A3Day Extended Commentary: Girls' Generation "Forever 1" (2022)
Originally written August 16, 2022
DISCLAIMER - An Album a Day is my exploration into the Korean music scene. This blog, just like my podcast, will cover mainstream, indie and some underground artists within the scene and provide both factual and opinionated commentary. The biggest benefit to sharing my thoughts this way is that it will hopefully expose you to more great music and exploration of your own.
SM Entertainment's Girls' Generation (Korean: 소녀시대; Romanization: Sonyeo Sidae), also known as SNSD (look at the romanization again lol) returned with their seventh full-length album on August 8, 2022, entitled Forever 1.
It is the first full project by the group in five years, and releasing it when they did had many of their longtime fans beaming: 8 women, on the 8th day of the 8th month, and 8/8 equals 1.
Girls' Generation's history is easily traceable and their influences are widely known, so I won’t travel down that path. And because of their history, I can't simply say, "Yo, this is SNSD so you got to listen!" Personal interests must not diminish assessment. Instead, we will traverse this latest addition to their legacy track by track.
Forever One - anthemic, energetic, and quintessential SNSD
If there's one word to describe this track, it's "comfortable." When you've been in the industry for as long as SNSD and make a comeback that needs to sit atop some charts, then this is the route to take. Nothing new, nothing overtly unexpected, yet right on target. And this is what they set out to do anyway, as they aren't trying to compete with the current generation of artists. The title track and lead single will have a summer's-energy to it forevermore and the ladies deliver on what consumers expect. If nothing else, the nostalgia of them, and the chorus immediately declaring "I love all of you, my everything," can pull on the heartstrings a bit.
Lucky Like That - the "Yes, we did it!" retrospective track
If you seek a song from your faves that addresses their realization that you're part of their success story, then this is it. The music is upbeat, fun, and compliments the women telling themselves and fans alike that they know they're lucky. The song is mostly memorable for non-Korean speakers because of the English refrain in the chorus.
Seventeen - the B-side that shines without the group
This is the first true example of the music performing beyond what the vocals give because the production on this track is impressive. Starting with a piano, finger snaps, and mild effects that sound like audio distortions, it’s reminiscent of New Jack Swing.
By definition, New Jack is Black at its core and one of its pioneers, Teddy Riley, has worked with SNSD before as well as established an act that's now in it Swan song.
I credit Deekay members Obi and his wife Charli for this more than anyone, as the production and songwriting team’s catalog runs the gauntlet. And Charli knows her girls, as she’s worked on SNSD projects since 2013. Needless to say, there wasn’t a Black American nor Black British influence on the track, but an influence on the production style and a solid delivery.
I challenge you to find an instrumental of the song with the backing vocals only and realize that SNSD’s vocals are simply accents. The track lives and breathes without them, so much so that label mates Red Velvet or BoA could've bodied this as well.
Villan - fun, dark, but not believable for SNSD
If some of the members took this song on as a solo, I'd believe it more than it belonging to them as a collective group. It's not the first time they've boasted about how untouchable/cool/dope/icy in the veins they are but given the circumstances that it sounds like it would be more suitable for their younger label mates Aespa, it doesn't seem like a solid "character fit."
This is the second song with lyrics arranged by members Sooyoung and Tiffany (with "Seventeen" being the first) and Tiffany had a hand in the music.
You Better Run - the track that you HAVE to hear to believe
You don't have to like SNSD but you have to clutch a pearl or two at this amazing track! This is the only track where it sounds like they were having a damn blast, right down to their ad libs. The production is stank-face inducing in some areas, with very little beyond a synth, distorted guitar and oddly triplicated beat. It's vicious in all the right ways, down to the revenger-tinged lyrics, and placed perfectly within the overall album.
Closer - right for the times and your private playlist
I forgot about this track until the ninth listen. When reviewing an album you're bound to forget something, but I do wonder why it took so long to stand out for me. After all, the production style is disco and we're experiencing a global revitalization of the genre at this time. It isn't a bad song whatsoever, but I wouldn't be shocked if you skip over it.
Mood Lamp - flirtatious and loud
If you look on some social media sites, many are applauding this song more than most. For the average listener, I can't challenge that! For those in music, however, this is where the album's production quality starts to become questionable.
The track is R&B and well produced but the vocal engineering at some points seems inconsistent. Backing vocals and harmonies sit within the music, adding lovely accent moments that enhance the production. The volume of the chorus, comparatively, is loud as hell. If I'm supposed to be feeling smooth and sexy, telling a potential lover that "I would fit you well," then why am I yelling it? Or why are we starting the first verse off with the volume a bit too low? The guitar is drowning out the women as they sing in an octave we don't always get to hear from them.
It's a skip for me.
완벽한 장면 (Summer Night) - a karaoke-worthy song
Continuing on with tracks I'd skip, I forgot about this, despite a dozen listens to this album. It sounds far younger than 30-something women should deliver. Nonetheless, it will resonate with the appropriate audience and be a wonderful karaoke track on chimaek nights. It is fun, but played extremely safe.
Freedom - feels good and belongs on your workout playlist
This track is perfectly placed in the album. You want to have that last surge of energy before a send-off, you know?
This is your strut-on-the-treadmill track and perfectly paced for exercise! It's so sassy and they sound wonderful (vocals are well placed, melody plays over the track) and you'll find yourself humming along. The ad libs at the end are soulful, too. This is my second favorite track on the entire album!
종이비행기 (Paper Plane) - *sigh* I'm the problem, not them.
I must get this out of the way now. At the end of the song, 3:12 to be exact, an audio scrub is needed on Taeyeon’s audio.
You can hear her vocal fray and track overlay come into the “oh” which sounds like the audio wasn’t clipped correctly in that brief moment. If you listen to the instrumental of the song, it’s not there. I understand that it’s easily missed by the average ear, I do! However, as a producer, how the hell did they allow that?!?! IT DRIVES ME NUTS. And if you test this out, you’ll be unable to hear it and want to fight me for it. I’m sorry.
The song is wonderful, everyone had a moment to shine, and then that happens. F**ks it up for me entirely! We’re s’posed to be cruising into the close of a triumph!
MY OFFICIAL RANKING
K-pop fans, on a scale of 1 to 5 where 5′s essential listening and 1′s not worth mentioning, the A3Day ranking on SNSD's seventh album is 4.5. It feels like more than one album, functions like a karaoke experience, but is still a win and one of their strongest albums in their discography. Pitchfork contributor Joshua Minsoo Kim said it best with his review, quoted below.
"If Girls' Generation don't have a particular musical identity on Forever 1, it might be because they're from an era before SM tried specific sonic qualities to their groups. It often felt like Girls' Generation were constantly adapting to new sounds... they're having enough fun that it goes down easy."
Time might substantially pass before we hear from Girls' Generation again, but Forever 1 is a good reminder that what they represent in the industry is eternal. Job well done, ladies.