Has the K-Pop world seemed to become overwhelming with the prevalence of noise music influences and endless girl crush concepts? Some days, it seems like the trends are overpowering and that many forget the simple pleasures in a softer girl group concept. But Oh My Girl is here to save the day with retro-inspired pop title track, “Real Love.”

The Title

“Real Love” is a catchy pop track that combines retro jazz influences with an upbeat pop melody that doesn’t follow the song structure we’ve become accustomed to. The song opens up with the chorus rather than a verse. The driving beat remains consistent throughout, with the prominent retro-influenced rhythm guitar and soft horn melody in the chorus painting a jazzy picture. The switch-up in song structure keeps the song fresh, and the singular time we see the beat change is for the bridge, where we get a more modern beat to accompany the rap portion of the song. There is also a key change for the final chorus. What’s so beautiful about this song is that while it initially seems simple, the one shift in the song flows seamlessly and remains as light as the main melody, providing a change while blending together well with the song overall. It goes to show that sometimes we don’t need an overly loud or experimental sound to make a track stand out. 

The video is full of bright colors as Oh My Girl takes to the air to find paradise. All hues of pink and purple stand out in every setting, with the pastel coloring occasionally presenting an otherworldly appearance to sets. Much of the retro influences comes in the form of the outfit choices, with bold and beautiful dresses, to plaid two-piece business attire. It adds to the airy, sweet feel of the song and radiates sunshine, a perfect concept to push as we see spring begin to appear and dream of warmer days in summer. 

The Album

Second full album Real Love contains 10 tracks, one of which is an instrumental of the title track. The first B-side, “Drip,” has a totally different tone than title “Real Love,” with heavy House EDM influences in the main melody. The drop for the song is completely unexpected however, trading the classic EDM drop for an electronic beat in a different time signature, giving the song a waltz feel as it shifts to ¾ before returning to the standard signature for the next verse. This will definitely throw you for a loop on first listen, especially given how much it contrasts with “Real Love.”

“Eden” shifts gears once again, this time presenting an acoustic pop track with a soft and dreamy vibe that remains warm even as the chorus throws in a different sound. “Replay” returns back to the EDM influences, sounding like the type of song you’d hear playing in a club in the middle of the night. The vocals are not the focus in this song, and it’s an interesting contrast even to “Drip,” which definitely still placed heavy emphasis on the girls’ voices. “Replay” is a club banger through and through.

“Parachute” brings back the cutesy pop sound, and ,in a sense, is a more typical type of track in terms of arrangement. There’s a build to a drop, and that drop is as expected in this type of song. The one thing that stands out slightly within the melody is the use of steel drums added sparsely through the verses and bridge, and more heavily in the chorus. “Kiss & Fix” has a bit of a slower tempo and a more mellow pop melody in general that has the makings of an Oh My Girl title track.

“Blink” returns to a classic upbeat pop melody that has some similarities to the title track, only with a more traditional song structure. “Dear Rose” shifts in sound a bit, with a different time signature immediately noticeable even as the song itself maintains the same upbeat type of melody and higher register vocals. The final new track is “Sailing Heart,” a tried-and-true ballad that really showcases the beautiful voices of the members. It ends the album on a soft and sweet note. 

All in all, Real Love does showcase Oh My Girl being capable of a number of different genres, though it would have been nice to hear some R&B influenced songs on this album. One thing that is quite noticeable is that every track had some type of structure or melody that gave the song a unique twist. Without that, the melodies could be considered generic, but the added elements help to showcase the gallant of the girls and give a unique twist to a classic song. Oh My Girl has been on the scene for a very long time, and continue to showcase their talent without necessarily resorting to concept fads. 

“Real Love” Title Score: 7.5/10

Music Video Score: 8.5/10

Real Love Album Score: 7/10

Total Score: 7.6/10

Edited by Rashelle B.