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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Crème Brûlée (from Song Of The Sirens – 2020) The plucky percussion that opens this track gives me bad flashbacks to when this style of production was ubiquitous in K-pop. I’m not a fan of this overall vibe. It’s too slow to … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Contrail (from The Awakening – 2017) There will be some songs in this feature that have already received short write-ups as part of other reviews, but I don’t plan to reference those old thoughts while writing about them this time. It’ll be … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Compass (from LOL – 2016) LOL was a great debut album and holds up very well – especially within its sugary pop genre. Compass is pure sweetness, underlined by a propulsive beat that builds to an astounding chorus. The synth percussion has … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Cocktail Love (from Sugar Man 3 OST – 2020) So, this is technically a remake track featured on the (very great) variety show Sugar Man, but my K-pop A-Z feature is nothing if not comprehensive. Despite this cover being released in 2020, … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Click (from LOL – 2016) Early in their career, GFriend’s music could occasionally get a bit cutesy. Click’s exuberant cheerleader chants won’t be for everyone, and it doesn’t help that the song opens with them. However, the rest of the track offers … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Bye (from Time For The Moon Night – 2018) We’re back in ballad territory with the gentle Bye. Its orchestral opening sounds ripped straight from a Disney soundtrack about fairies. I don’t mean that in a bad way, though the approach will … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Better Me (Sowon & Umji) (from Walpurgis Night – 2020) For their final album, the group recorded tracks as units. Better Me sees Sowon and Umji taking a much more hip-hop influenced approach, which is cool but also a strange fit for … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Beautiful (from Fallin’ Light – 2019) The piano arpeggio that opens this track is gorgeous and promises a sense of dynamism that never quite materializes. The instrumental shifts as we hit the first verse and the track transforms into… for lack of … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! A Starry Sky (from Time For Us – 2019) The crystalline chimes that open this ballad feel like a good starting point for this K-Pop A-Z feature. If GFriend are defined by their “powerful innocence” concept, A Starry Sky sees them tackle … Continue reading →