I wouldn’t normally write a full tune evaluation for an unpromoted pre-release with no music video, however GFriend have lately been inaugurated into my “Okay-Pop A-Z” membership. Over the previous few months, I’ve been writing about each single tune they’ve recorded (only some extra to go!) and commit to write down about any tune they could launch sooner or later. That begins with Season Of Recollections (우리의 다정한 계절 속에), a pre-release taster earlier than their large reunion in a few week.

Each fiber of my being anticipated Season to be the requisite ballad countering what is going to possible be a extra up-tempo title observe, so when the tune kicked off with sprightly guitar I discovered myself instantly shocked. Greater than present Okay-pop tendencies, the manufacturing echoes sounds at present well-liked in Japan. I assume this is smart since GFriend’s music has at all times borrowed closely from J-pop kinds. The instrumental is swift however nonetheless a bit subdued, forgoing bombast for a nimble — typically jazzy — strategy. It befits the mature period the group finds themselves in now, even when it by no means seeks to recapture the glory of their most iconic materials.

I’ve a sense Season Of Recollections will take pleasure in sturdy longevity, however after the primary few listens I’m nonetheless craving the melodic magic GFriend constructed their discography on. Fairly than blossom and soar, the melodies play issues cool and aloof. The refrain comes closest to breaking free from the tune’s constraints, and is handiest when the women’ voices are layered collectively. That sense of overwhelming optimism is their strongest calling card and I’m hoping that’s the course we’re heading in.

Grade: B