Release Date: August 17, 2023
Track Listing
- ↀ
- Girls’ Capitalism
- Complexity
- Black Soul Dress
- Seoul Sonyo Sound
- Cry Baby
- Speed Love
- Number 8
Review
tripleS is the world’s first “fan-participating girl group” that debuted in February 2023 with the EP Assemble.
Having gone in with low expectations, I found their debut EP enjoyable. So I figured why not look at the group’s sub-unit releases since if they are half as decent as the primary unit, they might be worth trying, right?
So, in this review, I listen to LOVEvolution’s MUHAN.
LOVEution is the fourth tripleS sub-unit, and they debuted on August 17, 2023. Like the other tripleS sub-units, the fans voted the members into their respective groups. However, LOVElution is a permanent unit and will not disband if the sales target of 100,000 units sold for their album is unmet.
The eight members of LOVElution are:
- Xinyu
- Park Sohyun
- Seo Dahyun
- Nien
- Yoon Seoyeon
- Gong Yubin
- Kaede
- Jeong Hyerin
LOVEvolution’s debut album is titled ↀ (MUHAN), based on the Roman numeral for 1000 that rotates the number eight 90 degrees to symbolize infinity. The Korean word MUHAN means infinite, limitless or no end.
MUHAN’s title track is Girls’ Capitalism, an upbeat and funky song with an infectious groove. Beneath its catchy music is an uplifting message about self-love. Its music video feels like a parody of bling bling culture mixed in with some typical girl group video tropes. It showed me that LOVEution is arguably the most visually appealing of the tripleS sub-units.
The remainder of the album is just as captivating as the title track. Much of the music takes a lot of cues from tripleS’ Assemble and Acid Angel from Asia’s Access. This means many danceable Urban Pop crossovers are present over the pure Girl Pop numbers. So, if that is what you like about tripleS, you will enjoy the rest of MUHAN.
Complexity is the b-side track that was promoted with Girls’ Capitalism. It’s a chilled R&B/Pop hybrid that gives the members something less bombastic than the title track to bite their teeth into.
The two album cuts that left the biggest impression on me were Seoul Sonyo Sound and Speed Love. Both songs belong more in a club than on a K-pop album.
Seoul Sonyo Sound is straight-up Garage. The drum patterns and the wobbly bass line are a dead give-away. On the other hand, Speed Love is Drum and Bass, a rarity to hear on a pop album these days. Both tracks bring a different sense of style to the album, making LOVEvolution stand out from the other tripleS sub-units distinctly.
Overall, I found MUHAN to be an engaging and entertaining listen. The only real knock I can give is that Cry Baby somewhat sounds out of place with the other songs on the album, as its sound differs wildly. However, it can also be seen as a break from hearing the same types of music in a row. So, take that as you will since it’s not a deal breaker when recommending this album.
