It is clear right from the opening seconds of the BEAST track "You're Bad," with the sound of a record spinning on a record player and a guitar coming through a beat-up, old amplifier, that it is not your average K-pop song.

Soon there are distorted electric guitar riffs blazing and an intricately layered drum sequence that is a welcome break from the four-on-the floor house beat that is a bit too common in the band's music.

The result on "You're Bad" is a refreshingly original sound from a group that seems to be determined to push the envelope not just visually (BEAST is known for their inventive, often gothic videos) but sonically as well.

The second full-length BEAST album "Hard To Love, How To Love" was released on Friday.

It reveals a group and a production team not afraid to push the envelope or chase a sound in order to arrive at a new destination.

And nowhere is this more apparent than on "You're Bad."

Beyond just atypical orchestration and sharp drum sequencing, the song possesses the priceless combination of solid songwriting matched with inventive and complimentary production.

The resulting track offers a considerably more harmonically adventurous chord progression, for one thing.

The suspended chords and their jazzy open voicings have shades of the California pop sound of the 1960s that took Joni Mitchell, the Mamas and the Papas and the Beach Boys took to dizzying musical heights.

But never fear K-pop fans, the song still sounds like BEAST.

In fact, an often unforeseen benefit for bands not afraid to push the boundaries of what their sound is, is that in doing so the group can get a better grasp of what it is that makes them original.

In the case of BEAST, by hearing the group outside their normal aural framework as they are in "You're Bad" you're hearing exactly what it is that is the sound these six guys create.

It also helps that the band is at their best, providing layered harmonies that are soulfully reminiscent of 1960s classic rock.

In a South Korean pop landscape dominated by boy bands and girl groups that often appear contractually obligated to play it safe, BEAST is striking out new ground.

The results are exciting to watch.

Click here to listen to the song "You're Bad" from the new BEAST album "Hard To Love, How To Love"