A PINK - 'PINK MEMORY'

Track List:

1. Remember
2. Perfume
3. Attracted To U
4. Deja Vu
5. Flower Petal
6. What A Boy Wants
7. I Do
8. It's Amazing, Right?
9. Remember (inst.)
10. Promise U

Following a couple Japanese singles, A Pink is asking you to "Remember" them, as they release their first album in Korea this year, 'Pink Memory.' The press is that they're tackling a more mature style, as well as a variety of genres. Their new LP features ten tracks for your listening pleasure.

The title track is "Remember," which contains the same upbeat synth slams and sampled backbeats (though understated, this time) that characterized "LUV." It starts in ballad mode, and then quickly morphs into an cheery dance track. This does have something different that I haven't heard in an A Pink song: pan flutes. Expertly crafted by Shinsadong Tiger, this track sounds new and familiar all at once.



The next tune is "Perfume," which wasn't as much to my liking as I would have hoped. It's got an odd beat and timing that I'm just not down with. It's upbeat and cheery, and has that retro horn section that's often hit or miss. This time, it didn't quite work. It sounds like two unfinished songs mashed up, and that never intrigues me.

"Attracted To U" is trademark A Pink. It's soft, pleasant, but without trespassing into ballad territory. It's enough to keep it bouncy, upbeat, and the girls' voices combine to make it a superbly light, poppy song. The girls are describing what's happening as they fall head over heels.��



"Deja Vu" is smooth, soft pop. Written by leader Chorong, it's got that midway-between-ballad-and-dance-pop vibe going on that's familiar to fans. There's insistent keyboards, and sort of an R&B groove to it. The girls want to meet their guy again. Would it help if I pointed out that's not technically deja vu?

"Flower Petal" has a slight motown feel to it, stepping up the tempo from the previous song. The lyrics are pretty and wistful, despite the upbeat tone. The song describes pulling petals off a flower, saying "he likes me, he likes me not." The hooks might just having you dancing in your chair.



The first song written by maknae Hayoung,"What a Boy Wants" is a cheery, danceable track at high tempo. Similar to "Mr. Chu," it starts out with the soothing, silky vocals, giving way to their powerful belts during the chorus. The girls of A Pink are confused in love, wondering just what it is that a boy wants.

Featuring a sax that quickly gets buried by the synths, the extremely upbeat "I Do" comes in. If you were looking for something more danceable, then this is the track for you. Really, I like this even better than the title track. The lyrics suggest the girls are nervous even though they're happy in love.



"It's Amazing, Right?" slows it way down again, giving us the pretty, smooth ballad that is a staple of any A Pink album. Silky and soothing, the girls wring emotion out of their voices and hit those highs that make these kinds of songs work so well. Here the girls compare a man to a miracle.

"Promise U" has to do with a promise to return to their man. Starting with snaps and a smooth R&B groove, bass and piano combine to create a soft, emotional tune, nicely wrapping up this LP.� Eunji wrote and produced this track in honor of their 4th anniversary. It's a beautiful ode, and a sound we haven't heard from A Pink before.



This whole album is reminiscent of A Pink's previous songs, each track has A Pink written all over it. Almost every tune is similar to everything they've done before, yet each is fresh enough to be entirely new. I've always found A Pink to be relaxing and pretty, bringing a sweet innocence to the music. 'Pink Memory' reminds us Pink Pandas why we fell in love with their sound in the first place.

MV REVIEW

In a definite nod to summer, the girls of A Pink play aboard a yacht, on the beach, and in a flower-speckled field in their new MV. At one moment they're on the boat in Busan, the next they're cavorting in the sand, and (just like in the early teasers) running through a meadow. Sparklers by the pool provide a fun cap to the evening.

The outfits range from sporty, to beach wear, to more formal dinner party attire in the evening. Bomi is going as a blonde this comeback, and it suits her just fine. Rest assured my readers, if it looks bad, I'll call them out on it. The blue contacts are a bit jarring, though.



The dancing is A Pink plus. It's cheery, and just plain fun to watch. Not content to have shots of their moves in just one locale, they shift from beach to courtyard to inside, even around the yacht, and shifting costumes as they go.

It's a pretty MV. They apparently went all sorts of different places, Jeju island, the previously-mentioned Busan, etc. The girls look lovely (as they always have), and the video is refreshingly absent of twerking or painfully obvious fan service. While I can say the concept is not entirely original (even this summer, Girls' Generation did something similar), it's still fun to watch, and different enough to make it worthwhile.�

SEE ALSO: 'Knowing Brothers' reveals teaser for next week's episode featuring Apink