TWICE - 'THE STORY BEGINS'

Track List:
1. Like Ooh-Ahh
2. Do It Again
3. Must Be Crazy
4. Truth
5. Candy Boy
6. Like a Fool



'The Story Begins' for Twice, JYP's new girl group. The 9 member band consists of Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo,�Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu. Quite a few are from Japan, one is from Taiwan. This is their official debut. �

The title track, "Like Ooh-Ahh," starts out cute and sweet, with a flute, and pretty standard cute fare, but 30-seconds in, they switch it up. The girls go from adorable to bold, and that's when the tune picks up. They make good use of their number in the chorus, where it sounds like an army of girls are singing. Not only that, but the instrumentation gets a boost, and the song turns into an Avril Lavigne-style rocker. I like the time changes in the song, and the brattiness gives them more cool-cred, in my book. The message? The girls want a guy who will put them at a loss for words, "like ooh-ahh."



Beginning with vocals, "Do It Again" quickly gets a buzzing cool synth and sassy vocals. This is where the girls really get to showcase their voices. There's almost an R&B groove, but definitely updated for modern era. The raps here come as fierce as the rest of the song and mesh extremely well. They want the guy to come back to them.

"Must Be Crazy" is very R&B-based, and quite smooth. It's quite different from the other tracks, and the chorus with all nine of them singing adds some definite power to the tune. It's also got a great hook:

"Look at me, crazy
Look at me, crazy
I can not quit you."

The lyrics are pretty clear from the title: a hot guy is driving them mad.



"Truth" has a retro feel to it initially, and then it hits a more hip-hop vibe during the main verses, with insistent rapid-fire singing, and then a pure pop vibe when we get to the chorus. It could have been awkward, but instead it's got a great energy to it. The song is all about a confession to a guy.

The fifth song, "Candy Boy," has a marching band beat is stylistically similar to their title track, but is definitely its own tune. The raps are not as well-written as they could be, but there's still a boldness here, an impertinence that I like. There's some more of those amazing pipes in here, as well, along with hints of some soul. It's an ode to a guy that the singer has to have.



"Like a Fool" is a soothing tune to an acoustic guitar and harmonica. It's a very smooth song, and really shows off their vocal power at times. While not powerhouse-style like Ailee, there's some definite talent there, especially Dahyun. And the song is a great finisher. The lyrics indicate they're waiting for the guy to say he likes them too.

This album is a breath of fresh air as far as girl bands go. There seems to be a glut of either cute or sexy girl bands debuting nowadays, and that's it. While the fierce concept is nothing new, it's underused, and it's good to see it back. And it's stylishly done, with tunes that don't sound like everyone else. I can't wait to see what more this band has in store for us. Twice fighting!

MV REVIEW

Watch the girls of Twice cavort with zombies in "Like Ooh-Ahh!"

Yes, I said zombies. We first see the group in what looks like an abandoned school, dorm, or even maybe an asylum. There's living facilities, which make me think that. We see snatches of the other denizens, who are zombies. They transition to the locker room, the roof, a bus, and finally, an amusement park with tons of zombies. Why zombies? Because Halloween.



The wardrobe is all set up to appeal to the male gaze, no doubt about it, from cheerleader costumes to thigh-high stockings, garters, what-have-you. The nice thing about it is, they seem pretty comfortable, regardless, and it's not over-the-top.



The dancing is high-energy, and yes, cute. They've got the requisite moves down, but there's also some freedom for the girls to do their own thing, which makes it more interesting than the 4 millionth time we've seen idols dance in sync.

This MV is pretty well set up as an intro to the band. The zombies add something we don't see terribly often, though it doesn't seem too terrifying, as the zombies are dancing with them at the end. It's fun, and where the scene isn't always colorful, the girls' wardrobe is. The girls are attractive, and the increasingly-rare absence of twerking is always a plus. I can definitely recommend this one.�

SEE ALSO: TWICE announces 14th mini-album 'STRATEGY' as their first full-group comeback in 10 months