Since their debut, G-Friend have maintained a girlishly cute image on the Kpop scene, as well as an image of a hardworking group of gals, regardless of what the weather throws their way on stage.
Their first studio album, LOL was released earlier this month. There are two different artwork versions, Laughing Out Loud and Lots Of Love. Both feature their revamped group logo. Laughing Out Loud shows the girls dressed in bright colourful shorts and tees, and Lots Of Love goes for a softer romantic vibe with an illustration of the girls.
Both covers give off a young, sweet, cute vibe, and that’s exactly what G-Friend’s album delivers from start to finish. It has a retro feel, and a mix of musical styles – house, R&B as well as dubstep – but the overall sound is exactly what you’d expect from the Me Gustas Tu girls, and I’m sure it has pleased Buddies no end.
Navillera is the comeback track you’ve likely been watching the girls perform on music shows recently as they promote the album. The pop-rock track was written by the same writers as their previous singles, Iggy and Seo Yong Bae.
Distance is a light reggae-style track, Water Flower is a rock-pop track, and Sunshine is R&B,but none of these musical arrangements manage to overwhelm the girls’ signature sweet vocals and light touch. Take Gone With The Wind for example. It’s dubstep, yes, but it’s gentle G-Friend style dubstep. Check out the recent music show performance here.
Compas is a house music style track, and other reviews have compared it and the following track Click to tracks that sound like Japanese anime OST. I can see why. Compas has a slow build up to a gentle synth beat and exit fade that sounds just perfect for an anime. That’s a compliment, as anime OSTs are usually some of the catchiest and punchiest pop tracks out there.
In all, my favourite track was Mermaid, a pop ballad whose lyrics are based on the story of The Little Mermaid. The girls voices just harmonise nicely with the simple tune, and I can picture this being performed with some cute choreo. On first listen of LOL, it’s the track I wanted to go back and listen over to, even more than Navillera.
If you’re into girlish pop with synth sounds and a light touch, G-Friend’s LOL won’t disappoint one bit. Just like the rainbow cover promises, it’s the kind of album that can cheer up a gloomy day.
LOL: Full track listing
01. Intro
02. 물들어요 (Fall in Love)
03. 너 그리고 나 (Navillera)
04. LOL
05. 한 뼘 (Distance)
06. 물꽃놀이 (Water Flower)
07. Mermaid
08. 나의 일기장 (Sunshine)
09. 나침반 (Compas)
10. 찰칵 (Click)
11. 바람에 날려 (Gone with the wind)
12. 너 그리고 나 (Navillera Inst.)
