CLC - 'QUESTION'

Track List:

1. Hey-Yo
2. Like *
3. Lucky
4. Hide and Seek
5. What Do I Do

Cube's rookie girl group CLC has just dropped a new mini-album, 'Question.' They should still be fresh in fans' minds since their first album was released in March. They continue to charm their fans with fun, fresh sounds on the new EP. 



While billed as a reggae song, "Hey-Yo" actually has very little in common with reggae, except a bit in the chorus. There's far more pop than reggae here with a sampled break beat and some pseudo-Caribbean rhythms. While it looks like I'm trashing the song, I'm not. It's an enjoyable bit of bubblegum with a nice hook in the chorus. It also happens to be my favorite jam on the disc.

"Like"...I dug this track much more upon subsequent listens than when I first heard it. The up-pitched voices do little to enhance the music and are actually more grating than anything else. The sad thing is that it's a pretty catchy track other than those parts. Bright beats and a singalong chorus help complete the mix.



"Lucky" totally gave me that 'sounds like APink' vibe. It's not outright plagiarism, though, which is a good thing. I'd say they're listening to the competition, except that APink is part of the same label. 'Homage' is perhaps the term I'm searching for. I think the overdubs really help differentiate it as it sounds like an army of girls are singing in the chorus.   

"Hide and Seek" continues much in the same vein as the rest of the EP. What it does do differently is give a part to Yeeun, showcasing her developing rap skills. It's a bright, fun, poppy jam, completely what we've come to expect from this group.  



They slow it way down at the end for "What Do I Do." As the title might suggest, it's a ballad, and unfortunately sticks out like a sore thumb on an otherwise energetic dance track album. I do like the heartfelt vocals, showing that they can actually sing, but the tone here is more serious than fun and is somewhat jarring.

Full of danceable hooks and catchy tracks, 'Question' is one of those albums I really like listening to again and again. Don't expect deep or experimental, just fun, feel-good rhythms and hooks that Justin Timberlake would give his favorite tattoo for. This is a perfect summer release. If you're in an area where the sun is beaming down on you, just pull the top back and enjoy.

Recommended tracks: "Hey Yo," "Lucky."

MV REVIEW

Those high pitches really get on my nerves. Sometimes, I wondered if Alvin was going to show up. Anyways, onto the visual component.

Finding one of their members collapsed in an alleyway, the girls nurse their comrade back to health and investigate precisely what it was that caused this. Of course, it's a guy who's literally drop-dead gorgeous. When they figure this out, they ransack his apartment. The reason for this is unknown other than to get hold of some of his skivvies. Eww.



So when they finally get him to come by, they hatch a plan to get them together, but when they open the door, she faints again. So, he just goes back to his apartment and his cute dog.

This video is drenched in aegyo. Either I'm getting desensitized to it or something because here it just makes them all the more adorable, dressing up in cute costumes, glasses, mustaches, bunny noses, etc. 



The only thing I have to take exception to is the outfits. Some of them were just terrible and cheap-looking. I know Cube has the budget to outfit them properly, so slapping something together with tape and fabric just so you have a costume for the MV is so wrong.

Colorful and fun is the name of the game, and this MV has that in spades. It goes right along with the song, and the energy is entirely appropriate. Relevant? Well, no less relevant than some of the other MVs out there. I think "Pepe" was a better song in many ways, but the MV here is too cute for words.

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