SF9 Masters Somber Sophistication in “Tear Drop”
It feels like an eternity since we’ve gotten a proper release from SF9 between member acting gigs, participation in Kingdom, and questions of contract renewal. At nearly a year since the release of their single album, the group returns with new mini-album TURN OVER and lead single “Tear Drop.” After accruing interest in their performance ability on Kingdom and taking everyone’s breath away with their visuals, the return of the group was definitely anticipated and the teaser images promised sexy sophistication. While the teasers told a story concept-wise, it was hard to predict what the sound of “Tear Drop” would turn out to be.
The Title: “Tear Drop”
If “Summer Breeze” threw a curveball, then “Tear Drop” is sure to send you for a loop at first listen. The track opens up with a soft melodic line reminiscent of a music box before continuing with a trance influenced beat, but maintaining a rather light air all the same. The song itself is much softer than anticipated, with the music box melody remaining stagnant until the drop at the chorus. The trance influences really take center stage at the chorus, giving off an almost ‘90s and early 2000s vibe while remaining airy. SF9 has certainly explored different genres in their time, but this feels different from anything we’ve heard not just from the group, but as a whole. Whereas “Summer Breeze” was a hard-hitting EDM and “Shine Together” was a purely soft acoustic ballad, “Tear Drop” takes its place as a middle ground in-between the two, placing heavy emphasis on vocals despite the trance influences, which are traditionally much more intense and are designed to be the main point of a track.
In the music video, sophistication and charisma shine through on the intricately prepared set, which generally features a monochrome theme or very muted sepia tones. There’s a lot of broken and fragile objects, such as broken glass in Inseong’s shot, broken marble statues in Youngbin’s set, and the general crumbling mansion rooms we see Dawon and Zuho in. With the added visual elements, it’s easy to grasp the more somber mood of “Tear Drop” as a whole, which speaks of a crumbling relationship. The boys are known for their strong choreography skills and while there are choreography shots interspersed among the single member shots, it’ll be much more interesting to see the performances of the song.
The Album
“숨 (Believer)” kicks off TURN OVER’s B-sides with a brighter feeling and a more familiar territory for SF9, specifically the return of rap and an absolute fire verse from Zuho. This song has hints of hip-hop within the rhythm and a more infectious tone that definitely does the job of highlighting the rappers, who pretty much remained subdued in the somber title track. “한 번 더 사랑하자 (Love Again)” brings the sweet and upbeat feelings of a traditional love song and a more typical K-Pop song. The synth is prominent in the melody, most obviously in the chorus, which gives the song a different tone as it isn’t as present in the verses.
“하자 하자 이별 좀 (Off My Mind)” is a playful traditional pop track that has a certain charm to it, and while it also features a synth as a main melodic point, it differentiates itself from the previous tracks to add a little bit of freshness to the song. “방방 뛰어 (Fanatic)” takes some inspiration from R&B, most prominent in the beat and overall tempo of the song. That added flavor brings some more diversity to the overall album composition. And last comes “Hey Hi Bye,” another traditional pop track with a bit of a different groove.
Overall, I wouldn’t say TURN OVER is a disappointment or a bad album, but it does seem to be lacking a little bit of diversity in sound. There’s a heavy synth focus in every song, which one could argue ties the album together, but after a while it gets a bit stale. “Tear Drop” and “숨 (Believer)” have the most potential, in my opinion. But it can be frustrating to have the repetition on this album after seeing SF9’s potential in other releases and their ability to create stellar B-sides. There’s no question about SF9's talent, but I just wish it had shined through more in this album release, especially after their experience on Kingdom.