Well, that was a terrible
pun. I guess that’s what you get for not updating a blog for…4 months?? Jesus.
Okay, well, I said in my previous post that I would blog about IU, Tablo, and Rania, but there is a certain rookie girl group that is catching my attention right
now, and that group is called SPICA.
 |
| Left to right: BoA, Narae, Joohyun, Jiwon (sitting), Bohyung |
Composed
of five members, BoA, Narae, Jiwon, Joohyun, and Bohyung, this group is showing
some major potential, even though they are only rookies. They debuted with “Russian Roulette,” and they just recently started promoting their follow-up
single, “Painkiller.” Both songs can be found on their repackaged mini-album, “Painkiller.”
"Russian Roulette" MV
First,
let’s talk about Russian Roulette. The song begins with a catchy synth riff
that instantly gives you a very chill vibe. I love how they used some electric
guitar in the verses, and the vocals sound very solid. The verse slowly builds
in energy and in the lead-in to the chorus, I can detect some subtle use of
timpani, which adds nice depth to the sound. The lead-in ends with a clever and
catchy “Bang bang bang bang bang!” The
chorus is probably my favorite part of this track. The harmonies are
well-crafted and all the voices blend together very nicely. With a driving
melody and strong voices, the energy carries through to the end of the chorus,
which is again punctuated by a “Bang bang
bang bang bang!” I am not usually a fan of rapping in pop songs, and this
track is no exception. The lines in the beginning and the middle fit well, I
suppose, but I am going to stick to my belief that rapping lines belong in
hip-hop and rap, not pop. The bridge of this song is interesting, because
although the beginning is not very melodically complex, it does modulate into a
major key for a moment, an intriguing twist not often found in pop songs.
"Russian Roulette" [120209] M! Countdown Debut Performance
The
live performance of “Russian Roulette” is spot-on, vocally. After watching
several performances, I can say that this group does not need any background vocals or autotune, whatsoever. All five
members of this group have the ability to maintain their pitch and breath
throughout the song. They especially stand out to me because they harmonize
live, and they sing the entirety of
the song, unlike other groups (cough, Miss A, cough) who don’t sing the chorus.
The choreography does not really require any complex movements since the track
is very laid-back. It does, however, require clean lines which I think SPICA
lacks sometimes in their synchronization. Their vocals definitely make up for
the lack of interesting choreography, and you can tell by the equal line distribution
and forgiving choreography that this group is mostly a vocal-based group,
unlike Miss A, who is a dance-based group, or 2NE1, who relies a lot on stage
presence.
"Painkiller" MV
“Painkiller”
starts with BoA vocalizing over a piano introduction, which immediately sets up
the tone of the track: intense, dark, slow tempo (again). I wish they didn’t
promote this song right after “Russian Roulette”, which was also intense, dark,
and had a slow tempo. To me, this song showcases each of the members’ vocal
abilites a lot more, since the instrumental is less interfering and a bit more
relaxed, especially with the piano in the background. The strong beat coupled
with the powerful vocals is definitely what makes this track filled with energy,
though. The verses are actually better than the chorus. The melody lines have a
lot of variation, and they don’t just stay in the same few pitches. The chorus
is all right, mainly because I like listening to their harmonies. The main part
of the chorus is just the words “Killer,
killer, killer,”: easy to follow and sing along to, but also easily
overplayed. I’m not too sure that this song will remain in my playlist that
long, and I’m pretty sure that the “Killer” part will soon become annoying.
However, the piano definitely helps with this song’s overall quality. One more
part of this track bothers me, though: the ending. The tinny metallic sound is
not pleasant at all, and I feel an impulse to immediately skip to the next song
when I approach the end of the song.
"Painkiller" [120329] M! Countdown Debut Performance
Again,
their live performances do not feature any complicated choreography, which
makes it repetitive and boring to watch, but is advantageous to the group
vocally. Without complex motions and exhausting movements, each of the members
can focus more on projecting and carrying out the emotions in their voices
rather than in their dance. The group needs a little more stage presence,
though, because I find myself pausing their videos halfway or straying to
another tab with the sound still playing in the background.
Overall,
SPICA is a group with a lot of potential, and I am looking forward to seeing them
appear in more interviews, music shows, and variety shows. Each of the members
have very strong backgrounds, and I like the fact that the five of them are
styled very distinctly. I can easily tell them apart, and it only took
me a little while to learn all of their names (compared to knowing only one Apink
member, Eunji, and knowing none of the B.A.P members). If you look on Youtube, you can see that SPICA takes pride in
their vocal abilities, as they have uploaded many videos of them just singing
on their own channel, and they have also sung for several radio shows,
performing a different song each time.
Ratings:
Album: 9/10 (Lots of good songs, definitely listen to the whole thing)
Lives: 7/10 (Vocally solid, but boring
choreography)
Visuals/Concept: 9/10 (Unique members, nice stage
outfits)