SF9 – 'FIRST COLLECTION'

Track List:

1. Good Guy

2. Am I The Only One

3. Shh

4. Lullu Lalla

5. One Love

6. Like The Hands Held Tight

7. Fire

8. Stop It Now

9. Dance With Us

10. Beautiful Light

SF9 has dropped its very first full album, aptly titled 'First Collection.' It's got 10 tracks, including the title track "Good Guy." But enough about the album itself -- how does it sound?

Starting with synth stabs, "Good Guy" is their title track. It's kind of a low-key dance track. The chorus isn't particularly dynamic. It just seems like any other part of the song. It just sounds flat, to me. "Am I The Only One" is straight-ahead R&B. It starts with some spoken words, but it isn't long before the song picks up. They appear to be relying on the vocals to carry this tune, and that's not a bad thing. SF9 has some killer harmonies. You hear a little more traditional kpop on "Shh." It's got kind of a seductive sound to it, almost like they're dancing around the topic. They get playful in this one, and it lends the song a lot of character. They embrace tropical house beats on "Lullu Lala." If I thought "Shh" was playful and upbeat, then I hadn't heard anything yet. They sound pretty lively on here like they're just having a lot of fun. That attitude alone makes the song pop.

"One Love" sounds a lot like disco. Change my mind. and it seems like the first proper club banger on the album. I really like how danceable this ended up being. I was hoping for an actual dance track rather than something low-key. I love how "Like the Hands Held Tight" starts out with raps. It sets the tone for the song quite nicely, and is the lead-in to a song tinged with hip hop. There's a neat interplay between the rapping and smooth vocals. I like this one a lot. With "Fire" they take a tropical house beat and make a pretty decent dance track out of it. It sounds a little bit like good guy, but they seem to I've done a better job here. It's got that staccato repetition that I heart so much. And the chorus is tight. "Stop it Now" sounds absolutely epic. It starts out with rapping, and there's this slow rise and fall of the music that is sonically awesome. For the whole song you get this sense that something's bubbling beneath the surface. That kind of tension is what makes this song a bop. "Dance With Us" is cute and playful. I love how it starts out, with the boys belting out what sounds like a schoolyard chant. The rapid-fire raps in this one are sick. One part adorable and one part badass.

I don't know what I was expecting with "Beautiful Light," but it wasn't slick soft pop. Which is precisely what this is. But it's really good. The rapping keeps it from being too settled. Keeps you on your toes. And I really like the chorus on this one.

So other than the title track, the album is not bad. There are some songs, like "Stop it Now" and "Beautiful Light," that rise above the noise and are fantastic. Some of the other ones are maybe a bit too upbeat in some cases. Too upbeat for me, maybe, but perhaps not for you guys. They bit the bullet and gave you 10 tracks to chew on, and that's worth something, right?

MV REVIEW

In this MV, the boys are competing in games of various types, and each of them wear a certain golden bracelet.

And if I ended it there, I wouldn't be too far off. But there's more than meets the eye going on here.

I'm not sure what the point of the games is, there seems to be quite a variety, from tennis to scrabble, pool and even darts. I can tell you the significance of the bracelet, though. According to the band, the bracelet symbolizes the number 9. The number nine is completion, a new beginning. So maybe they're done with mini-albums and have begun again, this time with a new LP?

I kid, but it's a fan theory.

The bracelets become more important, particularly at the end of the MV.

And I can tell you that the room they're in -- the study -- is magnificently appointed. Everything about that room screams riches. I love the looks of the place. I'm jelly if you must know. It would be a gorgeous place to set up shop.

Everything in this MV is cool-looking. Even the tennis game is dripping with suspense, and the camera angles, lighting, everything was on point. And definitely dynamic. I really enjoyed watching this one.

Score

MV Relevance...........9

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

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

MV SCORE: 9.0

Album Production.....8

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

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

ALBUM SCORE: 8.0

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