[MV and Album Review] Cosmic Girls — 'As You Wish'

AKP STAFF

Cosmic Girls — 'As You Wish'

Track List:

1. As You Wish

2. Luckitty-cat

3. LIGHTS UP

4. WW

5. BADABOOM

6. Full Moon

7. Don't Touch

Cosmic Girls has just dropped their newest mini-album, 'As You Wish.' It contains 7 tracks, including the title track. And it's their 8th EP since debut. Fittingly, the whole concept of this album has to do with the transformation of a space girl, starting with her confessing her love on "As You Wish."

"As You Wish" is the title track, and it's awesome right out the gate. From the auto-tuned voices at the beginning that meld with the melody, to the extremely danceable chorus, this tune has earned the right to be a title track. I'm impressed with the way they started this album. I love the suspense they build with the cleverly-titled "Luckitty Cat." And it just sounds cool. It's a solid dance track, and they do a great job here. The name itself sets up certain expectations, and they definitely deliver. "LIGHTS UP" is the ballad on here. It's done to a piano, and then eventually joined by an orchestra. I'm not as big a fan of this as I'd like. Their voices are fine normally, but here they sound rough, and not exactly on key. It gets a little better when it picks up in tempo.

With "WW" they return to that mid-tempo style that they're so good at. It's a cheerful dance track, and I like how their voices pitch higher. The tune is a happy one and makes you feel good listening to it. And the raps are pretty sick, too. We move on to "BADABOOM." I like the way it starts with rapping, and the staccato sounds in the melody. This song gives me some second gen vibes, and so it's close to my heart for that reason. On "Full Moon," they curiously start with counting to three in French. I'm not sure what's up with that. But the song is a bit of a tropical house beat. I like what they did with it. But I'm not crazy about the chorus. It's kind of a mess. "Don't Touch" is a fusion between fierce and playful. I love the attitude in this tune. It's like they set out to make a girl crush song. If they did, they succeeded. I love everything about this. Even the bridge has the epic sound I like.

One of the things I like about this release is that Dayoung and Yeoreum have more lines. You rarely hear anything about them, and the people who did the arrangements apparently wanted to use the whole lineup. And that's part of the strength of this EP. I also like how they don't rely on one tune or aspect, and every song stands well on its own. And, of course, the title track is one helluva fun song.

MV REVIEW

In the MV for "As You Wish," the girls prove why they are called Cosmic Girls.

Starting with the girls launching sky lanterns, the rest of this video is chock full of celestial imagery. You have bases on the moon, silhouettes against a night sky, shots of the moon, star-studded backgrounds, a planetarium complete with telescope, and more. Not every image has to do with that, but enough of them do.

And the special effects are absolutely on point. They're pretty convincing, and I can't find an instance where I thought anything was too cheesy. And the imagery is gorgeous, to boot. Aside from the members themselves, of course.

For the last couple of years, Cosmic Girls has debuted some of the more interesting MVs on the K-pop scene. And this is one of them. While it might not make any kind of narrative sense, it's at least a feast for the eyes. And what more can you ask for?

Score

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

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

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

MV SCORE: 8.6

Album Production.....8

Album Concept.........9

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

ALBUM SCORE: 8.3