a glimpse into the future of Yves and her potential as a mainstream alternative music artist.
Do you feel it like i touch takes a more ambient approach to the electronic sound than the rest of the record, but does so in a way that is comparable to artists like Arca or Sega Bodega. This layered autotuned ballad revolves around a soft techno- beat, similar to Arca’s Pu or Days Go By by james K and truly embraces its experimental identity.
The song’s top tier production has so much care and personality that compliments Yves’s sound and aesthetic phenomenally, especially when building into its grandiose ending.
It sets a stunning precedent for the next track, Study, and immediately secures Yves in the innovative electro-art pop scene. It oozes confidence with the punchy, distorted beep that entrances the listener with its post-apocalyptic cadence and tactful use of captivating spliced vocals, keeping the audience on their toes until the very end.
The album closes with the lo-fi-inspired track, mom. While it drifts slightly from the two previous songs, it channels Yves’s inner feelings toward her mother into an experimental lullaby. However, Paix Per Mil received criticism once Yves revealed that her self-written lyrics were scrapped by the company. The original heart-felt lyricism about maternal love was replaced with wonky, impersonal word choices that did not quite hit the mark.
Nonetheless, Yves persistently proves herself as a capable experimental artist throughout “Soft Error,” and I truly believe that as she continues to release music, she will settle into the sound she explores in this EP.
Her inclusion on PinkPanthress’s major remix Do You Fancy Some More? attests to this sentiment and positions her not just as a former K-pop idol, but as a well- respected alternative music artist.
Each Yves release proves to be more audacious than the last and as she continues to refine the artistic direction that was explored in Soft Error, there is no doubt that Yves will be a force to be reckoned with.