I'm not normally a fan of intros on albums - they seem so jarring and out of place most of the time. But if you ask me, this is a good intro! It's actually pretty funky, and ends up setting the tone and style of the rest of the album up very well. Plus, the fizzling synths that come in towards the end are reeeeeeeally nice. It makes it a finished package, even if it it is quite short. Which... it's an intro. That's to be expected. 😜

2 - MOONLIGHT

This is one of those songs where I've heard the intro before, but I didn't hear the entire song until now. But if I'm being honest I'm sad I didn't listen to it sooner, cause this is really damn good! It seems to be going along with the more chill sound KARD went with for this mini album, which fits in with the slight change in sound I was hoping for. Both Somin and Jiwoo's vocals fit in incredibly well here, and it's a real treat getting to hear the airy, upper-range part of Jiwoo's voice. I do feel like BM's vocals in the verses get overwhelmed by Somin's, but that's just a mixing problem.

Unfortunately I do feel like Somin got the short end of the stick when it came to line distribution here, but I'm actually okay with that for once. Mainly because it's normally her who gets the most lines, and Jisoo is the one who ends up with the leftovers. But at the end of the day, they're both beautiful vocalists if you ask me. If I'm being truthful... this is the sort of song I wanted Chungha to come back with during the summer. It's airy, chill, and really relaxing whilst still appropriate for a beach party. Plus it's got some really sweet (and surprisingly beautiful and descriptive) lyrics to match!

And, surprisingly enough, we actually have choreography for all of the songs on this album (bar the intro)! That's thanks to the tour KARD have been on recently, and I'm so so glad we actually have routines to look at here. And "Moonlight"'s choreo was actually a very pleasant surprise!

I didn't expect KARD to use mic stands for this, since the song isn't that slow. But they end up working super well! It gives the members a bit more of a chance to enjoy the performance itself while letting them breathe adequately, and that adds to the quality of the overall performance, if you ask me.

(Also, Somin looks like she's having the absolute time of her life here. And it's adorable.)

3 - RIDE ON THE WIND [TITLE]

[J.SEPH] How many bad guys did you date
For you to not trust my feelings for you?
...
What can I do to make your heart open up to me?

[SOMIN] Just tell me one thing, that you don’t hate me
[BM] I’ll wait, I’ll wait for you, that’s all I need

[B.M.] Baby I just wanna give you some
I prepared this especially for you
No need to be afraid

[gif source]

[This is a two part review - part 1 can be found here!]

I'm going to try and give my thoughts on this one WITHOUT bringing up all of the ridiculous "controversy" surrounding Hyuna and E'Dawn. Apparently, being a human being is controversial these days...

I'll readily admit that while I wasn't the biggest fan of "365 Fresh" when I first heard it - mainly because it's a blatant rip-off of Bruno Mars' "24K Magic" - the song did grow on me over time. And that meant I was excited for a Triple H comeback, to see what they would change and what they'd improve upon. And "Retro Future" is... well, it's a comeback, alright. Just like "365 Fresh", it's an incredibly funky, catchy song (that samples the fucking "Cha Cha Slide", no less). The members suit this concept incredibly well, too! Hui's voice meshes beautifully with the song, E'Dawn comes across as super confident, and Hyuna is... being Hyuna. A.K.A she's being ridiculously sexy and looking effortless while doing so.
...E'Dawn, you lucky motherfucker.

It's zany, sexual and a little bit explicit in both the lyrics and presentation as a whole; something K-Pop DESPERATELY needs, if you ask me.

But... the song has problems. Major problems. "Retro Future" doesn't feel like it ever develops, or goes anywhere, for that matter. It's just the same, repetitive lines looped over and over again. I honestly feel like you could splice the song up and rearrange it, and it wouldn't make a difference. Repetitive songs like this are fundamental in pop, but every now and again it does rub me the wrong way. What really rubs me the wrong way, though, is that outtro. Whoever did the mixing for that outro did a GOD-AWFUL JOB. Which vocal line am I supposed to be listening to? The "get it on, get it on, get it on, get it on" lines or the "let's get funky, funky" ones?! Because I honestly can't tell. It's very slapdash and messy, and sticks out like a sore thumb when the rest of the song is so slick and polished (if a bit unoriginal).

The dance though? HOO BOI IT'S GOOD.

I don't know what it is with K-Pop dances this year, but so many of them have been taking me by surprise with how complex they actually are. I'm delighted to say this is another one of those dances! I do feel bad for Hui being the third wheel and all, but y'know what? That doesn't take away from the dance at all! All three members pull off this routine SUPER well, and considering "Retro Future" seems like it'd be a hard enough song to choreograph for, I'm ridiculously impressed by this choreo as a whole. It does help me forget about the song's weaknesses a little bit, and while it doesn't negate them completely, Triple H did a pretty good job for this comeback. Let's hope netizens actually let them stay together as a group instead of shitting all over their personal lives and demanding they "stay loyal". Ugh. 😣

But, on the topic of things that blew my expectations out of the water...

GUGUDAN SEMINA (구구단 세미나) - SEMINA (샘이나)

Alright, who the fuck decided to give a Gugudan subunit a song as funky as this?! 

...because I want them to be my new best friend. No joke.

For the record, I did like Gugudan OGUOGU's "Ice Chu" last year, even if it was ridiculously cutesy; Mina and Hyeyeon are both only 18, and that's still young enough to do a cutesy concept, I guess. It's pushing it, but it's alright if you ask me. They're still young. It's not like they're in their 20s and are still being forced to come across as teenagers (LOOKING AT YOU, J.Y. PARK. LET TWICE DO SOMETHING NEW FOR ONCE, DAMMIT). But something like this is... so much more unique, and exciting to boot.

As soon as this song started up, I got early MAMAMOO vibes. Then I knew it was gonna be good. And it is! It's fucking great!! Plus, Jellyfish have fixed their mistake of giving Sejeong far too many lines (like they did with "The Boots"); yes, this is only a subunit song, but even Sejeong herself has said before she doesn't want to overshadow the other members with her popularity. I'm glad to report that that doesn't happen here at all - in fact, Nayoung gets the most lines! Her vocals are stable as all get out, and with Sejeong's absolute beast of a voice and Mina's charismatic rapping, the girls suit the concept and vibe perfectly. It's a well-rounded, extremely capable subunit with a fantastic song - plus, the lyrics are confident and sassy without being overly petty. Just like Sejeong on that float.

What a fucking queen.

Then we've got the dance - it's not drastically complex or anything, but it's incredibly charming if you ask me!

For only a 3-person subunit, the girls themselves have a great deal of stage presence. The addition of the microphones actually helps that, too - it's one of the many charming aspects to this choreo. The routine itself is surprisingly sharp and energetic, too, and it's just one of those dances that just has me beaming from ear to ear when I watch it. It's charismatic and bubbly in all the right ways, and definitely gives these girls an edge.

Not gonna lie, SEMINA are one of the better subunits I've seen from a group, and if this is their benchmark, I can't wait to see what they get to do next!

Recently, there have been a few solo artists who have impressed me quite a bit; there aren't that many of them, but when they're good, they stand out from the crowd quite a bit. Chungha has been one of those since her debut, let's be honest. She already showed off her potential whilst she was in I.O.I., but as a soloist? She really does shine. So that always gives me small, yet eager hopes when she announces she's making a comeback. And I'll admit, tropical house is a biiiiiit predictable for her at this point, but "Love U" is still a pretty good song.

Aside from her surprisingly great range (seriously, she has to be at least a mezzo-soprano or something, right? Cause she has a GREAT upper register, at least to me), Chungha's vocals have always been very refreshing and soothing to listen to. She suits summery songs like this perfectly. And even if "Love U" is pretty by-the-numbers, it's certainly passable for a summer song. It's not quite on the same level as "Why Don't You Know" for me, and "Roller Coaster" still outshines it in terms of its lyrics, but it's alright.

Luckily, the dance is superb as always. It's Chungha! She wouldn't have the nickname of "Dancing Queen" if she couldn't pull off shit like this! Her chemistry with the backup dancers is surprisingly strong, and I find that Chungha's routines have a very good sense of visual appeal. They're majorly satisfying to watch, mainly because Chungha herself is such an excellent, skilled dancer.

Even if this comeback as a whole was slightly disappointing for me, I do feel like Chungha is starting to come into her own as an artist. Not every comeback can be perfect, for sure, but Chungha is going to be one of those people who just keeps getting better and better no matter what she releases.

(G)I-DLE ((여자)아이들)- HANN (한) (一) [ALONE]

Goddamn, do we need any more brackets in that title?

I think everyone realised earlier this year the staggering amount of potential (G)I-DLE have as a group. Yes, their name is shit, but these girls have the opportunity to be huge. And guess what? They're taking that opportunity, because "Hann" is FUCKING PHENOMENAL.

I'm always a fan of the darker concepts in K-Pop, but I did like "Latata" quite a lot. It was confident, yet unique, and a fantastically solid debut. But "Hann" takes literally everything (G)I-DLE did with "Latata" and improves on it tenfold. If you ask me, this vibe and concept suits them FAR more. The song itself has a great sense of progression; no two sections feel the same, yet they don't feel so distant from each other that the song itself doesn't work. It does. It's one of those songs that creeps up on you, becomes a major earworm, and doesn't leave your head for weeks. But you know what else is fantastic about this song? THE L Y R I C S.

I've swallowed the water, it's like I've cooled off
I want you to be ruined, don't hold on, it's the end

God fucking damn. CUBE, please let Soyeon write more songs. Because she's clearly amazing at it. Yes, this is very much a break up song, but it's so much more savage than that. These girls don't give a shit any more. They're done with whatever relationship they were in. They may as well be saying "bye, fuck you, nice knowing ya, I want to see you burn in hell". The entirety of the lyrics fit the instrumental's darker tone perfectly, and they impressed me way more than they probably should have. I love them.

Choreography-wise, it's not nearly as complex as "Latata", but we still have an extremely graceful routine here. The choruses are probably my favourite parts if I'm being honest; I'm a sucker for moves that directly follow the beat or rhythm of a song or its lyrics, so that was incredibly pleasing to watch. Although not gonna lie, Soojin's part in the second verse surprised me as well - the formations look suuuuuuper nice there. And on top of all of this, Shuhua gets a little solo section. They're finally getting her to do things! Yay! :D

After this comeback, I'm even more optimistic for what (G)I-DLE are going to get up to in the future. They're the new monster rookies in K-Pop, let's be real. They seem even more comfortable now than when they debuted with "Latata", and if they keep getting better and better like this, then we might have a new supergroup on our hands.

So that's all the songs I wanted to cover, but guess what? BONUS SONG TIME!

TIFANNY YOUNG - OVER MY SKIN [BONUS]

[This is a two-part review - part 2 can be found here!]

The way Ladies' Code have managed to pick themselves back up after what happened around 4 years ago is honestly phenomenal. They've always been an incredibly talented group, but now they're really coming into their own as artists, if you ask me. Their solo debuts and comebacks are just another lovely part of this, and Ashley's is no exception - for a debut I had little to no expectations for, "Here We Are" is a really damn solid song!

Ashley definitely gets to show off why she's LC's main vocal here; she knows when to change her tone and delivery to match the ebbing and flowing of the song, her vocals are super distinctive and nice to listen to, and she's got a whole bunch of personality to boot. (Seriously, go subscribe to her YouTube - Ashley B Choi - if you haven't already. She's awesome.) Ashley really gets her chance to shine here - and that's without mentioning the song itself. That EDM-inspired chorus? Good shit. That's some good shit right there.

The video isn't really anything to freak out over - apart from some of the outfit choices, cause holy FUCK her stylist deserves a raise for that black and white outfit - but the dance was... actually great!

It's strangely graceful, yet sharp and precise at the same time; that's majorly helped by how in-sync Ashley and the backup dancers actually are. The formations are tight, too, with the only real low point of this choreography for me being the choruses. They do feel a little repetitive towards the end of the song, but I'll admit that sometimes songs like this can be hard to choreograph for. (EDM drops can be are more awkward than you'd think.) It doesn't take away that much from the choreo as a whole, which is surprisingly elegant all-round.

It's just the cherry on top of a comeback that honestly took me by surprise, and blew a lot of my expectations out of the water! This... legitimately might be one of my favourite songs of the year. That year-end list is gonna be interesting. 😉

Do you ever hear that a member from a group that you're pretty interested in is making a solo debut? And you get kinda excited, because you know that they'll do great so long as the song and concept suits them? That was pretty much my reaction to the news of Kyungri's - or, rather, Gyeong Ree's - solo. (Jesus christ, that romanization is awful.) She's always been my bias in 9MUSES (well, since Eunji left), and I knew for a fact she could do well as a solo artist. So how do I feel about Blue Moon? I'm pretty sure I can sum it up in one sentence:

THIS IS HOW YOU DO A SOLO DEBUT, PEOPLE.

A K-Pop song hasn't caused me to react like this since I heard Taemin's "Move" last year. When I heard how goddamn funky that song's chorus was, my jaw straight-up dropped. And the same thing happened here! 'CAUSE GODDAMN THAT CHORUS HAS ONE OF THE BEST BASSLINES I'VE HEARD IN A WHILE. The way the music just cuts out, and solely focuses on Kyungri's voice with the bassline? That shit blew my goddamn mind. Plus, the ENTIRE song is so damn chic and sensual, yet slightly promiscuous - and that is essentially Kyungri's perfect concept! And, not gonna lie, some people might not like it, but I absolutely love that auto-tuned pre-chorus. There's just something about it that just adds to the huge sense of funk this song has behind it.

And oOF. DEM LYRICS.

Last night
Wanna hear my story?
You probably can't handle it

GOOD LAWD KYUNGRI. WHAT DID YOU GET UP TO BEHIND YOUR S/O'S BACK.

The video, as a whole, honestly matches the concept super well. There's even a bit of symbolism - when Kyungri is in the wheelchair, it's symbolising how she's felt in the relationship described in the lyrics. She's felt like she's been metaphorically "disabled", and that she couldn't do what she wanted because of the restrictions placed on her. But when she puts the red heels on and walks off, she's becoming more independent and allowing herself to make her own decisions as a single, more confident and free woman, rather than one who's trapped in a relationship that didn't work out.


If there was any MV that I'd expect to have symbolism, it... wasn't this one. But it was a nice surprise! There's even more there that I don't quite understand, but I'm sure someone else has broken it down somewhere on the internet.

So all of this has been pretty great so far, and that got my hopes up for the dance. But unfortunately, it... doesn't quite live up to my hopes.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the super detailed sections involving a whole bunch of hand movements. Those are visually awesome. And those male dancers straight-up RUN AWAY with the damn routine. They're fucking phenomenal. But... there was so much potential here that simply wasn't realised. That dance break should have been way better than what it is, and what it is is just Kyungri kinda waling about looking pretty. I'm all for artists having relatively simple routines so they can keep their stamina while performing, but Kyungri's always been a strong dancer. It's a shame she didn't really get to show that here.

But it doesn't put too much of a damper on what, is overall, a fucking fantastic solo! Looks like Ashley's got some healthy competition.

APINK (에이핑크) - I'M SO SICK (1도 없어) 

THIS IS THE APINK COMEBACK I'VE WANTED FOR LITERAL FUCKING YEARS.

RED VELVET (레드벨벳) - POWER UP

That’s our genius power
Being spontaneous and instinctual, that's what we need

The super bright and summery music video only serves to add onto all of this, but in a very stylish way! I love the imagery of fruit being cut and changing into a CD, a vinyl being cut and turning into a watermelon, and so on. They're super quirky, and match the overall vibe of the song perfectly. (It actually reminded me a lot of "Red Flavour", and that was probably very intentional.) Plus, you can't have a Red Velvet music video without great outfit choices and some CG animation. Because that's how they roll now.

Dance-wise, this song mostly delivers! I mean, it was going to anyway, because Kyle Hanagami did the choreography, and he's fucking phenomenal. Although I do feel like this choreography isn't necessarily the best he can do. It's... relatively simple in the choruses, although maybe that was intentional to give the girls room to breathe. Don't worry, though,  the rest of the choreography is awesome. The verses are super detailed and multi-layered, with the girls themselves being in perfect sync and in perfect formation to match. It's just a shame that they overpower the choruses so much, since it's normally the other way around for K-Pop songs.

(I also find it very very funny that Wendy is having the goddamn time of her life on that stage, while Irene just... couldn't give two shits. Never change, girls.)

Red Velvet certainly know how to deliver on their comebacks, and "Power Up" is no exception! I really should go ahead and stan them at this point, because every comeback I say that I will. And I think I honestly will this time around; they're one of the most consistently good groups in K-Pop right now. Of course, this doesn't even put a dent in how fantastic "Bad Boy" was earlier this year, but it's still a fantastic comeback for the girls.

Speaking of Bad Boy...

SM ACTUALLY RELEASED THE FULL ENGLISH VERSION HOLY FUCK CXGLKWEHGIOEWAHGKLSDKGSW

ALL SOURCES FOR THE ENGLISH LYRICS I USED IN THIS REVIEW:
Ashley (애슐리) - Here We Are
Kyungri (경리) - Blue Moon (어젯밤)
Apink (에이핑크) - I'm So Sick (1도 없어)
Red Velvet (레드벨벳) - Power Up

COVER IMAGE BACKGROUND: Designed by Freepik
FONT: Bontella

Straight away, the bright tones and slight lilt this song has stand out to me. It's strangely bouncy, and it's continuing the trend of airy melodies MAMAMOO have been experimenting with recently. This actually kinda reminds me of "Rude Boy" from Yellow Flower, but that's not a bad thing at all! That was actually one of my favourite songs off of Yellow Flower. Plus, the members really get to show off their vocals skills here, which is another treat considering the talent the members have!

It's one thing to listen to this song, but if you look up the English lyrics to any song on this album, LET IT BE THIS ONE. If you listen closely enough, you might find that things sound a little... creepy. The music box, the echoing, the whispering... it's got somewhat of an eerie vibe, for sure. But the song sounds so bright that the lyrics can't possibly be anything too weird, right?

I was alone when I fell asleep
But someone is standing in the room 

NOPE. THEY'RE CREEPY AS HELL. AND I LOVE IT.

Why do I keep looking behind me? For some reason
It feels like someone is watching me

Moonbyul has actually said that the experience detailed in this song is something that happened to her! And I'll admit, anything to do with nightmares, sleep paralysis, or whatever it may be is something I've always been immensely interested in - it's one of the reasons I like Dreamcatcher so much. 

2 - EGOTISTIC (너나 해) [TITLE TRACK!]

The rest of this mini album is made up of songs that have been previously released or heard somehow, and I don't mind that at all - anything to put less work on the girls!  K-Pop idols are overworked as it is, we don't need to make that worse. 😡 "Rainy Season" is one of those slow, jazzy ballads that fits into the middle of the album quite well. I'll admit - I'm the last person to normally like ballads and slow songs. But this is surprisingly relaxing and mellow, while still being quite enjoyable! This is one of those songs that, as the title suggests, you really need to listen to while the rain is pouring down outside for it to fully click. It's a great way to listen to it, I'd recommend. 👌

This stripped-back sort of sound is a nice change of pace for MAMAMOO, especially considering how bright and bombastic they have the tendency to be (we'll get to that later). Not gonna lie, this song would probably fit in perfectly with the rest of "Yellow Flower" - but the difference between this song and that mini album as a whole is that "Rainy Day" has a little more complexity in its backing track and layered vocals, instead of being just pure laid-back spring goodness. It's more sorrowful and complex than that, just like the emotions the girls are feeling - and the lyrics in "Rainy Day" are goddamn gorgeous to boot.

I need an umbrella
Half-hearted consolation won't make me feel better

I can't see the light in front of my eyes
The days where I devoted my everything willingly
Disappear without meaning

*sighs*

...where do I start with this song?

This is the first time I've ever flat-out HATED a MAMAMOO song.

Y'know who this reminds me of? GFRIEND. And you know why that makes me so angry and upset? Because all of GFRIEND's songs sound the same to me. They're overly cutesy schoolgirl anthems which I have absolutely no interest in.

SO WHY THE FUCK ARE MAMAMOO SINGING ONE??????????

I don't care if this is for some mobile game; MAMAMOO have done CFs before and they've gone excellently! Look at "Woo Hoo", look at freaking "Girl Crush"!! Both fantastic songs that were for CFs!!! This is just... grating. And annoying. And I deleted it from my phone as soon as I listened to it. Yeah. I hate it that much. The only part of the song I actually like is Moonbyul's rap, since it sounds like a completely different song altogether... but it does sound awfully disjointed.

As for the lyrics... they're... alright, I suppose? They're wistful, and reflecting on a past relationship.

I tried to erase you
Who I missed so much that it hurt

But... girl... guy... whoever is singing this... if things didn't work out, just move on and try not to reflect on the past too much. Use the experience to make you a better person, yes, but don't dwell on it. It's easier said than done, but it's better than writing an overly upbeat grating pop song about it, right?! ...oh, wait. 😶

If "Red Moon" didn't have "Sky! Sky!" in it, it would've been a fantastic album. One of my favourites of the year, hands down. Nearly flawless. But NOOOOO, this had to come along and ruin it for me. Not only that, but they placed it after "Rainy Season"? Really?! YOU PUT A SONG LIKE THIS AFTER A HEARTFELT BREAKUP BALLAD?!? It sticks out like the worst sore thumb I've ever seen - think Spongebob's thumb from that one episode where he gets the splinter. YEAH. IT'S THAT BAD IN MY EYES. 

If you like it, then great, more power to you. For me, this is just... bottom-of-the-barrel stuff. Sorry. 😩

5 - SLEEP IN THE CAR (자미라도 차지)

If MAMAMOO wanted this album to stay on my good side after "Sky! Sky"...then they certainly did it with this. I'm not kidding, as soon as I started listening to this and heard Solar's overly-enthusiastic rapping - no joke - I literally screamed "IT'S ANOTHER JOKE SONG, THANK FUCK!!"

I love "1cm (Taller Than You)" AND "Aze Gag", but... this takes the cake. Holy shit. MAMAMOO's comedy knows no bounds. But the best part is, like "1cm (Taller Than You)", the beat behind the silly lyrics is actually pretty damn good. AND THIS SONG'S BEAT GOES HARD AS FUCK. Like. SERIOUSLY. It's way more epic than it has any right to be, especially in the intro.

And those silly lyrics? Oh, yeah. They're silly alright.

Honestly, I feel the girls' pain. I'm one of those people who can't sleep in a car for SHIT. Or any moving vehicle, for that matter. So Moonbyul, CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY THAT YOU CAN SLEEP IN THE CAR. There's a reason the others are on your ass about it...

In the grand scheme of things, this is a biiiiiiiit out of place on the album, I'll admit. But... it's MAMAMOO. We should kinda come to expect a joke song every now and again with them. It's actually why I didn't like "Yellow Flower" as a whole so much; MAMAMOO look great doing the more solemn concept, yes, but I love them because they're so much goddamn fun. And THIS reminded me of that. I laughed the entire way through, and I missed that with "Yellow Flower" - I missed that one stupid song that made me laugh until my sides hurt.

I learned every single word of "1cm (Taller Than You)", I learned every single word of "Aze Gag"... you bet your ass I'm going to learn every word of this, too. Because it is my duty as a MOOMOO. ✌

6 - SELFISH (FT. SEULGI (슬기) OF RED VELVET) [MOONBYUL (문별) SOLO]

Unfortunately, when this song came out, I didn't have time to listen to it since I was right in the middle of exams. But now that it's on "Red Moon", I can give it a listen - and I like it quite a bit! I particularly love how the beginning sounds like something you'd hear in an Animal Crossing grocery store, if you know what I mean. 😉

One of the first things that stood out to me, though, was the use of autotune on Moonbyul's voice. That was... a little disappointing. She probably doesn't need it, let's be real. But to be fair, it does contribute to the overall vibe of the song pretty well! It just felt a little bit out of place, but you do get used to it after a few listens. I also feel like Seulgi is putting on a little bit of a cutesy voice, but again, that's something that you get used to after a bit.

The lyrics themselves are actually pretty damn cool! They're very "IDGAF", and inspiring to boot.

On top of that, you've got the adorable examples of Engrish like Seulgi's "I wanna be Selfiiiiiii-sh" and "Sometime being selfish", as well as Moonbyul's amazing "FISHIE FISHIE YA" in the second verse. That just makes this song happier, if you ask me - they definitely didn't intend it like that, but it's kinda adorable and adds to the upbeat mood!

It's songs like this that can be a very big breath of fresh air when you need them the most, and that's exactly what "Selfish" manages to be! It's upbeat, peppy and relaxing without being annoying. This is something would actually sound great while you're lounging next to a pool... I'll need to try that if I get the chance. 😊


And that's that! That's the entirety of the mini album. Overall - a pretty damn solid release from MAMAMOO, yet again! (Apart from "Sky! Sky!", of course. But let's not talk about that song. It doesn't exist anymore. Shh.)

This is definitely something I'll be listening to for a bit, and that I'll revisit in the future; I'm going on holiday next week, and this is the perfect summery album to accompany that. 😁
ALL SOURCES FOR THE ENGLISH LYRICS I USED IN THIS REVIEW:
Midsummer Night Dream (여름밤의 꿈)
Egotistic (너나 해)
Rainy Season (장마)
Sky! Sky! (하늘하늘 [청순])
Sleep in the Car (잠이라도 차지)

SELFISH (ft. Seulgi)

COVER IMAGE BACKGROUND: Designed by Kjpargeter / Freepik
MAMAMOO "RED MOON" TRANSPARENT LOGO: Made by TsukinoFleur on Deviantart
MAMAMOO PNG IMAGES: Made by OneAndOnlyYuu on Deviantart

Can we even call this a music video? I feel like this may as well be a short film, cause godDAMN this is one gorgeous MV.

It's like if somebody decided to condense Kill Bill into a three-and-a-half minute rollercoaster - only in this case we're talking about the actual film Kill Bill... not the Wild West-esque concept Brown Eyed Girls did a few years back. (Although to be quite honest that song was, and still is, a HUGE bop. Miryo's rap is fucking phenomenal.) Being honest, this MV is the Russian spy movie Jennifer Lawrence wished she had been in with Red Sparrow. I'm serious. That film sucked in comparison to this.

To get back onto the main point, this concept couldn't have been a nicer change of pace for Taeyeon. She wasn't kidding when she said this would be different. The song is jazzy as all hell, and even though she isn't promoting it on music shows, the MV more than makes up for that! We get to see a sassier side of Taeyeon (that poor guy in the elevator had no clue what was coming), and there's even some messaging and symbolism about the music industry if you dig deep enough. It's surprisingly multi-layered and of a very high quality, and it really was a damn nice surprise. SM may be a piece of shit, but at least they give their artists great comebacks. 👏

I have four words to describe my reaction to this MV:

BLACKPINK FUCKED ME UP.

And here I thought Taeyeon's MV was heavy on the symbolism! Not only is this video colourful as all fuck and positively gorgeous to look at (which is certainly helped by the girls themselves cause they're all stUNNING), there's so much here to analyse!! The tumblr theorist in me literally had a fucking heart attack when I saw Jisoo's section with the paparazzi in the second verse. THAT SHIT IS BEGGING TO BE ANALYSED AND GIVEN MEANING.

I'm not even going to begin describing all of the images BLACKPINK present us with in this video - there's a loooooot. Maybe I'll make a post breaking it down sometime. (That'd be fun, actually.) But this was the video that reeeeally got me thinking:

MOMOLAND (모모랜드) - BBOOM BBOOM (뿜뿜)/BAAM

...yeah, I really couldn't pick between these two, so I just decided to lump them together.

Let's take "Bboom Bboom" first. This MV is honestly so refreshingly unique, especially for a girl group who normally has a cutesy concept. Everyone and their mother has talked about the song and video, so I'll keep this brief: I don't know who decided to centre this MV around informercials, but it was a style choice I'm certainly happy with. On top of that, the colours just straight up pop out at you, far more than they do in other MVs if you ask me. I'll admit, there are certain scenes - especially at the start - that look kinda like a drug trip, but that's beyond the point when the rest of the video is so smooth, and especially when it flows together so well.

AND. Yes, there's an 'and' here. MOMOLAND (*cough* YEONWOO *cough*) even manage to mix in some darker, more sexy sections - while they're not broadcasting themselves as fitness instructors or trying to convince you to buy some fictional product (that we would all totally buy if it was real, let's be honest). While this sort of thing... probably wouldn't work if it were any other group, MOMOLAND are quirky enough to pull it off! And they manage to do so WITHOUT seeming like total idiots. That shit's hard to do. 👏

So we go from BLACKPINK with their bright colours and symbolism, and MOMOLAND with their drug trips in video form, to... this. Which is starkly simplistic in contrast. But that's exactly why it's so damn good.

This video got released on my birthday and I couldn't have asked for a better fucking present. Not only is the song surprisingly sexy and classy, the accompanying video perfectly matches that same vibe! Not only that, the whole idea of walking around a really busy city at nighttime is a huge guilty pleasure of mine (maybe because I've grown up in the countryside), so that immediately got this video on my good side. But then we also had Amber and Luna bREAKING IT THE FUCK DOWN.

This is one of those videos - similarly to Seohyun and Yuri's secret - where I desperately wish we had gotten a choreography video to accompany it, cause I want to learn that dance please. To be fair, the original video itself IS mostly pretty good in terms of showing the choreography (due to its simplicity), but hopefully the upcoming SM Station concert will give us a nice, clear, full-length fancam? I can hope. 😢 But overall, this is definitely a case of minimalism done right, and the classy style suited Amber and Luna as a duo surprisingly well. I'm impressed. 👏👏👏

Y'know what I love? Throwbacks. AND THIS IS HOW YOU DO A THROWBACK.

Goddamn it, EXID have got to be one of the most stylish K-Pop groups out there for me. Every single comeback, their sense of style, concept and even fashion is just... top notch! With no faults! Even when they release a song that I maybe didn't like as much, like "Night Rather Than Day", the styling is still so goddamn pleasing to look at. And for "Lady"? They reeeeally went all in with the 90s concept. 

I mentioned before that I love it when groups are so fully absorbed in their concept, with my example being Dreamcatcher. This is another fantastic example of that. The song is boppy as all hell, the dance is fun as fuck yet exhausting (and reminiscent of the 90s, for sure), the outfits are cheesy yet the girls still manage to look fly as fuck wearing 'em, and the video is just the cherry on top of that Backstreet Boys-inspired sundae. I feel like this video doesn't even need a VHS filter over it to create that nostalgic effect; it'd still look just as authentic and legit without it. 

Sure, this isn't another "DDD", and that's always going to disappoint me in some way other another (That was legitimately one of my favourite songs of last year, talk about fucking nailing a comeback...) But y'know what? EXID decided to just have fun with this, and I'm all for it - especially when the MV looks the way it does. 😁

And that's that! That's all I had planned for the midyear lists - although I do have a lot of other post ideas coming soon, so watch this space. 😉 Plus we've got a great string of comebacks coming up, so... July is looking good!