Month: January 2020

To celebrate GFriend’s 5th anniversary, I have decided to rank and do a mini-review of each of their albums. This is part 2 of the post and we have reached the final top 5.

Read part 1 here

The album that began everything, the start of a legend.

Despite it only having 3 songs, all of them are just excellent and so well put together, with each showing a slightly different sides of GFriend’s ‘powerful-innocence’ concept. “Glass Bead” serves perfectly as an introduction to everyone who GFriend is, a young group of girls who might look pure and fragile as a glass bead, but are strong enough to protect themselves and the ones they love. The track has been compared to the legendary “Into the New World” by SNSD for its similar vibe, and tbh I think it’s a good thing. Since I am a SONE myself, I have always love seeing junior groups paying tribute to SNSD and the fact that GFriend’s music is similar to SNSD’s is a total plus for me.

The first b-side of the album is “White”, the song that GFriend was actually suppose to debut with. While “Glass Bead” make people nostalgic of SNSD’s debut back in 2007, “White” takes listeners all the way back to the late 90s when groups like S.E.S or Fin.K.L would release something similar to this. This song is another innocent dance track, but with a more dreamy and softer feelings. In contrast, “Neverland” is upbeat and fun, with an addictive hook that would make anyone can’t help but chant ‘Welcome to the Neverland!” every time listening to this bop.

What I love most about this mini album is how much they accurately represent GFriend at that time. They are pure but powerful in “Glass Bead”, but also soft and sentimental in “White”, and lastly playful and fun in “Neverland”. Season of Glass couldn’t have done a better job introducing to the world who GFriend is.

Continue reading “Ranking. Every. GFriend. Album (Part 2)” →

If you have checked out my ult list at the top of this blog, you would know GFriend is one of my favorite groups. In fact, since my all-time favorite group SNSD is inactive, GFriend is currently my no.1 priority. And they have just reached their 5th anniversary this January of 2020. To celebrate that, I am gonna do a ranking (and short reviews) of their discography.

Kpop is an industry that sadly moves so fast and companies have no choice but to squeeze at least 2 comebacks per year if they want to keep their artists relevant. This results in albums being rushed and barely have the same quality as albums from Western artists who spend over years perfecting an album. With a length of 12 songs, Time for Us sadly only have half of those songs are memorable. A few of the tracks are repetitive and seemed like only were added to the album just for fillers. “Our Secret” and “Truly Love” are both tropical house songs, why need both? Songs like “Glow” and “It’s you” though nice to listen, but forgettable. But perhaps Time for Us’s biggest weakness is failing to showcase something new to GFriend’s music. Even though it is their first full length album after 2 years since LOL, the growth compared to that album is quite ambiguous.

However, Time for Us still have its charm. Stand out tracks like “You are not alone” and “L.U.V” managed to do what most of the tracks couldn’t: add different colors to GFriend’s discography. While “YANA” is an epic healing anime-opening-like track, L.U.V bring in the urban vibe and hip-hop groove to the album. “Show Up” and “Only 1” are also some of tracks I would recommend from the album.

Though I wouldn’t say there’s any bad song in the album, due to its lack of versatility, Time for Us is unfortunately GFriend’s weakest album .

Recommend track: Only 1, You are not Alone, L.U.V

Continue reading “Ranking. Every. GFriend. Album. (Part 1)” →