FANATICS – 'THE SIX'

Tracklist:

1. Sunday

2. Remember

3. Follow Me

4. Milkshake (Chinese ver)

Six-member girl group FANATICS have officially debuted with their first-ever EP, 'The Six.' The group is comprised of six members: Sika, Chiayi, Yoonhye, Chaelin, Doi and Produce 48 alum Kim Doah. The mini-album contains 4 brand new tracks, including the title track "Sunday". It also includes the Chinese version of "Milkshake" from their first sub-unit Flavor.

"Sunday" is a fun, bubbly tropical house tune. It's a little different from the standard, largely because of the layering done here. They don't let the basic tune drive the song, they add some staccato and some synth effects here and there. This is a cool title track. They cross into ballad territory with "Remember." These girls do just a marvelous job with the harmonies here. The song's more of a power ballad than anything, and it does pick up steam about a third of the way in. Still, these girls' vocals are top-notch, and their voices are really pretty.

"Follow Me" is more of a straightforward R&B tune. It's a low-key dance track as well, and the girls do an okay job on the vocals here. I like "Remember" a lot more. This is alright, but it didn't grab me as much I was hoping. The dance track "Milkshake" is the Chinese version of their debut single as Flavor. There's not a whole lot of difference between this version and the Korean one, other than the Korean one feels a little more complete. The raps on this one stand out more than on the Korean version, however.

So that's what the FANATICS sound like. I was curious, especially since they formed a sub-unit before debut (like LOONA). So naturally, I wondered what they'd be like with all 6 girls in the mix. The net effect is pretty pleasant, and there are some seriously danceable songs on here. What was I hoping for? Songs that are good enough to stay on my playlist. And that's pretty much what I got.

MV REVIEW

The MV sees the girls doing different things. Kim Doah plays with a jeweled globe, Chaelin has books set up like dominoes, Doi is playing at the park, Yoonhye is looking through a telescope, etc. All of the girls do cute things together, too, like looking out from behind a pillar or running along a track down on the playing field of what looks like a school.

And they dance together, too. Some of the choreo is just meant to be cute, one of the dance moves is to cup the face with one hand. But some of it looks kind of complex when some of them are practically b-boying on the ground. At times it looks fun -- and other times strenuous.

They have the aegyo down here, too. It's not like early Girls' Generation, so you're not drowning in it, but it's definitely there. The winks, the waves, forming a heart with your arms -- yeah, you can definitely see it. At least it's not excessive, though. Here, it just comes off as cute.

And that's the whole point of the video. It's not drenched in CGI, nor does it tell any kind of story. It's a cute concept. But the end leaves you with all the girls together, watching a rainbow out the window. And yeah, it was fun to see where all of this was leading, and the girls together at the end was somewhat heartwarming too. A nice ending to a nice MV.

Score

MV Relevance............8

MV Production...........9

MV Concept...............9

MV SCORE: 8.6

Album Production.....8

Album Concept.........8

Tracklisting...............8

ALBUM SCORE: 8.0

OVERALL................8.3