GFRIEND - the discography rate ☾ #25

savilizabeths

savilizabeths

she/her

Our shadows overlapped
Our fluttering hearts illuminated by the light of the moon.

fallin-light.gif

8.711

Buddies: 10x8 (@junglefish @RUNAWAY @Slice of Life @Wills @soratami @eliminathan @vague @BEST FICTION 9.75x1 (@savilizabeths) 9.5x1 (@aux) 9x4 (@Remorque @Vixen @Music Is Life & Death @Serg.)
Antis: 6.5x1 (@Attis @Cotton Park) 7x1 (@boom bazooka joe) 7.25x1 (@thommyh) 7.75x2 (@codecat @M24)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 10
@savilizabeths: 9.75
5 voters: 68
10 voters: 57
15 voters: 29
20 voters: 37
26 voters: 33

Welcome back, Buddies! Today we must say goodbye to the title track of GFriend's Japanese album of the same name, 'Fallin' Light'. It hasn't been too long since we eliminated 'Flower' and now 'Memoria' is the Japanese track standing. Good for her!!!

Iggy & Youngbae worked on 'Fallin' Light' with the help of Carlos K, who is apparently a Brazillian-Japanese composer. And god, what an amazing job they did!! That arrangement!! Very few K-pop groups release Japanese music like GFriend did and I pity them for it. It's always nice when Japanese releases don't sound like they've been recorded on an iPhone 4, especially when they're this rich, textured and powerful! Apparently, this song was originally supposed to be their Korean comeback before it was replaced with 'Sunrise', do we think they made the right decision? This song is everything I love about GFriend's music and it probably deserved the full marks I didn't give it, but that's okay! It got so many 10s without my help. I definitely believe we eliminated the Japanese singles in the right order. It's so nice when we all demonstrate taste! I just think the production on this is gorgeous. I'm sitting with my friend at the moment who has never heard the song and is also a giant music nerd, and she was blown away by how gorgeous this sounds. She specifically said the half time verse and then surprise burst into the faster, more energetic chorus is a wonderful element. I think she would be a big GFriend fan if she was a K-pop stan like us.

I'm going to respond to commentary a little bit. @M24 says that the verses bore them a little in comparison to that bombastic chorus and while I suppose I understand that, I adore them! Especially the contrast between the two! I love a good ballad bait and switch but I also just think the verses sound incredibly pretty. I love how gentle they are, both vocally and instrumentally. The piano line and more delicate string arrangment are beautiful to these ears and are just as important as the chorus for me. But yeah, that chorus is a powerhouse! I will talk more about vocals in a minute but I really do love that, even though this is a perfect chorus for Yuju's voice, they didn't focus solely on her. Almost all the members were given a chance to belt out for us and I think they all nailed it perfectly.

So yes, the vocals! 'Fallin' Light' is an incredible vocal showcase for all six girls. Every single one of them sounds wonderful. I am drawn in by every line. SinB's voice especially sounds gorgeous here, but they really do all bring something to this song. I love a GFriend song where they're all at their very best and this is a perfect example. Also, look at Umji go! Queen of getting lines! And Yerin, queen of killing it on that powerful chorus! I really do enjoy that Yuju's high note is softer here too, it contrasts nicely with how huge this song feels. It's super pretty, she nailed it as always.

As for the music video, since we're eliminating a title track, I think it's really pretty! Some of their dresses in the lighter room aren't my favourite, but the visuals here are stunning! Maybe, as stated by @eatyourself, the budgets weren't as high for the Japanese releases (there is a lot of dancing in just...large rooms) but I think they really do everything they can within the budget and create some really visually rich videos despite. I guess it helps that the girls are just really pretty ddd.

@eatyourself (8) : Cute song but why was their video budgets so small in Japan? ShinB's hair looks gorgeous!!

@M24 (7.75) : This song evokes so much melancholy.. It passed me by at first, but I think I quite like it now. That chorus is superb, a total rush. Maybe it depends a little too much on it, as the verses kind of bore me a little. For now, Flower just edges Fallin Light for me, I wonder if our voters will think the same.

@Slice of Life (10) : The way GFriend’s Japanese music also slayed just as much as their Korean’s……. like they are actually insane for that

@Wills (10) : Music, visuals… everything here is strikingly beautiful. They chose the right song to name the album after!



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savilizabeths

savilizabeths

she/her

The sun and moons time is like winter & spring
The beginning and the end is not fixed

wheel-of-the-year.png

8.721

Buddies: 10s8 (@RUNAWAY @Slice of Life @aux @thommyh @Monado @vague @nikkysan @savilizabeths) 9.75x1 (@eatyourself) 9.25x1 (@eliminathan) 9x4 (@Attis @Crisp X @KimLippington @Music Is Life & Death)
Antis: 5.75x1 (@codecat) 6.25x1 (@M24) 7x1 (@soratami) 7.5x1 (@Vixen) 7.75x1 (@BEST FICTION)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 8.5
@savilizabeths: 10
5 voters: 64
10 voters: 55
15 voters: 45
20 voters: 34
26 voters: 32

'Wheel of the Year'...what a song! A moment!

The last song to fall from the cinematic ballad trilogy, it felt important for me to write this elimination as I also eliminated the other two songs and have a very strong emotional attachment to these songs. It genuinely upsets me that I didn't give them all 10s like they deserved, but past me was stupider than the girl I am today. 'Wheel of the Year', written and produced by Hwang Hyun of iconic production team MonoTree with production help from Japanese singer-songwriter Mayu Wakisaka, is the closing song from GFriend's final release Walpurgis Night and truly feels like a farewell song to the fans. Heartbreakingly so. I doubt they knew it at the time, since the disbandment seemed so sudden even to them, but it really does feel like a bittersweet song about moving on and time moving forward and it just makes me want to cry when I think about it too hard.

This song really does feel like the climax following 'From Me' and 'Stairs in the North', all three build up each time. 'From Me' is the softest, while still having the dynamic emotion that they all do. 'Stairs in the North' picks up the intensity a bit and by the time the chorus of 'Wheel of the Year' hits, we have truly ascended! I've said before that listening to them all in a row is a spiritual experience and it really is. The emotions it brings out of me are intense, melancholy and theatrical. I'm sad, I'm hopeful, I'm crying, I'm smiling, my heart is full. I used to think this was my favourite of the three (hence it being the only one to recieve full marks) and while I think that position has shifted to 'Stairs in the North', I completely understand why this one ranked higher with voters. There's just something so special about it! It was such a strong moment for them to leave on and despite feeling so sad, it really does have this ray of hope. I feel like we're all running off into the future together, unsure what it will bring and not really wanting to leave our pasts behind but knowing there is hope and potential in the unknown. Nothing stays the same forever but that doesn't mean there aren't wonderful things out there that we could never expect. I do not think GFriend disbanding was the right decision from that heinous company but I like that what I feel the fans have dubbed their farewell song leaves us on a note like this instead of something only heartbreaking. It feels like a promise that this isn't the end and I'm thankful for that.

I feel like I always say this but I adore the production. While the piano line, especially in the beginning is reminding me of what I feel like is some EDM song I couldn't escape from, like 2013 or something, that doesn't make it any less lovely. I love that the instrumentation is build pretty much entirely around that piano and the drums, with the guitar complimenting them perfectly. Something about it feels so organic and has so much punch! The lyrics are gorgeous too, of course. I enjoy the call out to 'Crossroads' (sorry @eatyourself but this is the closest you'll get to seeing that song eliminated today). The lyrics really push forward the idea that no matter what, we just have to and will keep going. There is no going back, we just take what we have and move forward but we don't have to do it alone. It feels like GFriend and Buddies will always be one, no matter what comes our way or how seperated we feel. I sound so corny but whatever, I am corny! GFriend will never be truly over.

Something else I love about this is how even the lines are distributed. It's the perfect last song in that way. Almost everybody gets over 20 seconds of vocal time (Yerin gets just under but only by a fraction). Look at Sowon, this has to be one of the top songs she sings the most in! I think the biggest reason for how even the vocal time started to get is just that, by a point in their career together, they all became incredibly strong vocalists! It wasn't just Yuju shining but they all (yes, even Sowon) came into their own and delivered stellar performances. One of the strongest vocal Kpop groups of all time, truly! Their deliveries are perfect here, restrained when needed and bombastic when called for. They just always sound so fantastic together and I miss them so much.

I think this should have at least made it to top 30 but I do love how in the Leaderboard Tea you see it rise almost 10 places exactly each time, and that's really fun to me so oh well. Thank you GFriend, we will stan you forever!

@eatyourself (9.75) : The melodies are so prettyyyy!!! I want to ride a horse towards the sunset!!!!

@M24 (6.25) : Lyrically, this hits quite hard! Melodically, it's not among their strongest works for me.. If it weren't for Gfriend's disbandment I don't think I would've paid any attention to it. So, yeah, I'm sorry to the buddies who love this song, I'm giving it a 6.25!

@Slice of Life (10) : They do this type of wistful songs so, so well. Lemme go cry BYEEEE!!!!

@Wills (8.5) : Thank you Gfriend :’)



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savilizabeths

savilizabeths

she/her

I'm going to show you how to look like the ocean
And I'll be a little lighthouse that will shine on you

mr-blue.png

8.730

Buddies: 10x6 (@eatyourself @RUNAWAY @thommyh @Monado @nikkysan @Remorque) 9.5x4 (@savilizabeths @Music Is Life & Death @aux @Slice of Life) 9.25x1 (@KimLippington) 9x1 (@boom bazooka joe)
Antis: 7x2 (@Cotton Park @Attis) 7.5x1 (@Vixen) 7.75x2 (@codecat @eliminathan)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 8
@savilizabeths: 9.5
5 voters: 51
10 voters: 43
15 voters: 41
20 voters: 35
26 voters: 31

And just like that, we are left with one Fever Season b-side in the rate. Today we say goodbye to 'Mr. Blue', which means only 'Fever' and 'Wish' are left to represent this album. 'Mr. Blue' was written and composed by the production group 13, whose contributions to GFriend's discography have already been discussed throughout the rate so far. They've provided the bops.

Honestly though, I think I overscored this a little. I'm going to make a confession here. The Fever Season mini album never really connected with me as much as some of their other releases. I have never conisdered it bad, just unmemorable at times outside of a couple of songs. It's a little same-y. Cohesive is probably a nicer way to put it but some of these tracks just don't stand out the way they should. At the time of rating, I gave pretty much every song quite a high score but I don't know, now that I'm thinking about it...they can do better. I'm sorry, this feels mean!

The fact that I scored 'Mr. Blue', a song that is really cute and fun but ultimately is not making me feel any particular type of way, higher than our remaining b-side 'Wish' completely baffles me! There isn't really anything particularly wrong with the song, it just feels like a weaker version of some of their other summer-y songs. The little "mr. blue" hook is cute and definitely stays in my mind but I often find myself forgetting the rest of the song unless I'm listening to it. I adore the strings and all the girls sound wonderful. At times the production does sound a litlte overwhelming against the vocals though and it's just, I don't know. As much as I want it to, it isn't doing anything special to really endear itself to me.

I love that the songs description says it wants to "break the stereotype of "Love is Red" by comparing one's love to the blue sea", I don't know why but that makes me giggle. I'm looking at the lyrics and I'm realising how many songs GFriend have with summer vibes singing about the sunshine and oceans. Not a bad thing at all, just an observation. GFriend, true summer queens! It's a very carefree, sweet love song and I think the "Before the sun sets, hold my hand Mr. Blue" line is really cute! Something else I enjoy about the song are the adlibs at the end, they're so pretty!

Alright, I'll stop now. In summary, it's a good song but they can and have done it better. How are we feeling about the remaining two songs being the last standing on Fever Season? Do you think I'm completely wrong and tasteless? Let us know!!

@eatyourself (10) : This makes me feel like I'm the protagonist of a beach-themed shoujo anime.

@Attis (7) : A bit messy

@M24 (8.25) : The melody in the strings being backed by the drum beats sounds absolutely amazing. I'm not that sold on the chorus though.

@Wills (8) : Supremely frustrating, the prechorus is a legitimate discography highlight… and then the chorus just completely fails to land. Everything’s solid enough, but the opportunity cost is hard to swallow!

@thommyh (10) : I forgot how good this is nn

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junglefish

junglefish

he/him
Hi... hi... Sorry for the delay and many thanks to my co-host @savilizabeths! An elimination is coming very soon but first I'm contractually obliged to post this:


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Season of Glass
Glass Bead

Flower Bud
Me Gustas Tu

Snowflake
Rough
Say My Name

LOL
NAVILLERA
Gone with the Wind

The Awakening
Hear the Wind Sing
Fingertip

Parallel
Ave Maria

Rainbow
Summer Rain
Rainbow

Time for the Moon Night
Time for the Moon Night
Love Bug
Flower Garden

Time for Us
Sunrise
You Are Not Alone
Only 1

Fever Season
Fever
Wish

Fallin' Light
Memoria

回:Labyrinth
Labyrinth
Crossroads
Here We Are

回:Song of the Sirens
Apple
Tarot Cards

回:Walpurgis Night
MAGO
Love Spell
Three of Cups
GRWM
Better Me

yuju-heart-fingers.gif

yes i'm reusing gifs

We are losing a single next!!!​
 
junglefish

junglefish

he/him
30.png

So beautiful, like a stream of rain water
Our crystal clear story

summer-rain.gif

8.740

Buddies: 10x4 (@codecat, @ysev, @RUNAWAY, @eliminathan) 9.5x2 (@Wills, @vague) 9.25x4 (@junglefish, @KimLippington, @Vixen, @savilizabeths)
Antis: 7x2 (@Attis, @Cotton Park) 7.5x2 (@Serg., @aux) 8x5 (@eatyourself, @boom bazooka joe, @Monado, @soratami, @nikkysan)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 9.25
@savilizabeths: 9.25
5 voters: 29
10 voters: 32
15 voters: 31
20 voters: 32
26 voters: 30

With a 8.740 average, we say goodbye to Summer Rain, the title track of GFRIEND's 'Parallel' repackage, 'Rainbow'. Ooooh boy. The 'THEIR SONGS ALL SOUND THE SAME' brigade had a field day with this one... And it's true, it's a more mellow version of Love Whisper, which served as the title track of 'Parallel'. A remake of a previously released song for the repackage of an EP named 'Parallel', get it? Almost like it was done on purpose! I'm not even sure it was confirmed but in my head the intention of Summer Rain is to present a different take on the poppy, summery sound of Love Whisper. Like the two faces of a coin. Love Whisper is what you feel when summer points the tip of its nose while Summer Rain evoques the end of those lazy, blissful days.

Not to say that Summer Rain is sad. While it's definitely more mellow than its counterpart, the verses are still peppy enough. Sampling Robert Schumann-sunbaenim's Dichterliebe Op. 48:1 (when's the comeback oppa???) it also adds new jack swing influences to GFRIEND's signature sound of twinkling synths and strings. I personally love when an artist does what this release does. I find it so interesting when a song is familiar but you have all those new arrangements and little changes throughout. The way it completly transforms the mood of a track is fascinating to me, so I of course ate it up when it was released.

Another thing I wanna point out is how good Yuju sounds in Summer Rain. I know she almost always does, but this one I feel is special. While her high note isn't the most impressive she's ever done, it's so pretty and fits the song so well. There's something that's almost restrained about it which adds that little something while still keeping in line with the gentle atmosphere of the song. Kinda like a rainbow appearing at the end of a, well, summer rain.

I definitely feel like Summer Rain could have stayed a little longer but opening the top 30 is more than honorable. Let's move on to your comments!

@eatyourself (8) : A huge bop with immaculate production and execution. I'm just not a fan of how the chorus melody is almost the same as Love Whisper.

@Attis (7) : A bit messy

@M24 (9) : Many beautiful string melodies throughout the whole song. It never feels boring, due to the drumbeat picking up the tempo. Having said that, the chorus doesn't help the song rise a bit more to make it a classic... in my opinion, its strength is solely on Yuju's first lines. I still give it a high score, but for that reason I can't put it among the likes of Rough or Navillera.

@Attis (7) : Sawry but this is Love Whisper redux

@Crisp X (9) : That recurring piano theme is fantastic and adds an eerie quality to their classic formula.

@Wills (9.5) : It’s so cool how GFRIEND pioneered classical samples in modern pop music, inspiring nugus like Red Velvet and Beethoven to follow in their footsteps



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junglefish

junglefish

he/him
29.png

Even though the road is steep
I'll find it without wandering

Only-1.png

8.788

Buddies: 10x5 (@codecat, @ysev, @RUNAWAY, @Slice of Life, @thommyh) 9.5x4 (@junglefish, @Wills, @aux, @KimLippington) 9.25x1 (@Cotton Park)
Antis: 6.5x1 (@Monado) 8x7 (@boom bazooka joe, @Crisp X, @soratami, @Serg., @nikkysan, @Vixen, @Remorque)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 9.5
@savilizabeths: 8.25
5 voters: 25
10 voters: 25
15 voters: 21
20 voters: 23
26 voters: 29

Iggy Youngbae did it again girlies... Only 1 is without a doubt one of GFRIEND's best album tracks. Appearing on the group's second full length album 'Time for Us', it's one of those tracks you might not think much of the first time you hear it, until the song ends and you realize its melody is firmly lodged in your spongy brain. 'Time for Us' is a great album with a lot of highs and very few lows, but even among all the great tracks that make its tracklist, Only 1 has that little something that creeps up on you and draws you in. It's a very special song and I'm glad it made it to the top 30, something I did not think was going to happen.

What I like the most about Only 1 is how the instrumentalisation harkens back to GFRIEND's early days but still souding like it was released in 2019. It's Glass bead-era GFRIEND at heart but with the talent, the charisma and the identity the group have cultivated during their career. A more mature and assured version of their former selves. I also adore how breathy the song is, from the vocals to the production, there's something very 'early spring days, i'm frolicking in the grass, the flowers are blooming and the cherry blossoms are cherry blossoming.' To me, it's a feel good song. I couldn't find a great translation anywhere so I honestly can't really say if it's supposed to be one, but it makes me feel good so that's how I'm choosing to describe it!

Oh and did I talk about the bridge? I didn't? Well, it's fantastic. There's not much else I can say about it, it's just really fantastic and surprisingly, my favorite moment is the one where the instrumental takes center stage. Yes the girls sound amazing, but to hear that beautiful production shine by itself... Aaaah, if I didn't hate that term I'd say it gives me an eargasm, but I hate it so I'm not saying that.

Only 3 of you sent commentary for Only 1, so let's see what you had to say about this fabulous little track:

@M24 (7.25) : This is catchy, but it doesn't have that much meat to it, does it? It gets a little repetitive. I still like it, though I feel like other songs in this album did the same thing better.

@Slice of Life (10) : One of my favourite GFriend deep cuts and I’m sad it doesn’t really get the attention it deserves. Such a smash!!!

@Wills (9.5) : The melody’s so amiable – unassuming, even – that it took me a few listens to notice how intense the instrumental gets in places. This has blossomed into a real highlight!


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