[REVIEW] One for the girls!!! (Part 3: EvoL)
[L>R: Jucy, J-DA, Hayana, Say & Yull] So “EVOL” or Effective Voice Of Ladies… I really anticipated these girls’ music. I’m a Block.B fan, and I like BNS’ overall style. Cho PD really knows what he’s doing (don’t quite get how Lee-U fits in there, but I wish him well! ^^). So let’s check out EvoL’s “Let Me Explode” ne?
[TRACK 1: 폭파해줘 (Let Me Explode)]
Evol’s style is so strong. It’s rare to find a female group in k-pop with rapping as strong as a rap based male group. The lyrics are about claiming originality while copying. The girls talk about how they’ll break the trends and they can’t tell the difference between the others except their “packaging”. They’ve got a lot of confidence singing and rapping about this, and they don’t disappoint. They’re the most original female group (or group in general) I’ve seen in recent k-pop. They don’t try to be cute, or have a ‘sexy concept’ they sing lyrics that matter. There IS a lot of repetition in the song, but the verses and choruses have an interesting flow. It’s a really energetic and strong song!
[TRACK 2: I’m Sorry]
Considering the rap foundation that BNS was built on, you wouldn’t expect such a mellow ballad type song. But if you observe Block.B’s music you’ll see BNS has a lot of music genres to offer, and EvoL is no exception. I like that the rappers can rap with such a deep tone. It creates a nice contrast to the vocalists’ higher tones. It gives the group a little independence! They don’t NEED a male rapper/singer to feature, they can create the perfect balance within their own group. The rapping is soft enough to flow nicely between the vocal verses, and the singing has the perfect level of emotion and beautiful background vocals. Looking at the lyrics, it’s a really emotional love song about a girl being hurt by seeing that the guy she’s interested in likes another girl. EvoL may have a strong image, but it doesn’t mean they can’t excel at sad love ballads! It’s a relaxing song with amazing guitar riffs.
[TRACK 3: Magnet]
A personal favourite! So strong and powerful! The beats of the music are heavy and the rapping matches it well! This song could have easily been dominated by their talented rappers, but the vocalists are powerful and ace the chorus/bridge. You can hear the determination and confidence oozing out if this song!!! Every group should have a song to say “Here we are! We will make it! Keep your eyes on us!” a song to show everyone what they’re all about, and REALLY showcase their talents. And when a song is as good as Magnet is… I really respect the group. The layers of vocals work so well! It’s like an underground rap battle at some parts, then others are like: listen to these vocals and just TRY and beat that then! These girls really sound amazing together. The almost choir like background vocals really bring out the intensity of the song and surprisingly merge well.
[TRACK 4: 우린 좀 달라 (We’re a bit different)] *title song*
It’s a dance/party type song. Not my favourite but still a good song. I’m not crazy about the way the chorus was done, but I like how the rappers’ styles here were like an allusion to the Block.B boys. I really like the way that they didn’t just sing something like: “…boy come and dance with me” like most groups do. Most of them turn it into some flirty/begging song to call some dude. Evol’s song is like: “Girls, it’s okay to be different. Don’t think you have to be so stuck in a certain style, just let yourself go!” They only mention ‘boy’ once just to say “we got flow, be honest boy”. Evol ARE the type of group that should be a role model to girls.
[TRACK 5: 1.2.3.4.5]
This is a really sweet song with some great harmonizing! It’s surprisingly cute and the rapping is just perfect in between. Once again the vocals are strong and emotive and they almost sound like a completely different group! They really did well with this debut, showing that they can handle a range of songs.
So… who’s loving the EVOLution of K-pop girl groups?
