1. Together
2. Angel
3. Because of You
4. Love Letter
5. My First Love
6. Together (Inst.)
7. Angel (Inst.)



Apparently it's not known as 'Very Berry' everywhere in the world

Enduring through lineup and label changes, the five-member girl group known as Berry Good has dropped their first mini-album 'Very Berry.' They debuted in 2014 with the single "Love Letter," and released three single albums before cutting this one. 'Very Berry' was financed through a crowdfunding campaign that hit their goal --  ?10 million goal ($8,730 U.S.) --  in 10 days. The current members include Taeha, Seoyul, Daye, Sehyung, and Gowoon.

"Together"
This danceable track has steady drums like a heartbeat until it picks up a galloping beat. I like the space-age effect before the beat drops between verses, and the chord progression in the pre-chorus is killer. It all comes together with a bright, poppy chorus. The theme is that she's hidden her heart long enough.



"Angel"
This is a great choice for the title track. It alternates between mid-tempo and banger. It's got nice hooks and is quite catchy. The mighty synth slams in the chorus match the exuberant vocals, and the bridge is pretty skillful as well. There's some nice ad-libbing in the closing chorus. Gowoon is the standout vocalist here -- her vocals at the end have the pyrotechnics that I love. She's letting the guy know she's his angel.

"Because of You"
Quieter than the other tracks, the soft pop song "Because of You" has some piano and graduates to an acoustic guitar. I like the backing vocals on this tune. The lyrics are well done switching from English to Korean and back again unobtrusively and organically, the words aren't just inserted randomly. Why the title? "Because of You" the world looks beautiful.

"Love Letter"
This is their debut single from 2014. It has a nice bass line in the beginning and great beat overall. I like the rapping. It doesn't seem awkward and has a good flow to it. It'll by no means make the hip hop top 10, but it seemed more like chanting to me at times, lending it a cute charm, especially at the end. In the song they're confessing in their love letter.

"My First Love"
Another single this time from 2015, "My First Love" is a piano-driven ballad, eventually joined by electric guitar. Sustains, harmonies, and held notes and ad-libs at the end help this track stand out, and some of the vocals sound genuinely mournful. It sounds positively majestic near the end. It's a sad song about seeing your crush and realizing your feelings will never be returned.



This album is a lot better than you might think at first. There's enough going on here to keep your interest, and the devil is in the details. There are time-changes, bold synth and vocal work, nice use of English, pretty voices, and some catchy melodies. It's a pretty awesome EP, even if the album title does remind me of a breakfast cereal...

MV REVIEW

A girl slowly moves through a house as if in the midst of a dream. She uncovers items and furniture in the house before emerging in a forest. The girls appear both individually and as a group dancing and singing.

The special effects here are nice and seamless. They drift from one scene to the next easily, showing some nice control over the editing.



Dancing is nicely done, if a bit static. They didn't seem to move much, though their dancing was in sync quite a bit. There were however some nice touches where the girls move away and one gets to dance individually, but those moments were all too rare.

The costume changes were as seamless as the video, the girls donning similar cuts and outfits with different colors. Usually the costume switches accompanied a change of location.



The video is very dreamlike, there are some fantasy touches like sunlight suddenly streaming through a window or going through a door only to have the house replaced by a forest. There seems to be some symbolism here as well, such as a caged bird that appears in her hands, freed from its prison. Overall I think it was well done, and managed to avoid looking cheap. It may help that I love the song but this one deserves a thumbs up.

Score

MV Relevance..........8
MV Production.........8
MV Concept.............9
Album Production...9
Album Concept........8
Tracklisting..............9

OVERALL...............8.5

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