Single Review: APRIL – 2nd Single Album ‘MAYDAY’

Release Date: May 29, 2017

Tracklist:

1. 따끔 (Lovesick)
2. MAYDAY
3. YES SIR

Total Runtime: 00:09:17

Recommended for: APRIL fans, girl group (song) fans, ahjussi fans (I’m very sure of this), those who are bright and optimistic about everything and reluctant to look at something in a negative perspective.

NOT recommended for: exact opposite of what mentioned above.

DSP Entertainment’s cute and innocent girl group APRIL is back! This time, with their second single album called ‘MAYDAY’. A very fitting album title as it was released just two days before June welcome us, and MAYDAY is a distress call. Perhaps an accurate depiction of DSP Entertainment’s last-minute planning to rush the girls’ comeback? Food for thoughts. Anyways, let’s get into it!

Track Review:

Track 1 – 따끔 (Lovesick)

Being the first track in this single album, Sting (also Lovesick) is actually quite good. There’s this stereotype among K-Pop fans that only title tracks are worthy of listening but that’s actually not true. There are many quality b-sides out there, it’s just a matter of whether you bother checking on them or not. That aside, Sting is very enjoyable to listen to. The girls’ vocals mashed up well with the instrumental. It’s a cute and sweet song, and cute girls (accompanied with cute music video) made it better.

Track 2 – MAYDAY

5 seconds in and MAYDAY is already one of APRIL’s best title track (a close second to April Story), the funky 8-bit instrumental reminds us of old but gold classic games from the 80’s and 90’s and accompanied with repetitive (supposedly a hidden hook in this song?) moaning. Yes, moaning. But Jesus Christ you guys better think of it as a kawaii moan and not in.. that way.. okay? Sheesh!

Ehem. Anyway! That being said, the intro is really cool for me. It’s very inviting and low-key sassy, giving a vibe of somewhere between Gugudan’s A Girl Like Me and PRISTIN’s Wee Woo. But after a while the nonstop moaning will get annoying and will undoubtedly gets into everyone’s nerve, me included. At this point, you wish it is chorus already because they don’t during that part. The producers should have shed some unnecessary ‘weight’ in this song and it’ll be much better. Not saying that Sting is an overproduced track but it’s definitely getting there. Despite that, it’s still a really good and fitting title track for APRIL.

Track 3 – YES SIR

Final track in this single and if it’s good then this is arguably the best that APRIL has ever came up with. Good news, it is! YES SIR is in my opinion one of the best b-side by a girl group this year. First of all, it is a retro song (albeit with a tad addition of pop-synth) done right that will remind you of great retro K-Pop songs like T-ara’s Roly Poly, Nine Muses’ Figaro, and Wonder Girls’ Be My Baby; but with extra brightness and youth. It is clear that this song has taken the influence from popular retro/dance songs in 60’s and 70’s America and by no means that is a bad thing. YES SIR turned out to be a legitimate good retro track that has all the potentials to be evergreen.