As mentioned yesterday, I will be reviewing two mini-albums that would be considered to be recent releases before going on to focus on albums released earlier in April. The second album this weekend is by GOT7, who have released their 11th mini-album in April. This is their 6th year the group has been active and considering 11 mini-albums, three studio albums, many singles and stages, this is a feat. And that is only their Korean works. The mini-album is titled Dye and features the title track, Not By The Moon. It also features a number of solo and unit tracks that the members have performed before at their concerts. These are only on the physical version of the album, so I chosen have not review them.

1. Aura – Aura kicks off the album with a very distinctive R&B track. The synths really give the song some life, boldness and profile. The vocal work was a very strong aspect of the song as you can tell that they pushed themselves to match the boldness of the instrumental. I like the smoothness of the vocals that Jinyoung and Yugyeom bring to the chorus. But the standout member in this song has to be Youngjae with his ‘Aura’ hook that is very addictive. I did like the rapping, but I think the song could have benefited with more robust rap sequences to drive the intensity. (8/10)

2. Crazy – Crazy’s strongest point has to be its erratic and chaotic drop which features the repetition of the line ‘You Make Me Crazy’. The buildup to this was also extremely satisfying, which is an odd way to describe it, given the result we get to at the other end. Everything else falls into place in this song, from their vocals to the deep bass that the song strongly utilizes to drive the song forward. Nothing feels off, other than the fact everything else feels a little too neat in this song. I would have loved to hear a little craziness, but I guess it wouldn’t fit in with the refined style that the group pushed for is all aspects other than the choruses. (7/10)

3. Not By The Moon (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Not By The Moon. (9/10)

4. Love You Better – Love You Better is another R&B track. This song stands out with its strong ‘Knock Knock’ hook that is embedded between other words in the chorus. There is impact when the members sing this hook, as the instrumental also mimics that knocking effect, which I find is very suitable for the song. The instrumental also contains synths that give the song a lot of varying textures that all blend with each other. The rapping is also a strong aspect, with a decent melody pulling the sequences together. I just wish the verses were a little more memorable. (8/10)

5. Trust My Love – What I have noticed is that the album (thus far) doesn’t depend on EDM as much as other artists or GOT7’s past albums. For the first few seconds, I had thought that this is the song that does switch to EDM. But this one ends up being a club banger track. There is that electronic influence in the song as well, but it is very minute and is barely recognisable under the pounding beat, which is (no doubt) the main attraction in this song. There seems to also be an ever so light sprinkling of a Latin influence. The melodies that carry the vocals of the members was also quite flowy. The ‘Trust My Love’ falsetto repetition is also another strong aspect. I really liked Jackson’s hoarse voice in this song, along with the subtle intensity from Mark and BamBam’s rap sequences. (8/10)

6. Poison – Poison is probably my favourite sidetrack on this album. It may or may not have anything to do with the multiple I have given the song as a result of their many performances for Poison on the weekly music shows as their secondary. But the song had always stood out as it managed to wrap the hip-hop genre in a very classy yet fashionable manner. This applies to both the rappers and vocalists, who all did a really good job. The highlight has Youngjae’s bridge, which felt perfect for Poison. I liked how they stripped away the instrumental so we could hear Youngjae in all his glory. I also liked like the deep bellowing synth that plays throughout the song and how the song faded out at the end, bringing the song and album to a close in a trendy manner. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.2/10