Eight months after HAPPY MOMENT, WJSN is back with their best single to date, a release that has great potential of becoming the group’s “real” break-out song. It’s no secret that WJSN is currently one of the fastest rising girl groups in K-Pop, and their comeback with “Dreams Come True” proves exactly why they are on the rise.

“Dreams Come True”

“Dreams Come True” presents WJSN at their best and most polished state. A track full of surprising musical elements and progressions, it’s the group’s most complex track to date. It does not, however, tamper with the single’s mainstream appeal, retaining its ability to be easily digested. Dynamic and elegant at the same time, it’s a track full of momentum, and plays with the energy enough to create a breathtaking breakdown section that is one of the song’s highlights.

Sound-wise, the title track is the group’s most organic single so far. It opens with a bright combination of synthesizers and strings mixed in with real drum hits and kicks, immediately capturing the listener’s attention. Similar to “Secret,” the strings section plays a major part in the song as it adds a layer of elegance to the arrangement, and it works perfectly with the jumpy piano chord and the minor string synth that’s layered deep in the mix. The vocal direction in the track is done wonderfully, with the engineers bringing out each member’s specific vocal quality and successfully mashing everything up to create the group’s best vocal performance by far.

In Full Color

The music video for “Dreams Come True” is another hit, done by the ever amazing FantazyLab. Carrying over the motion-frenzy editing style their previous music videos had, it draws the greatest similarities from the videos for “Secret” and “I Wish,” but creates a league of its own as it introduces a new aesthetic and color palette. As the previous videos were graded towards a pink spectrum, the video for “Dreams Come True” utilizes a great amount of blue, which is the winning characteristic for the video. The choreography scenes and Seola’s solo scenes were the most breathtaking ones in the video, as the natural color of the skies are saturated enough to accentuate the scenes.

The choreography is the group’s most challenging, and it’s also the group’s most dynamic. The music video doesn’t do the choreography justice, but it is clearly seen when the girls first performed the track in their showcase. The routine is full of complex and entertaining formation changes, but exudes enough elegance to fit the group’s concept.

Dream Your Dream

Dream your dream may be WJSN’s best album to date as all four B-sides of the album are of high quality.

“Love O’clock” is a clear stand out, especially when listening to the entire WJSN discography. Produced by Urban Jeonsung, it’s an in-your-face pop effort that goes semi-hard when the chorus hits, where it stays aggressive with its hard-hitting drum-snare pattern. The vocals are done bluntly and sound different from the rest of the group’s vocal performances—to the point that the track doesn’t sound like it’s performed by the group at certain verses.

The album’s obligatory e.one production, “Renaissance,” is widely similar to “Miracle,” a track off of their first studio album HAPPY MOMENT. With the usual kick/snare hybrid most e.one productions utilize, the song also progresses to create a nu disco vibe with the funk guitar section that leads the rhythm of the track. Objectively, it may be the weakest of e.one’s productions for the group, but it’s still a solid track that stands out among the other tracks on the album.

The best B-side, and the runner up in being the best track on the release, is “Starry Moment,” a track produced by Brand New Music-signed producers Won Yeong Heon, Dong Ne Hyung, and Yama Art. When the song starts, an old school beat pattern hits the listener as it progresses into a full-blown new jack swing track. The smart use of the mono synthesizers during the verses adds to the throwback flavor of the track, and the entrance of the strings becomes essential in making the track suit the girls perfectly.

The album closes with “Thawing,” written by Any Masingga, Fuxxy, and VINCENZO, the mastermind behind Chungha’s “Why Don’t You Know.” Even if it is an upbeat track overall, it still is perhaps the slowest track on the album. The opening verse makes one think it would progress into a sugary dance track à la “Plop Plop,” but it goes the slow jam route as it enters the pre-chorus. The track almost sounds like it’s a mashup between two different tracks but is produced seamlessly with the perfect transitions, which makes for a very entertaining progression.

Overall

The “Dreams Come True” era is undoubtedly the group’s best era to date. WJSN brought their A-game and produced a highly cohesive album on top of a perfectly-produced single and video. The girls have also outdone themselves, performance-wise, as they are back with their toughest, yet cleanest, choreo to date. As most K-Pop fans have etched “Secret” to be the sole must-listen-to single from the group, they may have to reconsider putting “Dreams Come True” next to it as it is just as amazing, if not even better.

“Dreams Come True” Title Score – 9.5/10
Music Video Score – 10/10
Dream your dream Album Score – 9.3/10

Overall – 9.6/10