[Album & MV Review] Cosmic Girls - 'The Secret'

Cosmic Girls recently came back with their promotional track "Secret" off the album 'The Secret,' and they are winning over the hearts of boys everywhere!

Tracklist:

1. Secret
2. Bebe
3. Would You Kiss Me
4. Prince
5. ROBOT
6. Goodnight
7. Secret (Chinese Ver.)

To start, "Secret" purely offers a whimsical, futuristic sound that is a little jittery and playful. An appealing aspect of the song is its fantasy, video game-esque. I feel like I'm entering a town filled with wonderful mysterious and secrets to explore. I can definitely make this song my ringtone and have everyone swaying their heads to the beat as it captivates your ears. Listen for yourself.

Another notable joy is that it is cutesy but not filled with vomit inducing aegyo. It is just right. I enjoy the fact that it strays away from their earlier concept in "Catch Me." This gentle style and song really put the cosmic feeling in Cosmic Girls. Plus, it is refreshing to see after the string of hip-hop oriented releases these days.

The MV is a graphic dream as it beautifully displays a desolate world filled with cotton candy colored skies, setting suns, and shooting stars. Not to mention the girls look like dolls from another world themselves. I have to say, the few glimpses of the dance routine paired with the visual effects would have E.T. phoning home in a heartbeat. Wherever Cosmic Girls are, you just want to be there!

The lyrics are just as the title suggest, full of hidden feelings. The song paints the classic picture of a girl struggling with her heart and feelings towards a boy who seems clueless to the fact. I find the words "Have you ever felt cosmo inside of you?" very unique in the beginning. Our hearts are like a cosmos of endless, infinite feelings after all.

From the upbeat pitch and lullaby-like music box opening to the use of fading synthetic sound effects, "Secret" offers something you'd find off of Dal Shabet's "Pink Rocket" album. However, alim17 feels that the song was better suited for Nine Muses. I don't buy it, but Nine Muses can try anything at this point. Yolo?

As for the rest of the album, 'The Secret' features 7 tracks, including a well-made Chinese version of "Secret," making it a lengthy, quality album. However, some songs are a hit or miss.

To be honest "BeBe," their second track, sounds like it could be another promotional track and could even something Red Velvet would sing. The song is a bit more rushed unlike "Secret," and the repetition of the line "Bebe" will have you addicted for sure. Exy shines well with her rap as well.

Now we reach the mistake of "Would You Kiss Me." To be honest, I'm confused by it. It had such a wonderful, candy girl sound and suddenly breaks the flow with nonsensical trap music. It has a real OST feel to it, which makes me think Cosmic Girls will create great OSTs in the future. Despite the oddly catchy trap break randomly dropped in the song, if "Would You Kiss Me" kept to being peaceful, it would definitely be better received. At least the album keeps up with the futuristic, space sounds that are showcased in "Secret."

Cosmic Girls' song "Prince" has a wonderful instrumental. The synthesized sounds, fading, repetitive vocals and vigorous drumming make it stellar. Paired with their high-pitched vocals, the song isn't put to waste. Yet, it isn't something strong enough to outshine all the songs on the album.

Cosmic Girls' 5th track "ROBOT" captures that video game-esque mentioned earlier. It blends together their style from "Catch Me" as well but has a bit of an "I Got A Boy" kind of vibe. You can easily see the girls getting down to this beat but it isn't vocally outstanding. It is another song that just isn't breaking barriers but it can surely get you in the zone on the dance floor! The slightly auto-tuned voices blended with the synthetic melody is killer.

These fine ladies truly saved the best for last with "Good Night." The song carries the peaceful melody similar to "Would You Kiss Me" but with more of an R&B vibe. It offers some whimsical sounds without being distracting like "Prince" or "Secret." It's gentle sound, mixed with their airy, feminine voices, is pure bliss. It is very soothing and really deserves one of those casual, low-budget, 'I'm a human, too' styled MVs.

Overall, Cosmic Girls' album "The Secret" isn't filled with as many mysteries as one would think but it is worth the listen. Out of all the tracks, their promotional song "Secret" was an excellent choice while "Good Night" and "ROBOT" make for the better additions among the rest. Cosmic Girls still have a lot of evolving to do, which will definitely be shown in their future work. "The Secret" is a cute beginning that will be adorable to look back on when they send us out of this world in their next release.