One song. Every day. Alphabetical order.
Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here!
Ave Maria (from Parallel/Rainbow – 2017)
Oh, I like this track a lot. It opens with an addictive freestyle synth loop that borrows from the 80’s while still managing to sound completely current. The verses have great drive in the classic GFriend style. The first half of the chorus is a bit of a fake out in the sense that it doesn’t really clobber you with the force you might expect, but the second half brings things home with plenty of punch. A few extra touches could easily bring this up to a nine, but it’s still an easy album highlight.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Ik it’s unrelated but… thoughts on the aespa solos? 👀
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Haven’t listened yet, but I plan to later today…
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Had a listen. Was hoping to write a buried treasure, but none of the tracks really stuck out to me. Karina and Winter’s are the strongest, but none of them feel essential. I wish Up was a better song because the production’s good.
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By the way, if you don’t mind me asking another question lol, how do you know so much about music? I mean genres, production, keeping up with releases (outside of k-pop), and that sort of thing. I’ve been wanting to learn more about these things but don’t really know where to start 😅
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It’s really just decades of being a huge fan, reading/watching critical discourse, learning everything I can about pop music history via podcasts, documentaries, reviews, etc. I really just have an insatiable curiosity for this topic and love nothing more than discovering (or re-discovering) new music.
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okay, ty!!
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Aw, was lowkey looking forward to your reviews on them (but ofc, I don’t wish to force or bother you!), though I wonder how’d you rate them? Cause for me, Winter’s is easily the best cause of the production (I’d give Spark somewhere a 8.75– 8, 10, 8, 9)
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I know Navillera and Rough will be 10’s, but I’m curious if Mago gets there too. That’s the one that’s risen to be my favorite by them.
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I’m betting Labyrinth to get a 10 as well… haha but let’s see as time goes by.
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ay nick could you recommend me some aikawa nanase albums to listen to (with highlights?) i already love koigokoro so much
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I’d start with her first three albums. I don’t know how familiar you are with her singles, but those are generally the best tracks. I’d go:
1. Crimson (1998) – Bad Girls, Nostalgia, Kanojyoto Watashino Jijyou, Sayonarawo Kikasete, oooo?, Fragile (the production is very similar to Koigokoro)
2. ParaDOX (1997) – Koigokoro (obv), Trouble Maker, Cat On The Street, Sweet Emotion, Two Of Us
3. Red (1996) – Yumemiru Shoujo ja Irarenai (bop!), Like a Hard Rain, Bye Bye, Imademo, Break Out
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for some reason songs named fragile tend to be heckin strong (tm revolution, every little thing, kylie minogue) and this one is no exception
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I wasn’t a regular reader back in 2020 when you last did this type of series, so I didn’t understand the premise… i thought you were doing one song per letter, but are you going through the entire discography? What an undertaking, but as a longtime Buddy I look forward to it 🙂
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Yep, I’ll review each and every song in their discography, A-Z. It’ll take about three months 😅
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Cool! What a fun opportunity to revisit the whole discography. I appreciate your dedication to the cause! Fun fact: LOL was the first kpop album I ever owned.
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havent listened this song a while. from the first seconds i realized how much i miss gfriend
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I would like to enjoy anthemic songs (anime OST like) more than I actually do. In actuality, I crave more poppy songs: I need a catchy beat and some synths. I like my songs manufactured to perfection without losing identity and authenticity. Gfriend sit in this sweet spot for me. They have great melodies and harmonies but also the catchy beats and unique production to go with it. This, for example, is right up my alley!
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Honestly I tend to skip this one.
I think it’s one of the perfect examples of “All GFRIEND songs sound the same”– it has a lot in common with “Hear the Wind Sing”.
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