Over the past few years, my connection to GFriend’s music has started to fracture. From 2015 to 2017, they released some of my absolute favorite K-pop songs in recent memory, culminating in the flawless trilogy of Rough, Navillera and Fingertip. Since then, the group has lost too much of the power from their “powerful innocence” concept. They’ve switched collaborators, giving their work a more ornate, ethereal quality. This is especially apparent when listening to their burgeoning Japanese discography. The songs are still good, but they no longer feel legendary.
Such is the case with new J-pop single Fallin’ Light (天使の梯子). Much of it plays like the quintessential GFriend song, but even when the beat kicks in for the chorus, it just doesn’t hit the highs I know they’re capable of. Apart from Yuju, the members have relatively light timbres to their voices, causing already airy material to feel even more intangible. Fallin’ Light’s verses nearly evaporate from memory even as they’re unveiling, anchored only by the kind of sentimental, strings-laden production that characterizes so many songs of this style.
Fallin’ Light’s chorus is much stronger. Its blend of symphonic elements and sprightly dance beats hearkens back to material like Rough, but the melody isn’t nearly as captivating. It has a lyrical appeal, drawn out and unlabored. I just wish that any one moment hit me as hard as Fingertip’s lethal synth funk or Navillera’s climactic double whammy of power notes. Apart from this summer’s surprisingly trendy Fever, the girls have traveled this wispy, fairytale road for too long now. Fallin’ Light is another solid entry from them, but it’s all starting to feel a little redundant.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
Be sure to add your own rating by participating in the poll below!
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Hello Nick
I thought i’d ask a question or two and make a comment,
1. actually Gfriend is managed by source music which is subsidiary of Big Hit
2. Why did you not review INFINITE’s clock or TXT’s nap of a star?
KPOP_FAN AKA Helloall101
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1. I’m aware, though their Japanese work is under King Records.
2. I did review Clock (link below). I didn’t get to Nap of a Star… probably just didn’t have time. I love the song, though. And the mv is gorgeous.
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Hey Nick,
1. Does that mean Gfriend is added to your score of Big Hit?
2. I do not know how I missed that, what basic score would you give nap of a star?
Helloall101
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1. I’m sure I’ll make mention of it, though all of GFriend’s Korean music this year was released before the acquisition was announced/finalized, so I’m not sure that it had much bearing on their 2019 work. Next year may be a different story.
2. Probably 8.5
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Cool! Thanks.
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Am I horrible person if I say that can’t distinguish any of their songs from each other? And I swear I have tried, just about every time a new GFriend song comes out, I put on the youtube all Gfriend feed, twice or thrice through. And as I go through them all again – Navillera, Glass Bead, me gustas Te, Rough, Fingertip, etc – I make the same mental list of what the differences are. A bit more piano here, more guitar there, a bit funkier, the one with the roller skates. A month later, poof, distinction is gone. Maybe it is that the tend to sing in unison a lot, the timbre and mood of the songs are broadly similar, the bpm are very similar. It would’t surprise me if they are all in the same key, or just about.
Its me, I know it is me. I am not saying they are bad or mediocre pop songs because they have many merits and many many fans, but the Gfriend discography mystifies me.
Anyway, this one is fine. The dance seems a bit under-rehearsed (if that is possible for kpop).
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Love it
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