Nine Muses has always had a very defined sound, well almost always (let's not count "No Playboy", shall we?), and with their first full length album in 2013 they brought that sound to the next level. Now, after approximately one and half year of nothing, they're back for world domination.
The intro of the album, titled "Pilot Episode" is not really worth discussing much, as it's only 20 seconds long and doesn't really do much but to set the mood for the album. In that way, it's actually quite a good intro, because the rest of the album has a very similar sound. Title track "Drama" follows right up, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Compared to basically all of their other title tracks, this one is on the weaker side. Naturally, I find myself jamming along to it because it is quite fun and catchy, but it's a bit disappointing coming from this group in particular. It has a similar vibe to "Dolls", but I wasn't a huge fan of that song so I'm not crazy about this one either.Lyrically, it's about a girl who finds herself being stuck in a TV-drama-like situation, as she's crushing on a guy that her friend also likes. The friend seems to be on more than friendly terms with the guy as well, and the narrator of the story is left unknowing what to do about everything. The lyrics aren't great, but they're passable, however I'm not sure how well they fit the upbeat theme of the song. I guess the entire track is a bit comical though, so it isn't that big of a problem. Issues like the song's extremely short length or lack of build-up does bother me slightly more though.
The next song is called "Choice" and it's a pretty fun one. There are some disco vibes in there, although still having that special 9M sound, and the melody is serviceable. I wouldn't call it a stand-out though, because while it might be more energetic and fast-paced, it hasn't got a memorable hook. The lyrics are flirty and seductive, but doesn't give me much to go on either. Let's just say I wouldn't listen to it if I got to pick, but I certainly wouldn't turn it off if someone else played it for me."Trickle", on the other hand is a song I would listen to by my own free will. This song is a bit softer, a lot more stripped down and emotionally packed. The melody is what instantly caught me, especially the bridge and chorus, and I like that while it's on the gentler side, it still has enough spunk to keep it memorable. Vocally it sounds more than decent, and although I would have preferred Euerin rapping on her own, Sungah is far from terrible. As for the song's message, it manages to come alive not only thanks to the lovely brass instruments but the heartfelt lyrics about a one-sided break-up.
The last song on the mini is "September 17" and qualifies as what you would call a mid-tempo ballad, which is a category I'm not a big supporter of. The thing about these kind of tracks is that they easily get boring and dragged-out if not made well enough. As for this one; I'm skeptical. I do think it's a sweet song with sweet but somewhat uninspired lyrics, but there's literally nothing about this number that gets to me. Thus, it becomes one of those tedious attempts at a ballad, and that's really not the note you want to end the album on.
To be fair, I did have something else in mind when I started listening to the mini. I hoped there would be at least one song that could get me going like so many of their past hits, but instead I was disappointed with the generic quality of the album. I know that this group can and has done so much better in the past. and I hope that for their next comeback they'll step it up a notch. I'm not sure exactly why there's been such a change, but maybe loosing three members did have a bigger impact than what I first imagined.
Highlights: "Trickle"
Least Favorite: "September 17"
Score: 3,25/5
No comments:
Post a Comment