OH MY GIRL – COLORING BOOK

Track List:

1. Coloring Book
2. Real World
3. Agit
4. In My Dreams
5. Perfect Day



Oh My Girl returns with a brightly colored concept with their fifth mini-album 'Coloring Book!' The members are enjoying the taste of sweet, sweet success right now with their title track "Coloring Book" capturing plenty of attention. You probably know how that one sounds, but if you don't, check out the MV below. 

I'll be honest: the title track ("Coloring Book") doesn't grab me at all. While it's bright and poppy, and totally appropriate for Spring, it doesn't hold together all that well. It's entirely too simplistic, and just overall lacking that magic that a title track should have. It's not particularly catchy, just kind of annoying, and that's too bad. It's extremely frantic -- the pace is unpleasant. And no rap from Mimi? It's certainly no "Closer" or "Windy Day," and it pales compared to the meatier tracks on the EP.



The second track, "Real World," is so much better. They break out their awesome vocals for this guitar-driven tune. It's got kind of a folk-rock vibe, and it does a good job of milking that vibe. It's a feel-good song while still sounding fairly mature, and sounds exactly the way a solid song should. I love how they sound here, and it's a definite concept-worthy song. 

"Agit" is a little weird, not because of the song, but because of the title. I'm not sure exactly what word they were trying for here. Agit itself is either the act of stirring or shaking some kind of medicine, or, as "agit prop," political propaganda. The lyrics don't suggest either possibility, suggesting it might be a secret. It's a cute mid-tempo love song. And it's a pretty sweet tune. It has adorable raps and a head-bobbing melody. The chorus is a wonderful pay-off here. It's just a pleasant listen all the way around.

Next up is the sugary-sweet "In My Dreams." It's a very pretty song and is again guitar-oriented. It's entirely soft, inviting, and warm, and their harmonies are just absolutely killer. There are some nice jazz/blues nods in the middle part. Again there's no rapping -- it makes you wonder if they were trying to get away from that. But apart from all that, this is just a lovely piece of pop.



"Perfect Day" is a rocker that I'd probably have promoted instead of "Coloring Book." There's a harder edge to the song, a forceful and fierce delivery that I heart so much. This tune has a cadence that I love a lot, with a stomping melody and crunchy guitars. It's also super-catchy. This has to be my favorite song out of all of the songs on this mini-album.



My verdict? Well, given the success of the title track, my opinion might mean little. But this has to be one of their better albums. In the past, Oh My Girl had some genius moments with generous amounts of filler, but this is excellent material. I would love to hear a lot more of Mimi's rapping, but not this time around, I guess. Still, the line distribution was right on, and the album as a whole is outstanding. Color me impressed.

MV REVIEW

K-Pop MVs are often wonderful, as they allow you a glimpse into fantasy worlds familiar, or eerie, or completely unexplored. "Coloring Book" contains elements of all three.

The girls are floating in a colorless box, dressed all in white. How they got there is a complete mystery, as is where they are (other than up in the sky). They summon up great gouts of paint and begin throwing it around, and even weirder things happen.



A lot of it is cliche, like flying while holding helium balloons. Hurling paint is nothing new, though the CGI is absolutely spot on. You can almost believe that it's real paint. There are some serious WTF moments here, but nothing extremely outre. It's cute without being excruciatingly so -- no aegyo.

I like how the outfits are brilliantly colored, in some cases in striking hues. Are there that many? Not so much, but the contrast between the white and rest of it is obvious and really well done. There's no real plot, but the color increase in the MV is the whole point.



While I'm not crazy about the song (it grows on me the more I listen), the MV is cute and funny, vibrant and upbeat, without managing to be annoying or boring. While I'd love to see what they would have done with a different single, this MV is one to watch.  

Score