One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Here We Are (from Labyrinth – 2020) We’re slowing things down again with a lovely mid-tempo track. The opening verse does little for me, but Here We Are climaxes in a beautiful, layered chorus. The melodies aren’t much to write home about, … Continue reading
Category Archives: K-Pop A-Z
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Hear The Wind Sing
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Hear The Wind Sing (from The Awakening – 2017) GFriend flirted with the tropical trend every once and awhile and Hear The Wind Sing definitely has hints of that sound in its percussion. However, its brilliance is adding strings to its house … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – GRWM
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! GRWM (from Walpurgis Night – 2020) What I said then: “GRWM isn’t quite as disco as the three tracks that precede it, but it offers a shot of adrenaline that fits GFriend well. It’s got that galloping electro beat I love so … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Gone With The Wind
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Gone With The Wind (from LOL – 2016) With a cinematic title like Gone With The Wind, you just know this is going to be good! Indeed, it’s one of my highlights from the LOL album. The song opens with a peppy … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Glow
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Glow (from Time For Us – 2019) GFriend never explored roller rink disco pop as often as they probably should have, but each and every effort is a standout. Their vocals lend themselves very well to this style, backed by shimmering synths … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Glass Bead
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Glass Bead (from Season Of Glass – 2015) Previous Thoughts: “Its hooks are sharp and punchy, underlined by a bright beat that approaches new jack swing without completely embracing the genre. Extra stabs of percussion add emphasis in all the right places, … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – From Me
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! From Me (from Labyrinth – 2020) We’ve had a lot of bangers this week, and now it’s time for something more gentle. From Me retains a classic GFriend tone, but tempers the theatrics. If other tracks sounded like a huge, bustling metropolis, … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Flower Garden
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Flower Garden (from Time For The Moon Night – 2018) What I said then: “MIO also produced last year’s excellent Please Save My Earth, and borrows the same wind-tunnel layering effect for Garden‘s pre-chorus. It’s hard to explain this specific audio trick … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Flower
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Flower (from Fallin’ Light – 2019) What I said then: “As with many J-pop tracks, Flower’s melody is pretty long-winded, taking several different refrains and melding them into one intricate chorus. Because of this, the song lacks the direct and immediate impact … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Fingertip
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Fingertip (from The Awakening – 2017) What I said then: “Right from the start, Fingertip establishes its unique transformation with the instrumental’s wah wah guitar riff. It’s the opening salvo that ushers in the group’s most high energy synth riff yet, expertly … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Fever
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Fever (from Fever Season – 2019) What I said then: “There are moments when the song wants to take off (especially the breathless, synth-dripped pre-chorus), but like so many tracks of this style, Fever constantly has to work its way back to … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Falling Asleep Again
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Falling Asleep Again (from Parallel/Rainbow – 2017) We’re back to ballad territory with this one. I tend not to listen to ballads often on their own, but I appreciate them within the context of an album. Falling Asleep Again is a fine … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Fallin’ Light
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Fallin’ Light (from Fallin’ Light – 2019) What I said then: “Much of it plays like the quintessential GFriend song, but even when the beat kicks in for the chorus, it just doesn’t hit the highs I know they’re capable of. Apart … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Fall In Love
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Fall In Love (from LOL – 2016) Preceding the epic Navillera on an album was never going to be easy, but Fall In Love’s strings intro promises more excitement to come. The song is light and breezy, underpinned with distorted guitar to … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Eye Of The Storm
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Eye Of The Storm (from Song Of The Sirens – 2020) Okay, now we’re talking! I’m a sucker for Eye Of The Storm’s bombastic opening. It’s like the kickoff to a musical. You know you’re in for some drama, and the rest … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Emotional Days
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Emotional Days (from Fallin’ Light – 2019) GFriend’s Japanese work is very hit or miss for me, which is funny because their best material strongly recalls J-pop sounds. Emotional Days’ repetitive melody has potential, but the song never builds into anything spectacular. … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Eclipse
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Eclipse (from Labyrinth – 2020) Eclipse feels like a blend of the earthy tones of this album’s title track (Crossroads) and the swinging energy of GFriend’s debut era. I love the violin that winds its way through the instrumental, giving over to … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Dreamcatcher
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Dreamcatcher (from Labyrinth – 2020) Dreamcatcher opens with evocative tones, promising a textured instrumental that largely comes to pass. The production is the most immersive thing about this track, providing a sense of fullness with beds of synth and percussion that reminds … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Distance
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Distance (from LOL – 2016) LOL is a very energetic pop album, but of course it has its softer moments as well. Distance is a bit of a weird one, seeming to borrow equally from reggae and harmonica-driven folk. Its chorus has … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Crush
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Crush (from The Awakening – 2017) GFriend’s music was often bolstered by new jack swing elements even if it never pushed definitively in that direction. Crush is the closest they got, tying a mystical tone to funky percussion that gives the song … Continue reading