GFRIEND - the discography rate ☾ #31

junglefish

junglefish

he/him
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You give me courage without a word
I know your heart watches over me.

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8.548

Buddies: 10x5 (@eatyourself, @Attis, @Vixen, @savilizabeths, @Remorque) 9.75x1 (@Wills) 9.5x1 (@thommyh)
Antis: 6x1 (@boombazookajoe) 6.5x1 (@ysev) 7x2 (@codecat, @RUNAWAY)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 7.25
@savilizabeths: 10
5 voters: 46
10 voters: 70
15 voters: 58
20 voters: 49
26 voters: 41

Before I talk about the song... I know the correct title is Compas, but I doubt they chose the French spelling of the word intentionally and I'm very anal about stuff like this, so I'm putting the ass back in Compass. Thank yew.

Compass is the ninth track on GFRIEND's first full length album 'LOL'. It was written and composed by ZigZag Note and Retro Funkee who were clearly very inspired by f(x)'s Airplane, as some of you mentioned. I'm not sure why I rated Compass so low, honestly. Maybe that's actually because of its similarities to Airplane and the fact that it unfortunately sounds like a lesser version of that track? Well, in any case, it deserved a better score from me and I'll have to live with the regret of underscoring it for the rest of my life.

I love the EDM influences that are very clearly present here but are not overpowering. Above all, Compass is a feel good song and you feel it from the first to the last note. According to its official description, the song is about a girl who isn't afraid of going anywhere as long as she is with the person she likes, that person being their metaphorical compass. The lyrics are adorable and do a great job of expressing that feeling you get when you're in love with someone and it's like nothing can stop you as long as that person is there, standing next to you. Sappy, yes, but beautiful all the same.

The song wasn't promoted at any point but a ballad version linked below was performed on the show Yoo Heeyeol's Sketchbook. It was also used as the Encore song for GFRIEND's tour, Go Go GFRIEND!

@eatyourself (10) : Does this remind anyone else of f(x)'s Airplane aka the best song of all time? It's impossible for me not to fall for this cloud-soft build-up leading to THAT chorus... and that pre-chorus!!!!! Instant serotonin, makes me want to, again, go to the beach and light up a blunt.

@M24 (8.5) : I think the buildup in the pre-chorus is my favorite part of the song here! The chorus is pretty good, not earth-shattering, but it doesn't need to be. I'm surprised most of the lines there are sang by all the members at the same time, I don't think that happened very often in their discography as it's usually Yuju or Eunha getting the most lines in the choruses.

@Attis (10) : Come with me, airplane, love !

@Wills (9.75) : Dropping a single S off the title was never gonna stop me from saying they put their whole compussy into this


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junglefish

junglefish

he/him
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Season of Glass
Glass Bead
Neverland

Flower Bud
Me Gustas Tu

Snowflake
Rough
Say My Name

LOL
NAVILLERA
Gone with the Wind

The Awakening
Hear the Wind Sing
Fingertip
Crush

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
Mr. Blue
Smile
Wish

Fallin' Light
Fallin' Light
Memoria
Flower

回:Labyrinth
Labyrinth
Crossroads
Here We Are

回:Song of the Sirens
Apple
Eye of the Storm
Room of Mirrors
Tarot Cards

回:Walpurgis Night
MAGO
Love Spell
Three of Cups
GRWM
Better Me
Night Drive
Wheel of the Year

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boom bazooka joe

boom bazooka joe

he/him
soratami said:
The top 40 is mostly great, but Fever Season and Walpurgis Night both could do with a bit of a cull. As for LOL being down to two songs... @boombazookajoe you will be dealt with.
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Point to the song on Walpurgis Night that shouldn't be here QUICKLY.

junglefish said:
#soon
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Are you saying there will be a cull soon or that I will be dealt with soon? (or both ddd)
 
Wills

Wills

he/him
It's true that Compas suffers slightly for the Airplane comparison, but I'd argue it beats the original in one respect: the chorus' vocal melody is so lovely, and would've been just as compelling paired with any other production style. Ultimately both songs are excellent and I'm sad this is out!
boombazookajoe said:
Point to the song on Walpurgis Night that shouldn't be here QUICKLY.
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junglefish said:
Better Me
Night Drive
Wheel of the Year
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☝️☝️☝️ Nice songs, but way out of their depth at this point
 
savilizabeths

savilizabeths

she/her
Wills said:
It's true that Compas suffers slightly for the Airplane comparison, but I'd argue it beats the original in one respect: the chorus' vocal melody is so lovely, and would've been just as compelling paired with any other production style. Ultimately both songs are excellent and I'm sad this is out!


☝️☝️☝️ Nice songs, but way out of their depth at this point
Click to expand...

...I refuse to listen to Night Drive and Wheel of the Year slander of any kind.
 
savilizabeths

savilizabeths

she/her
Today we lose....an 11!





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In the empty mirror, I run and run to you
You turn around as if bewitched and blame me.

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8.586

Buddies: 11x1 (@M24) 10x3 (@ysev @junglefish @Music Is Death) 9.75x1 (@RUNAWAY) 9.25x2 (@savilizabeths @eliminathan) 9x6 (@Vixen @BEST FICTION @vague @thommyh @soratami @Slice of Life)
Antis: 6x1 (@boombazookajoe) 6.5x1 (@Cotton Park) 7x2 (@Monado @Serg.) 7.5x1 (@eatyourself)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 10
@savilizabeths: 9.25
5 voters: 24
10 voters: 39
15 voters: 37
20 voters: 41
26 voters: 40

It took quite awhile but we begin the top 40 by eliminating another song that recieved the coveted score of 11! The lovely @M24 hasn't been seen on the forum in a long time but I hope they are happy their favourite song in the rate made it this far. 'Room of Mirrors' is an album track from GFriend's second to last release Song of the Sirens and was written by singer-songwriter Caroline Gustavason, Steven Lee, No Ju-hwan, D.Ori, Kim Kiwi and Lee Won-jong. Lee Won-jong and No Ju-hwan also handled the production.

God, what a gorgeous track!! I know it's not a huge difference but I find myself wishing I had bitten the bullet and given 'Room of Mirrors' full marks. I think I was just getting nitpicky and thinking I had too many times while attempting to vary my scores. Regardless of my lapses of judgement, I am floored every time I listen to this. Part of the songs description says "GFriend's matured vocals stands out expressing a confused state of heart through a mournful voice" and I think they said it perfectly. I think there's a real maturity that shines through the girls last few releases. Everything is richer with even more emotive presence, which is impressive considering I think GFriend have excelled at conveying emotion through music. They're just so captivating to listen to here. Sowon's one vocal line is one of her best, she sounds so steady and lovely. Eunha's understated airy delivery matches up with the feelings of the song perfectly. SinB's tone continues to be one of my favourites, she's a huge standout here. And though Yuju isn't belting to the gods here, she shines. The way she sings "run away for me" gives me chills. The dynamics she uses make it so special. She knows when to go for it and when to pull back to just make you feel something. A vocalist!

It's also worth a mention that we get a cute rap version from MC Sowon here. I really like it actually. Sort of emotive spoken word vibes.

Song of the Sirens has wonderful production all around. The songs feel so big with all the lush instrumentation. 'Room of Mirrors' is no exception. The orchestration is beautiful. I love how often GFriend tracks go for it with the strings. Here they are so dynamic, I'm obsessed. The production adds the perfect amount of drama to pair with the heartbreaking lyrics. I actually forgot just how raw these words feel, and I truly connect with a lot of them right now. This verse in particular has me tearing up a little bit.

I'm sick of everything
I want to find the parts of myself that are disappearing
Painful moments endlessly trap me
I don't want to see it anymore

The songwriters are just hitting me where it hurts with that one, god. There is something so sweetly sad about the way all the elements come together. The dramatic instrumentation, the almost broken sounding vocals, the achingly gorgeous lyrics. It sounds so pretty yet so painful. I didn't talk about Umji's vocals before but that bridge is truly her moment. She is an actress the way she delivers "There's no one here, I'm trapped on all sides". It's gutting. A small moment but so powerful. Honestly, everyone involved with this song knocked it out of the park and every word I write leaves me wishing I had raised my score. It wouldn't have been enough to raise the placement, but it would have made me feel better ddd.

Enough from me, let's hear from you guys. Especially our top scorer.

@eatyourself (7.5) : This song has lots of elements that would make me give it an instant 10, but I find it to be too low key. The beat line pops off though.

@ysev (10) : This sounds like the music from a ball in Crystal Tokyo while Queen Serenity and King Endymion dance. So dreamy.

@Wills (8.75) : The trombone or whatever is so good we needed more of that!

@M24 (11): Honestly, this song was just another album track when I started the rate. However, the more I listened to all their discography, the more this song kept rising in my ranking. As I took the time to focus completely on it, I realized this might just be one of my favorites. It's so beautifully haunting... those melodies in the latter half of the chorus, Sowon's rap that reminds me of Kahi's somehow, the striking Umji bridge, and to top it all off, lyrics that talk seem to talk about self-hate. Maybe it's not objectively their best song, but I'm going with a strategical 11 this time because I'm not sure if this will be appreciated enough, especially because Tarot Cards tends to be the favorite bside of this mini.

Will we have any meltdowns in the thread? Share your opinions! Until next time xx

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junglefish

junglefish

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My feelings are growing
Like a flower that blooms and scatters away.

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8.634

Buddies: 10x5 (@eatyourself, @codecat, @boombazookajoe, @Slice of Life, @Crisp X) 9.75x1 (@eliminathan) 9.5x2 (@RUNAWAY, @Music Is Death) 9x5 (@ysev, @thommyh, @Monado, @BEST FICTION, @savilizabeths)
Antis: 6.5x1 (@nikkysan) 7x2 (@Serg., @Remorque) 7.25x1 (@KimLippington) 7.5x1 (@Attis)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 8
@savilizabeths: 9
5 voters: 27
10 voters: 15
15 voters: 23
20 voters: 30
26 voters: 39

Ooooh. Okay. I think Flower is one of those songs that definitely suffered a bit for being a Japanese single and not a Korean one. I'm convinced if it had been a Korean single, it would have ranked better. I know the Korean version was included on 'Fever Season' but I truly feel like it had the potential to lead an EP, it's that good. Why then did I only give it an 8? Well, truth be told, I listened to Flower so much when it was first released that by the point we had to rate GFRIEND's discography, I was a little sick of it. Still, #39 is a respectable position so let's just all be happy it reached the top 40.

Flower is a rush. Right out of the gate, you're assaulted by the pure energy this little song has. Clearly influenced by latin music, it mixes those influences with GFRIEND's orchestral sound, abandoning the heavy synths of their other high energy songs like Fingertip for a more brassy sound. The result is... so good? It makes me wish we got more songs like that from them. The chorus is infectious, fun and, to stay in theme, makes you feel like you've just snorted a ton of pollen. I don't actually know what would happen if you did that, so don't try it but anyways. I love ridiculous hooks, so those 'piririririri' and 'surururururu' parts are perfect for me, so addictive and again, FUN.

Apart from the chorus, there are two other highlights in my opinion: the bridge which is gorgeous, starting a little slower and letting you think you're finally gonna be able to breathe a little, until the rhythm picks up again and Yuju decides to BELT for her life, offering us another flawless power note like only she can do. The other hightlight is just before the bridge and it's the instrumental part that serves as a dance break in the song's video. I love instrumentals, they're without a doubt the most important part of a track. In general, if an instrumental is truly good, a song won't be ruined by weak vocals. The opposite isn't true. In that case, we got both great vocals and a great instrumental so we're hashtag blessed, but it's a real treat to get to hear all those production flourishes without vocals on top of it. The song was composed by 13, a team of producers that latter went on to work extensively with LE SSERAFIM, having a hand in producing their entire discography so far.

I'm not gonna say much about the video except that I adore the bullfighters outfit and the choreography loosely inspired by tango. Other than that, the girls look beautiful and the colors are pretty, vibrant and fit the song perfectly. The whole thing is a perfect package and it's a shame it only peaked at #9 on the Oricon Charts because it deserved a lot better. Let's be real. If TWICE had released this song, it would have been LAUDED in Japan, and they'd be praised for doing a salsa concept.

Let's now read what you had to say about Flower!

@eatyourself (10) : I wish they had more songs with horns!!! The musical ones, not the demonic ones.

@M24 (8.5) : I expected a latin bop from the intro and I was disappointed ddd. The end result is still nice, it doesn't hold a candle (I can't say this word without thinking of Wonder Girls' song now ugh, maybe listening to Reboot was a mistake) to most of their korean material though, but it doesn't need to as it's perfectly boppable. I much prefer it to Memoria and Fallin' Light.

@Slice of Life (10) : Another homerun of a song wowowow! That chorus is bulletproof!



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codecat

codecat

he/him
Legit top 5 title tracks of theirs – it’s so different but it also feels so them? I think this was one of those rare times where could see an evolution from early GFRIEND to something a bit less naive but it’s too bad that it was Japan focused!!!! No shade to Japan tho!!!
 
savilizabeths

savilizabeths

she/her
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Your eyes are like the blue sky
Brighter than sunshine, it shines even more

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8.644

Buddies: 10x8 (@codecat @Attis @RUNAWAY @Wills @vague @Music Is Death @nikkysan @Remorque) 9.75x1 (@savilizabeths) 9.5x1 (@Slice of Life)
Antis: 6x2 (@Serg. @eliminathan) 7.5x3 (@Crisp X @aux @Vixen)
Hosts:
@junglefish: 8.75
@savilizabeths: 9.75
5 voters: 29
10 voters: 38
15 voters: 48
20 voters: 43
26 voters: 38

Happy 8th Anniversary to the GFriend girlies! It's insane to think that they debuted a whole eight years ago!!! It was also so sweet to see them all post on Instagram about it. GFriend forever! It's only fitting (I can't believe it worked out this way) that we return to this debut for todays elimination.

Sadly, it's time to say goodbye to 'Neverland', which I consider one of the best of their earlier bsides. Based on the number of 10s this recieved, I don't think I'm alone in that feeling. There are days I would even rate this above 'Glass Bead'! The song features lyrics by Eden Beatz, a singer/songwriter who was formally also under Source Music and has done a lot of work with BTOB and ATEEZ. It was produced by ZigZag Note (Apink, April, Kara) and Kang Myung-shin. I definitely think they all nailed it.

This song is just so girly in the best of ways! It's got that perfect 90s/2000s, hanging in my bedroom singing into my hairbrush about my crush of the month vibe. I'm giggling, I'm twirling my hair, I'm kicking my feet. It's a very bold song lyrically though. There's action as opposed to simple dreaming and pining. They're kissing him and they don't care who sees. That "I don't care" is so triumphant and fun to sing along to. Actually, there are a lot of perfect sing-along moments here! "KISS ME BABY!" "WELCOME TO THE NEVERLAND!" and my personal favourite "Oh my god! Love! My boy!" I don't know what it is about that part but it has it's hooks in me and I'm addicted. It's the perfect teenage sleepover song I feel, I can just picture making up a dance to this with my friends when I was a pre-teen!

I can't get enough of the production! It's so bloop-y and buzz-y with it's electronic elements. Parts just sound like it's sparkling. It all really adds to the energy the song has. It sounds young, it sounds fun, it's bubbly and it never gets boring. There's always a little sound that grabs your attention. It's got a great groove, it's impossible for me not to bob my head along and do a little dance in my seat. How could you not? It's got fun little harmonies and background vocals. I don't know if this makes sense but instead of sounding like six girls in vocal booths recording seperately, 'Neverland' sounds so unified. A group of girls singing together, sometimes call and response style even. It's just got that joined exuberance that you feel when you're messing around and singing with people you love. That's why, even though I don't think it's anyone's strongest vocal performance (I mean, they were rookies), I like that imperfection! I think it adds to the songs strengths perfectly because songs that feel like this don't have to be vocal masterpieces. I mean, Yuju still sounds amazing though!

I must also mention that the lyrics are lovely! I enjoy the comparison of falling in love to flying to Neverland. That's just perfect. Falling in love feels like jumping off a cliff and realising you can fly. I actually think the chorus perfectly sums up how kissing my partner of six years for the first time felt. It's cheesy maybe, but it feels right.

I knew the early bsides were going to struggle, that's expected. So, I'll just be happy 'Neverland' made it this far, even if I believe in my heart that it deserved more. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to sing "Oh my god! Love! My boy!" on repeat all day and annoy my partner.

@eatyourself (8) : Makes me feel like I'm trying on expensive looks I can't afford in a japanese department store in the 90s.

@Attis (10) : Hook after hook after hook

@M24 (8) : This is a bop that totally passes you by the first few times you listen to the album. This is why I love doing rates… before I started scoring, I was almost convinced there was no good bside in the early albums and BOY was I wrong, that chorus hits you right in the face. Also, I love how they were supposedly super innocent, but they had a lyric on the very first album talking about kissing boys and not caring who's watching! Queens of being mature in their innocent era.

@Wills (10) : I so badly wanted to give this my 11, but went with something that felt a bit more true to the group’s history and legacy. Still, it blows my mind that this was a b-side on their very first release: an onslaught of hooks from start to finish, with excellent production flourishes around every corner. Oddly, the comparison that comes to mind is Kylie’s work from the late ‘00s/early ‘10s: this would slot perfectly on Aphrodite (or blow the entirety of Kiss Me Once out of the water)

Some tea for the next elimination.....it almost recieved my 11.


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