[Review] Oh My Girl - Liar Liar

I'm a few weeks late, but it's been a while since I've last written about a new group. Oh My Girl is a rookie group that debuted last year with "Cupid." Along with their youthful innocence that so many other girl groups seem to have these days, they were also accompanied by a bizarre customs debacle of which they couldn't enter the United States, and "Closer," one of 2015's better (and undiscovered) songs. While their debut was relatively pedestrian and catered to the standard masses, "Closer" was quite special and could help the group stand apart if they continue to release similar music down the line.

Well unfortunately (for me, at least), this song is nothing like "Closer." It's a bubblegum pop song through and through, following in the steps of A-Pink, GFriend, Lovelyz, etc. From the bright and vivid colour palette, aegyo-infused singing, and uplifting energy of the song, this is everything that we saw from them at their debut. The English is scattered around the song in traditional Kpop fashion to varying degrees of success. It's good in the hook, but I'm unconvinced it helps anywhere else. Speaking of, the hook itself isn't bad, though clashes with what I find is the biggest problem of the song. That is, the voices of Oh My Girl are a bit too high. Regardless of whether or not this was intentional, sometimes parts of the audio are really grating. And it does come to a point where it's difficult to listen to the whole song. "Liar Liar" may be catchy, but it's no repeat material.

Mimi is the most interesting member of the group by far. She's the group's rapper, and has always portrayed a different aura than the other girls. She has this veteran swagger to her which can be seen in her raps, and I personally find her as one of the most mature-looking ones in the group. Mimi's rap in "Closer" was a breakout performance for a breakout song, but in "Liar Liar" the rap becomes the awkward section. She's got good mechanics and a good voice, so being a member of a cutesy pop group doesn't seem like that suits her style. While we're talking about this latter half of the track, the ending is very strange. It's unlike the ending in for example, 2NE1's "Missing You" in that that part sounds different, simply the manner in which the song ends doesn't seem to fit at all. The whole of "Liar Liar" was predicated on this high energy, to see the song close out so quietly feels uncomfortable.

Oh My Girl's comeback with "Liar Liar" show they have the pop formula down pat. The bright and peppy MV accompanied by the energetic (albeit sometimes grating) vocals really enforces the happy thoughts. Again, not my cup of tea, but I respect where they're coming from. Still, they have already shown how they can excel in a more mature song in "Closer," so hopefully for future promotions we'll get to see something along that wavelength.

[ Overall: 70 / 100 ]