January 31, 2016

[Review] GFriend - Rough

This is a weird choice of an English title. As far as I know, the Korean translates to "Running Through Time," like in the chorus. "Rough" is very odd for a group that is so banked on the cute and innocent image. Anyway, this is GFriend's 3rd major release after the success of "Glass Bead" and "Me Gustas Tu." As rookies of the year, they'll come back early this year to keep their momentum and hype train going.

"Rough" is definitely the most tame compared to past tracks in terms of how cute they sounded. This is the most mature we've seen in GFriend, and you can hear that in the vocals. Yuju and Eunha continue to deliver strong singing parts, though the final chorus isn't nearly as explosive as songs past. Everyone else is honestly pretty below average in the vocals department, but they really don't need much except to get carried by Yuju. This change in sound also affects the choreography, because at a glance this is the weakest dance we've seen from them. "Glass Bead" and "Me Gustas Tu" had energetic and extensive choreography, whereas "Rough" is much more calm and reserved. Sometimes this matches the general sound of the song, while at other times seems awkward paired with the instrumental.

Onto the MV. It's a rather generic video in terms of location, sequences, etc. but I'll comment on some random things that I took note of. Firstly, that snow is fake as hell. You can't fool anyone with that business. I also don't know why schoolgirls are responsible for cleaning (or maybe they were just playing around, in which case why). That poor teddy bear, just getting abused for no good reason. There's plenty of filler just to show more instrumental and video but there's really nothing all that exciting.

All in all, GFriend changed a few things about this comeback but they're still the same GFriend that most came to know and love in 2015. A step in the more mature direction so early proves they're not just going to recycle the same cute stuff over and over, which is always worth applauding. Having such a strong start early in their careers will only mean good things down the line if they keep the work ethic up. A-Pink might have to start panicking a little.

[ Overall: 83 / 100 ]

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