Catchy popular romantic rock songs. My natural reaction is to turn my head but my ears can’t help but hear the melody. Eventually I start humming along with song and I’m hooked. This happens far too often these days — but to be honest, I kind of like it.

M.C. the Max (엠씨더맥스) is a very-well established, popular Korean rock act. Their latest single, “눈물” (Tears) has been all over the Korean music charts for the past couple of weeks.

M.C. the Max originally began as a 4-member band, then named Moonchild, producing music of an electronic variety. Upon dropping a member, and becoming a trio, E-soo (vocals, guitar), J. Yoon (violin, bass), and Jeon Min-hyuk (percussion) decided to pursue rock music.

The band has enjoyed much success since defining itself in 2002. They’re currently signed on Yoshiki Entertainment, Yoshiki of X-Japan fame’s Korean music label. One of their first hit songs was “A Brief Good-bye”, which was actually a remake of “Tears” by X-Japan (not to be confused with the M.C. the Max’s current hit of the same title). The band has released 5 full-length albums and an array of hit singles.

M.C. the Max’s latest single, “Tears” is no exception to this success. Off of their most recent 5th album titled Returns, “Tears” is a beautiful, melodic, soft rock song. The catchy chorus could grab almost any listener’s ear from afar. The song’s versus are musically restrained but E-soo’s vocals drive through making each verse actually worth while. “Tears” is rather simple but that is not a weakness in this case.

The composition of the song is understated enough to make me mentally create my own harmonies and the chorus is memorable enough to keep me coming back for more.

The music video for “Tears” is visually pleasing and fits rather nicely. It was actually filmed on the streets of Japan and follows the band members through “a day”.

MC the Max Vol.5 - Returns
MC the Max Vol.5 - Returns : Part 2