After how much I enjoyed AURORA from earlier this year, I had to check out cignature’s next release much closer to the release date then what I did with AURORA. Dropped two days ago, cignature’s latest song is titled Smooth Sailing and is featured as part of the group’s fourth mini-album, Us In The Summer. This comeback does not feature member Belle, who is currently participating on the SBS survival show Universe Ticket.

The best way I can describe Smooth Sailing is that the new song has that cutesy tinge that AURORA had, but the sound profile also felt very OH MY GIRL. This combination feel very natural, especially for cignature, and this helps makes Smooth Sailing a very appreciable song. The song does lack the catchiness and memorable hooks that AURORA had, but what we do get is pretty decent. And I can only imagine them growing on me as I listen to the song more in the future (which is usually the effect on me). Their vocals and rapping was pretty good. I like the definition behind some of the vocals and chanting they had in Smooth Sailing, which gives everything a nice boost. Also, the cutesy tone that I mentioned before keeps the song buoyant and bright. But it is the instrumental that ultimately speaks the most to me. Smooth Sailing‘s pop instrumental features a large dose of brass that always makes any song feel upbeat and fun, and that effect is definitely felt across the broad in Smooth Sailing. It also gives the track a nice warm glow, which makes it feel even more suitable for the summery weather. And in combination with the vocals and hooks the song has to offer, Smooth Sailing feels very satisfying.

The music video features the members as school friends who discover a music competition. The majority of the rest of the video shows the members preparing for the music competition and having fun at the same time. I really liked the choice of having the video outside, which the light and weather that we see in the video contributing to a refreshing and breezy feeling. The natural aspect was also equally as refreshing. I did wish the video saw a crowd at the end, which would have been better than having cignature perform on stage without an audience. The lack of a crowd, as we see in the video, just felt weird.

The choreography was great. Again, nothing fancy. But it looks fun and likeable. Also, a simple routine feels just right in order to pair it with the song, and that is exactly what we got.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10