(G)I-DLE – 'I TRUST'

Track List:

1. Oh my god *Title

2. Luv U

3. Maybe

4. LION

5. Oh my god (English Version)

(G)I-DLE has just dropped their third mini-album. 'I Trust' has five tracks, including their Queendom hit "LION," and the title track "Oh my god." The album has sold over 100,000 copies, a first for the band. Only five girl groups have achieved this feat on Hanteo. How cool is that?

"Oh my god" is their title track. It starts very differently than a traditional (G)I-DLE tune. We hear a lonely tolling bell. That doesn't last long. The song has throwbacks to "LION" and "Uh oh." I like it though. Soyeon and Minnie just give me chills on that chorus. And the fact that it ends the same way as it begins makes it even more awesome. A more experimental track would be "Luv U." It's not their usual sound, and the song has a number of different things going on. From the block percussion in the beginning to the synths that snake their way through the song. It still sounds amazing, and those raps get me every time.

"Maybe" is a more lavish production than we've heard from the band previously. Like the last track, there's a lot to unpack here. From the sweet vocals in the main part of the song to the pseudo-accordions that end it. Not to mention this is probably the most I've ever heard them mention things like "I love you." I'm really not going to cover "LION." We've all heard it by now, and it seems like it was a hint of the musical direction they're headed in.

The English version of "Oh my god" is interesting. With the heavily-accented opening lines, it sounds more like "LION" than ever. Usually, I'm not a fan of the English remixes. Oftentimes they're just not as good as the original Korean but consider this one of the exceptions. They left a lot of the original English lines intact here and therein lies the impact. You'll get a lot of the same feels from this version.

In some ways, it feels like they're drifting away from the hip hop style that made their sound a success. There's rapping, to be sure, and it's arguably more organic than in songs like "Senorita." But their overall sound is more languorous, less staccato than offerings like "Uh Oh." Their Queendom single is the first place I heard that. In some ways, I like where they're going with this. They're showing a willingness to branch out, to move forward instead of staying in one place and becoming stale. Every song on here is a bop.

MV REVIEW

There's a lot going on in the video for "Oh my god."

From mud baths and falling flower petals to flames and fluttering apparel, and spilled wine, where the splash morphs into people. This thing is just brilliant as apparently random images come together to make a stunning music video.

The locations are unique, as well. Sometimes it's dark and you can't see that well, other times the sets almost look like some kind of pagan temple (which might fit the title). There's even a sequence for the entire room is bathed in purple. Regardless, many of these are opulent. If it's CGI, it's particularly well done.

There's a fair amount of individual dancing, or even dancing with backup dancers. But few, if any shots where the group is all together. Miyeon and Soojin and Shuhua, et al are lovely on their own, don't get me wrong. Still, more group shots would have been fun.

Despite my quibbles, this is an awesome video. Highly artistic and highly watchable. It deserves every view it gets.

Score

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

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

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

MV SCORE: 9.0

Album Production.....9

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

Tracklisting...............9

ALBUM SCORE: 9.0

OVERALL................9.0