One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Someday (from Snowflake – 2016) Snowflake is a strong album, but sometimes its b-sides can be dwarfed by Rough’s immense shadow. Someday is light and bouncy but there’s still enough going on within its production to make it an early career standout. … Continue reading
Category Archives: K-Pop A-Z
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Smile
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Smile (from Fever Season – 2019) This is one of those songs you put on during a summer road trip. It’s mildly diverting and stuffed with good vibes, but doesn’t steal attention away from driving. The chorus is a bit cutesy but … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Show Up
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Show Up (from Time For Us – 2019) Show Up opens with a burst of tropical synth before segueing into a breezy dance beat. This arrangement remains consistent throughout, blooming into a more robust energy as we hit the chorus. It’s a … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Secret Diary (Yerin & SinB)
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Secret Diary (Yerin & SinB) (from Walpurgis Night – 2020) This is the last of Walpurgis Night’s unit tracks I’ll be writing about and my thoughts pretty much fall in line with the previous two. These unit tracks feel like a missed … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Say My Name
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Say My Name (from Snowflake – 2016) It’s not easy following Rough on any track list, but Say My Name is up to the task. It’s a great dance track, fueled by an unresolved electro riff that has the same chugging intensity … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Room Of Mirrors
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Room Of Mirrors (from Song Of The Sirens – 2020) “Room Of Mirrors” is the most evocative title and prepares you for a song as equally mysterious. It’s a bit surprising, then, that this turns out to be a fairly standard GFriend … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Red Umbrella
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Red Umbrella (from Parallel / Rainbow – 2017) This is such a burst of summer energy. It’s the closest GFriend’s music ever got to bossa nova, yet it also pulls in a hearty dose of disco. The track is on the lighter … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Rainbow
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Rainbow (from Rainbow – 2017) Previous Thoughts: “Rainbow is built around the sort of hook that is hard to find in 2017 K-pop — a snowballing refrain that incorporates multiple melody lines into a cohesive, sustained chorus. I especially love the raised … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Rain In The Spring Time
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Rain In The Spring Time (from The Awakening – 2017) Every once and awhile, it’s nice to hear a delicate ballad like this. GFriend perform them better than most, and Rain’s combination of twinkling keys and atmospheric synth stabs give the song … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Please Save My Earth
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Please Save My Earth (from The Awakening – 2017) Previous Thoughts: “The earnest hook is classic GFriend, but it feels more dreamlike here. There’s a lot going on in the track itself, but it’s so tightly packed that every element seems to … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Paradise
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Paradise (from Fever Season – 2019) To be honest, this is a song I rarely remember exists. The whole Fever Season mini album isn’t one of GFriend’s works I return to often, and this is one of its most forgettable tracks. I … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Our Secret
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Our Secret (from Time For Us – 2019) Previous Thoughts: “I love its breathless verses, which have a sense of propulsion that really gets the energy going. The song’s tropical synth loop is derivative as hell, but still manages to be catchy … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Only 1
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Only 1 (from Time For Us – 2019) Only 1 hesitates a bit at first but grows and grows as we reach the chorus. Then, verse two revs up again with the promise of another pop peak lurking just around the corner. … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – One-Half
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! One-Half (from Parallel/Rainbow – 2017) The more I think about it, the more I realize what a solid album Parallel is. One-Half comes toward the end of the track list but loses no energy or bounce. The chorus is almost carol-like in … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – One
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! One (from Flower Bud – 2015) One sounds like an easy, breezy summer afternoon. This style of song tends to waft in one ear and out the other – very pleasant while it’s playing but not the kind of thing I’d seek … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Oh Difficult (with Sonar Pocket)
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Oh Difficult (with Sonar Pocket) (from Oh Difficult – 2019) Now this one’s a bit different because it’s a duet and it doesn’t appear on any GFriend album. In 2019, they collaborated with male Japanese vocal/performance unit Sonar Pocket for this special … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Night Drive (Eunha & Yuju)
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Night Drive (Eunha & Yuju) (from Walpurgis Night – 2020) This might be sacrilegious to some, but I don’t really care for the unit tracks on GFriend’s Walpurgis Night album. I understand they’re a chance to explore new musical territory, but now … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Neverland
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Neverland (from Season of Glass – 2015) Neverland is the first song a fan would have heard following the group’s debut, coming right after Glass Bead on the track list. As such, it’s a great continuation of their light, poppy sound. Some … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Navillera
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Navillera (from LOL – 2016) Previous Thoughts: “The entire track is so intensely powered that it really takes more than one listen to process everything. Unlike past singles, there’s never a moment to breathe, and this is a smart move on their … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – My My My!
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! My My My! (from Fallin’ Light – 2019) I love the glistening synth tones that open this track. They set expectations for a brisk verse that never materializes, but My My My! gains steam as it goes. The chorus is a standout, … Continue reading