In between conquering Japan, touring Asia, and even launching their own signature fragrance, it's a wonder that KARA has even found time to make a Korean comeback. But hey, I'm certainly not complaining. After the success of their 'STEP' promotions and the release of their second Japanese album 'Super Girl', KARA is finally back in Korea with their 5th mini-album, 'Pandora'.

Once again, the five jewels of KARA are back with longtime composer Sweetune, who is responsible for the vast majority of the group's music (and most recently, the music of INFINITE and Nine Muses).



The album's title track "Pandora" is bursting with every one of Sweetune's sonic trademarks; from its waterfall of crazy synths to the jagged guitar riffs and heavy  '80s influences, this is Sweetune through and through. It certainly picks up where the peppy "STEP" left off, but there's also some of INFINITE's "The Chaser" in there too.

Sweetune's sound is very distinctive, but they always make sure to switch things up just enough to avoid one-trick-pony syndrome. Where "Pandora" gets its distinguishing factor from is its energetic composition, which is every bit as chaotic and fast-paced as the most tweaked-out Japanese idol pop — an obvious nod to KARA's astonishing success in Japan.

There's also a darker vibe to the production than what we've heard from KARA before (excluding "Lupin"). The synths are a lot more sinister and dramatic than usual, and there's even a hint of sixties-era spy movie music, which is a sound that Sweetune first played with for Rainbow's brilliant (and completely underrated) "A".

Although the concept KARA has adopted for the 'Pandora' album is a sexy one, the lyrics of the title track are ambiguous enough to be taken any way. The girls sing directly to a mystery man, begging him to come closer, capture their hearts, and unlock the secrets deep within. Use your imagination and come to your own conclusions on what exactly they mean by that.

Overall, "Pandora" as a single is the middle ground between the dark and edgy KARA of "Lupin", and the bright and bubbly KARA of "STEP". Although it doesn't stack up to KARA at their absolute best, it's much stronger than KARA at their weakest, and it should please old fans and attract some new ones.

Elsewhere on 'Pandora', we get synths, synths, and more synths. Well, this is Sweetune afterall.

Opening track "Way" sets the mood nicely, with KARA vowing to withstand nature's worst elements to rescue a lover who's been stolen from them by some unknown force. It doesn't have a huge standout chorus or anything, but it's classic KARA filler at its best, and sounds like it would be right at home on the group's excellent Japanese debut, 'Girl's Talk'.

"Idiot" is a lot of fun, opening with a few seconds of arcadey electronics before going into some flirty tropical synths. The entire instrumental sounds like the background music for a SEGA video game, and the childish lyrics about KARA getting frustrated over a relationship and calling their boyfriend an idiot just adds to the silly fun of this song.

Closing track "Miss U", again, sounds like it could've come off the 'Girl's Talk' album (which is essentially just a Japanese-language compilation of songs from KARA's various K-pop albums). It's typical KARA, with cute lyrics about missing a boy over a cheerful synthpop beat, but Sweetune spices the production up with a lot of jazzy, cabaret style instrumentation.

'Pandora' is probably KARA's most Japanese-influenced Korean release to date, but it still sticks to the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", and that's where it's going to divide people. If you're a longtime fan of KARA or a lover of bubbly synthpop, then 'Pandora' should be right down your alley. But if KARA's music never appealed to you before, then it certainly won't now.



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