Review

Buried Treasure: Oh My Girl – Vogue

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Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve.

In addition to crafting a very strong singles run, Oh My Girl have become known for their consistently solid albums. This reputation made the prospect of their first full-length very exciting — and for the most part The Fifth Season delivers. While there isn’t a b-side quite as alluring as One Step, Two Steps or as pop-song-perfect as I Found Love (2016’s Pink Ocean is still their peak album, imo), the entire thing is incredibly cohesive.

Surprisingly, the album’s ballsiest tracks come at the very end. Special kudos have to go to Checkmate, which harnesses an edgier sound and features my favorite pre-chorus across all nine tracks. But, I suspect the b-side that most will be talking about is Vogue.

Jettisoning the group’s lush, fairy tale sound, Vogue takes a funkier, attitude-infused route. Its verses feature hushed production, driven by club-ready percussion that feels taut and beguiling. This sultry tone contrasts well with the vibrant chorus, which blossoms into a gorgeous, falsetto-led refrain that is among the album’s biggest pop moments. A secondary hook comes in later, just before a beat-heavy breakdown that begs for catwalk-ready choreography. I don’t want Oh My Girl to abandon the signature concept they’ve cultivated these past few years, but a song as adventurous and addictive as Vogue shouldn’t go unnoticed.

 Hooks 9
 Production 9
 Longevity 8
 Bias 8
 RATING 8.5

12 thoughts on “Buried Treasure: Oh My Girl – Vogue”

  1. This and Checkmate + Underwater Love are all such amazing songs imo. Also just to add: Vogue is a ‘unit’ song performed by 4 members Arin, Jiho, Mimi and YooA. There’s another ‘unit’ song on the album performed by the other members as well called Gravity (by Binnie and the two main vocals Seunghee & Hyojung) 🙂

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  2. I really wanted to LOVE this album especially with the production across every track being so excellent, but except for Vogue and a couple other songs I just felt sorta let down by the melodies/hooks in most of them. They all start out promising but end up kind of “undercooked” sounding and thus nowhere near as memorable as each one should’ve been. This could have been their chance to really knock it out of the park for their first full album, but instead I suspect people will be talking about the few standout tracks rather than “potential AOTY” when they think of The Fifth Season.

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    • It’s interesting that you bring this up, because I agree to an extent. It’s the kind of album that’s solid throughout, but doesn’t have many peaks.

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    • Oh man now that you’ve put it in my head it REALLY does, somehow the chord progressions really recall an EXO track and I can even imagine which members would sing what parts. It would make a great sequel to Artifical Love.

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  4. I was thinking lost Mamamoo track, Um oh ah yeah era. Add more sass, subtract out some of the soft synths, add back a bit of instrumental punchiness (kick horns, guitar).

    The timbre of the two group vocals is different – Mamamoo being more chesty, and Oh My Girl being more light lyric, but the vocal range is about the same in this song. Sounds different, but actually the same if you pick it out on a piano.

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