4Minute Go HARD for their "Crazy" Comeback

Seriously folks, how long haven't we been waiting for another badass 4Minute comeback? I mean, these girls did actually start out with a fresh, powerful yet sexy concept that set them apart from other girl groups. "Hot Issue", "Muzik" and "Huh" are just a few examples of their signature femme fetale concepts, and that's the kind of genre I wish this group would stick with

Lately however, there's been a serious decrease in musical quality and originality, and I blame most of it on Brave Brothers. Well, their company too I guess, for working with him, This time however, there's no sight of him anywhere and for that I feel truly blessed. 4Minute has decided to return to their roots, but with a sexier, harder sound.









Let me set things straight right away; I adore this song. I am in love with the video too but the song is giving me some serious feelings; feelings I haven't felt in a long time. Honestly, the first month of 2015 has been pretty underwhelming music-wise, and thus a fierce comeback like this was clearly needed. The word "fierce" is awful, I know, but it's exactly what this song and video are and it's exactly how 4Minute present themselves. I mean, Hyuna even says that she's the "female monster", and I don't know what could be more fierce than that.


Honestly, the video doesn't offer that much because it's basically a dance-in-box kind that focuses mainly on wide dance sequences or close-ups of the members, but there's plenty of detail put into it and it therefore becomes everything else but boring. This is, I guess you could say, a box-set video done right. 


What is it about this video that makes it so much better than your average box video? Well, there are a couple of aspects. Firstly, the way the video is shot is clever because it's multidimensional. The camera not only zooms in and out on the choreography but also provides other viewing angles than the typical up-front one. The shot moves from one side to the other and instantly there's more depth and dimension in the video, and that's not even a complicated thing to do.


Secondly, there's the editing. I don't know who's been working for Cube this time around but that person has managed to up the video quite a few notches simply by switching up the edits once in a while. Apart from your regular full-screen shots there's also shots where the screen is divided between the members or by only showing part of a member. The rest of the editing, like cuts between different sets and scenes are included with the part-screen shots thus creating a dynamic, energetic pace which fits the song more than right.

The final thing that stood out to me was that the video was shot almost exclusively in black and white, which could end up disappointing but 4Minute's video-design team made sure it didn't. Having most of the sets entirely in white or black and then having the member's wear the opposite color made it clear that the contrasts were a big factor in the aesthetic aspect of the video. The fact that there are flashes of color, like Jiyoon's green hair (which is amazing, by the way), Sohyun's red socks and the letters spelling out "Crazy" kept the video from falling into the monotone folder and managed to bring it to life even more.

Jiyoon's green hair, however, wasn't the only part of the styling for this comeback that I liked. Most of what they're wearing is flawless, and their hair and makeup are all on point which is more than I can say for their 2014 comeback, but there are a few things that bug me and most of them are about Gayoon. Her Nike headband is unflattering to say the least, as are those braids, and I don't know why she's put in those huge tent-looking pants. It's even more strange since she was the visual director for the comeback. Apart from that though, the girls look hot and gorgeous, more so than ever before.

Additionally, I feel like the choreography does its job but there could have been more complex moves thrown in there somewhere. The verses and chorus are all fine, but the bridge is severely lacking. Gayoon's build-up is nothing but spectacular, yet that's when the choreography moves the slowest when it should in fact be speeding up to fit the musical climax. Still, the rest of the routine manages to save that part by being both sexy and powerful. My eyes are drawn mostly to Jiyoon and Hyuna, not only since there the ones in the front, but also because this is totally what they do best.

If I were to summarize this comeback in one word it'd probably be "finally". Like I mentioned previously, this is what I've been dreaming of for such a long time and now it's finally happening. The song, video, styling; everything is beyond perfect and I can definitely say this is by far the best release that has 2015 given us yet. This will be a comeback to remember, mark my words.

Song: 4,5/5
Video: 4,25/5