MAMAMOO+ – KPOPREVIEWED

[Album Review] Two Rabbits (1st Mini Album) – MAMAMOO+

January 24, 2024January 19, 2024Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged MAMAMOO+Leave a comment

After a single and single album release, MAMAMOO+ have finally released their first mini-album, Two Rabbits, in August 2023. It features the title track dangdang. I used to review most (if not all) of MAMAMOO’s album releases, so I thought maybe that should also be extended out to MAMAMOO+ releases, as well. While admittedly MAMAMOO+ releases have not been as compelling as their parent group releases, I still know that I will have a good time with anything related to MAMAMOO. As such, I will return one day to review their single album releases from earlier in the year which featured the single GGBB. But for now, here is my review on Two Rabbits.

1. Intro: Two Rabbits (Intro: 두 마리 토끼) – It is a short intro to the mini-album, but the backing to Two Rabbits had good rhythm and a peaceful vibe, while Solar and Moonbyul did a really good job at complementing this with light playful and calming melodies in their vocals and delivery, respectively. It makes for a good start to the mini-album. (8/10)

2. dangdang (댕댕) (Title Track) – Click here for the full review for dangdang. (7.5/10)

3. I LIKE THIS – MAMAMOO+ keeps to the playful vibe in I LIKE THIS. We go down a jazzy and groovy direction with the instrumentation, which was quite engaging. They throw in some other elements into the mix to make it a fun sounding track, like addition of brass during the second verse and some funky synth work in the instrumental break/bridge of the song. What I also like in I LIKE THIS are Solar and Moonbyul’s light and delicate vocals, which I found to be super enjoyable. Moonbyul does step away briefly to amp up her delivery for the rapping in the second verse, but this made sense to complement the change in momentum that the background to the rapping had. Just like the title, I really liked this. (10/10)

4. Starry Sea (별이 빛나는 바다) – The vocals are the memorable aspect of Starry Sea for me. Both Solar and Moonbyul do an amazing job, especially in the chorus, where it was so easy to get lost in both of their powerful and delicate deliveries. Elsewhere, the melodies are stunningly beautiful and I found myself swaying along to these melodies. Starry Sea is also nicely instrumented with acoustic guitars, a light touch of synth and some saxophones at the very end of the song. The beach sounds were also a nice addition. (9/10)

5. Save Me (지구에 혼자 남게 된다면) – A few weeks prior to the release of this mini-album, MAMAMOO+ also pre-released the single Save Me. I had intentions to review Save Me separately, but it slipped from my mind. Anyhow, Save Me is a R&B ballad with stunning vocals and amazing rapping. These are just common synonyms to use when referring to anything MAMAMOO related! I like the retro vibes that come from the instrumentation. I didn’t expect as much synth work in this song, but it helped made the song feel fuller and added some intricate detailing to the backing. Overall, a very pleasant and mild release. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.5/10

[Review] dangdang – MAMAMOO+

August 3, 2023Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged MAMAMOO+1 Comment

Earlier this year in March 2023, MAMAMOO+ made their unit comeback with the single GGBB. That was a fair comeback with an unfitting dance break that caused a flow issue. Four months on, Solar and Moonbyul are back with their first mini-album, Two Rabbits, and their latest title track dangdang. The pre-release single Save Me is also featured part of this mini-album (which I have not yet reviewed).

dangdang is an appealing track. The guitar twangs in the background, the heftier beats in the choruses, and some of the hooks, melodies and vocal delivery is all evidence of appeal in my books. But I find the track to be rather mild and light on as it opts for a more pleasant atmosphere. While I do like pleasant tracks, I do feel like dangdang could have gone a bit harder. The final chorus is a prime example of this potential. Of course, by holding back dangdang for majority of the song’s run, the final chorus is a lot impactful. But I think the song could have explored other avenues to give the song more oomph. The vocal work from both Solar and Moonbyul was very nice. Solar brought a falsetto and wispy approach to enhance the lightness of the track. However, that is kind of the only mode I remember from Solar in dangdang and I wished she had more substantial parts. Moonbyul’s vocals and rapping helps ground dangdang, but I wished her rapping was punchier to be more memorable and give dangdang something interesting to throw at us. More interesting verses could have been another option, and maybe a few strong hooks/melodies would have been nice as well. Overall, dangdang isn’t bad and I find it to be a stronger release than their past tracks. But I am left wanting more as the song progresses.

The music video appears to be quite fun, which works well with the song. There seems to be a trend in KPOP lately to use a lot of dancers in music videos. This music video doesn’t feature as much as other videos have in the past, but I feel like the start of the main portion of the video looks really cool as a result of the higher number of dancers. I liked the boldness of the blue and yellow sets in the middle of the video. And per usual, Solar and Moonbyul look amazing in the video. The music video also features the intro track, Two Rabbits, to the mini-album.

Their stage presence and smiles really makes the performance even better. While nothing really stood out for me in terms of individual moves, the playfulness of the routine, the duo and dancers comes off quite strongly and this helps makes the stage worthwhile to watch.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.8/10

[Review] GGBB – MAMAMOO+

April 3, 2023Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged MAMAMOO, MAMAMOO+2 Comments

Congratulation to MAMAMOO+ for being voted ‘Best Subunit of 2022’ in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Click here to find out which other artists, songs and performances you voted as winners for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards.

MAMAMOO unveiled their first subunit, MAMAMOO+ consisting of Solar and Moonbyul, last year in August through the release of Better (ft. BIG Naughty). Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to reviewing it for a few reasons. But never say never, as I might go back to review it once I get some free time, especially since MAMAMOO+ was selected as the Best Subunit of 2022 in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. But today instead, I will be reviewing MAMAMOO+’s comeback single from their first single-album release, Act 1, Scene 1, which dropped last week.

GGBB (Good Girl Bad Boy) is the title of the single in question. GGBB is a doo-wop retro song that has a mild cutesy tinge. The retro influence is reminiscent of their original group’s early work that they persisted and succeeded with when they first started out. I did feel the cutesy charm of the song made it feel slightly childish, but it also enabled a decent elements to come to life in GGBB. One of these is the very light chorus melody. At first, I thought it was weak and it would have helped if the chorus had some backing. But multiple listens since its release, and GGBB has managed to turn that thought upside down. Now, I appreciate the lightness and drifty nature of the melody. It feels fitting and comes off as catchy. Both Solar and Moonbyul do a nice job in the song. Solar definitely has the vocal appeal to pull this sound off. I had concerns for Moonbyul initially, given how high and light the chorus went. But she does fits into the song and her huskier tone gave GGBB an interesting appeal. The only thing that really irks me about GGBB is the electronic/autotuned dance break. I will admit it was a good beat. But in the grand context of GGBB, it is more of an experiment to incorporate something different into the song, per current trends. But this particular dance break just didn’t work and ruined the flow that GGBB had created itself. I honestly don’t understand the need to do this. I am sure if the producers selected a bridge or instrumental break that aligns itself with the retro influence of the song, GGBB would have been a solid release through and through. But unfortunately, the dance break we did leaves GGBB disrupted and potentially broken.

The music video is set up like a musical show/concept. It is a fitting concept for a retro based song. It isn’t an innovative idea, but it was well executed. The dance break tries to incorporate a modern element to the musical stage concept. And just like the song, the hip-hop direction it went in was quite ill-fitting. Minus that, and I think the video would have been a decent one. I quite liked the final chorus and ending, where the producers made it feel like a finale. Once again, well-executed.

I found the routine for this comeback to be a fun one. I liked the bright and cutesy tinge it had, which works hand-in-hand with the sound of GGBB. While their dance break was performed on stage as well, I did like the KBS Music Bank version of GGBB, which incorporated Chico Malo (MAMAMOO+’s pre-release, which I am hoping to also review sometime in the near future) into the performance in place of the dance break. The issue of not fitting in still stands, but I find it much better than the dance/instrumental break we get part of the original song.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10