Vocals: 9 / 10
So S.M. finally decided to show Amber some love and gave her singing lines! What a pleasant surprise! Sulli and Victoria’s vocals continue to improve and refine, and Krystal’s is nothing short of fantastic. All in all, nothing I haven’t already seen or heard from the three. And I already knew Amber had a good singing voice, anyway. Luna was right in the middle, honestly. No high belts or strong segments but nothing too lackluster either. Lots of variation in lines between the members, especially with all five singing. Is it strange that I thought Luna’s “I’m in shock, electric shock” sounded better than Krystal’s, even though Krystal is the fluent English speaker? Throw in the other random bits of English like “energy / lazer / synergy” and you have a standard f(x) song. This is right up f(x)’s alley and so was executed superbly.
Appearance: 10 / 10
For such a vivid MV with all the flashing lights and electricity theme, the mix of hair colours on everyone was a very strong choice. The vivid makeup complimented nicely. f(x) continues to shine with bright vivid outfits and mostly neat design. The blue lenses were kinda strange, but some members pulled it off better than others, so I will give them that. I liked Krystal’s hair and variations, and you can see that she’s matured since the last time they were on stage. Luna has finally gotten rid of the blonde and gone brunette and my God she looks amazing. Now if only she could go back to black… Sulli and Amber aren’t really anything new minus the additional hair colours and all that, which is to say the former is adorable and the latter tomboyish, so no complaints there. Lastly—ALL HAIL QUEEN VICTORIA. ALL HAIL QUEEN VICTORIA. ALL HAIL QUEEN VICTORIA.
P.S. I have come to realize Luna has gone from black (La Cha Ta, Chu~), to brown (NU ABO), to blonde (Pinocchio, Hot Summer), now back to brown. Could black hair be up next?!?!
Dance: 8 / 10
Mixed choreography is always something I love to see, but that’s usually with larger groups like After School or Super Junior, since with smaller groups look great with tight synchronization. Nonetheless, the dance during Krystal’s opening lines and choreography were really neat. Everything else was some standard choreography for f(x). I am still waiting for either Luna and Victoria or even Amber to have a dance break in some release, since both are solid dancers. However, SHINee barely gives Taemin dance breaks so I know I’ll be waiting for a while. The “NANANANANA” / chorus choreography is the best of the entire song and is really catchy and easy to pickup.
Music Video: 7 / 10
I already saw in the MV highlight video that this MV was going to be nothing new, so whatever. Dancing in a empty fancy set with various solo shots and etc. Nothing deviating from the standard of f(x) (read: SM) videos but I definitely did not expect the random tasers showing up so you know, people try new things sometimes. Nothing else I can comment on, generic MV is generic, although the bridge with Victoria just lying on the ground was rather…strange. There was also one set where the room was just white, which I found out of place with the other bright and flashy sets. And for the love of God, S.M., take out those damn smartphone app advertisements!
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Overall: 86 / 100
I believe this hype / dance song would’ve benefited from a good rap from Amber, but that’s equivalent to flipping a coin (or worse yet). In the end though I guess I’d rather have Amber singing with no rapping than Amber singing with bad rapping. All in all, S.M. seems to remember what f(x) is good at performing, and hopefully future releases will have the same familiar sound and power of “Electric Shock”.
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