K-Bops in K-Pop

OH MY GIRL is back! So of course, I had to review the album. I love OH MY GIRL even if I don’t always love their songs. This album had some ups and downs and I don’t think it was entirely cohesive, but what it did do excellently is show all that OH MY GIRL is capable of.

The Fifth Season (SSFWL)

If you read any of the comments on YouTube, you’ll instantly see that there’s a universal consensus that this sounds like an OST for an anime. Honestly, they’re not wrong. The song is very dramatic and the chorus is the sort of catchy, powerfully-sung hook that you would expect before watching a dreamy anime like Sailor Moon. WJSN is famous for having really mastered this sound. Almost all their songs sound vaguely Sailor Moon-esque. This song is in that same vein, but it has more of that girly, flowery, storytelling element that OH MY GIRL is known for.

Shower

If the title song is the OST for an anime, this is an OST for a K-drama. It has that upbeat and lovely quality that makes it sound like it would play at the end of the episode of your favorite drama or during a montage where the main characters are falling in love. Still, you can tell there was a distinct theme for this album. This song is full of 80s and 90s vocals and beautiful strings that make it memorable.

Case No.L5VE

This was such a departure from the first two songs that it almost felt for a moment as if it belonged on a different album. However, it quickly course-corrects into another version of a throwback with the chorus. While it’s not as obvious as the first two songs, this song is also pretty much a throwback. It appears that they were largely inspired by the OSTs of days past and nothing exemplifies that better than this track.

Tic Toc

Again, this song was very distinct from the ones before it. It sounds like something you would exercise to. It’s bright and bubbly and has the kind of chorus that makes you bounce up and down in your seat. Even still, this song reminds me of something you would have heard in the early 2000s or the late 90s. It’s got that kind of driving-to-the-beach vibe.

Gravity

I know I’ve said this about every song but this song was decidedly different from its predecessors. The difference being, however, that I actually really enjoyed the other songs and I felt that they fit well into the album. This one…I’m not so sure. It’s a pretty song, I suppose, but it doesn’t really do anything for me and I don’t really feel like it’s doing anything for the album either.

Crime Scene

Weirdly enough, this song reminded me a lot of Coloring Book. It had that same kind of hurried quality to it. This song is strange, but it’s definitely that OH MY GIRL can pull off. That said, I don’t know if this album is the best place for this song. As much as I love the healthy helping of Mimi’s rapping and the stark contrast between the chorus and the verse, it doesn’t quite fit the rest of what they were doing with the album.

Underwater Love

Oh, I loved this one. The title very much suits the overall vibe and style of the song. It starts off with this soft and dreamy guitar and then transitions into light vocals. The song has the feel of one of those songs that you would hear in an elevator but in the best way. I loved that this song was more relaxed than the others on the album without feeling like it was from another album altogether. I’d say this is a top contender for my favorite of the album.

Vogue

Given the title, I expected something very specific. I expected Madonna and edgy composition and techno-y sounds. That is pretty much what the song delivered until the hook. The chorus sounds like it could belong to another song entirely. It has the usual OH MY GIRL sweetness, but it’s not befitting the rest of the song, which is entirely unlike anything they’ve done before.

Checkmate

I was so shocked by the vocals in this that I legitimately wondered if it was OH MY GIRL for a moment. Not to say that they aren’t powerful vocalists, but they definitely aim for a breathier and gentler sound so to hear them belting out the way that SISTAR or Ailee does was baffling. That aside, it worked! And they sounded great. While it was a bizarre addition to the album, I still really like this song.