[This review reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of allkpop.]

Track List:

1. Intro - Origine

2. Like a Movie

3. what is LovE?

4. DIVING

5. Zero Gravity (feat. BIBI)

6. Water Drop

7. Wind

8. Plodding

9. Colored With Love

10. Let's Fly

11. TONIGHT

12. For BANA

B1A4 is now promoting as a three-piece with the departure of two of their members from WM Entertainment. CNU, Gongchan, and Sandeul are now offering fans a 12-song release entitled "Origine" after a long hiatus. 2020 has given me many releases, but a B1A4 comeback wasn't in my predictions at all. "Origine" has calm, relaxing study music that actually is worth the listen.

Getting right into it, the album begins with "Intro - Origine," a house beat that's downtempo and chill. It's smooth, melodious, and sets the mood thematically for the rest of the album. The group's title track, "Like a Movie," is like sweet vanilla soft serve on a sunny day. B1A4 has done a phenomenal job on the mature evolution, and the orchestral touches in the song's instrumental shine against their silky vocals in this joyful and midtempo song.

"what is LovE?" is my top b-side on this release, with a nice bouncy electronic melody that carries throughout. "DIVING" is a bit more up-tempo than the other songs up until this point. The vocal arrangement isn't as memorable as the other songs thus far as well, although all the high register usage in this song is incredible.

"Zero Gravity" is the group's only collaboration on this release and it is with none other than BIBI! The feminine vocal addition was much needed and made the song have a great mature sound as an r&b song. BIBI's voice is smooth as silk and is like the cherry on top of whipped cream. "Water Drop" gives me Karaoke Room energy, and I can see the montage of random videos of beaches and animals already. It's nostalgic in a good way. Similarly, the last track on the album, "For BANA," felt the same with its nostalgic ballad sound.

With the next three songs, "Wind," "Plodding," and "Colored With Love," the songs started to feel repetitive in nature. The songs are very much listenable and palatable; however, I barely noticed that the song changed when the tracks were playing. All three tracks are mellow, coffeeshop type sounds. However, just as I start to feel a bit bored by the sound, the song "Let's Fly" brings me back up with a bit more electronic influence. I particularly enjoyed the filtered guitar against the whistle that was used as a way to break up verses. If "what is LovE?" is my favorite b-side, "TONIGHT" comes in at a close second. The song is synth-laden, fun, and city pop-inspired. 

MV REVIEW

The music video for B1A4 "Like a Movie" is insanely cutesy and not exactly original in concept, HOWEVER, it was extremely well executed. Where they lacked in originality, they made up for in execution and finesse. The music video is cinematic (and like a movie, as the title of the song suggests), showcasing some romantic scenes that are stereotypically shown in movies. There are fun twists and turns with the "movie scenes" each member is acting out, and the entire thing is campy but cute. 

The choreography is thoughtful and grown-up without losing any semblance of playfulness. This indicates that perhaps the group may weather the industry's ebb and flows a bit longer. B1A4 does a fantastic job maintaining a sense of maturity, and the styling is quite fashionable for the video as well. CNU - thank you for picking up contact lenses. You look great.

SCORE:

MV Relevance…..10

MV Production…..9

MV Concept……..8

MV Score: 9

Album Production…...9

Album Concept……...7

Tracklisting…………...7

Album Score: 7.6

Overall: 8.3