Wonder Girls – Reboot Review

Wonder-Girls-Reboot-Cover

Release Date: August 3, 2015

Track Listing

  1. Baby Don’t Play
  2. Candle
  3. I Feel You
  4. Rewind
  5. Loved
  6. John Doe
  7. One Black Night
  8. Back
  9. OPPA
  10. When Love Tries To Leave
  11. GONE
  12. This Moment
  13. 20150711 (Talk) (CD Release only)

Review

The Wonder Girls last releases as a unit were 2011’s Wonder World and 2012’s Wonder Party. The group has since been on hiatus pending the status of two members, Sun Ye and So Hee.

Sun Ye married her long-time boyfriend and announced her pregnancy and her intent to do a 5-year missionary mission in Haiti. She has since confirmed that she has left the group. So Hee’s contract was up for renewal in 2013 she decided not to re-sign with JYP Entertainment. She started focusing on an acting career shortly after.

In the meantime, the remaining members, like Ye Eun, went on to work on solo projects during the hiatus.

In July of 2015, JYP announced the reformation of the Wonder Girls with a new lineup. Former member Sun Mi returned to the fold joining remaining members Yu Bin, Ye Eun and Hye Lim to create a 4-member version of the group.

This reformation comes with a new concept where the Wonder Girls are turned into a retro pop band, with each member being assigned an instrument and training for live performances as a band.

The band breaks down as the following:

Bass – Sun Mi
Drums – Yu Bin
Guitar – Hye Lim
Piano – Ye Eun

On August 3rd, they released the 3rd full-length album aptly named REBOOT. The lead single from this album is I Feel You.

Much of the material on REBOOT is a throwback to 1980’s synth-pop, R&B and Hip-Hop. Those who are old enough to remember the glory days of that sound may be taken on a bit of a nostalgia trip and probably made to feel a bit aged. But aged like fine wine.

For the younger set, consider listening to the Japanese idol group Especia as their sound shares many similarities with what is on the Wonder Girls’ REBOOT. Or maybe ask your parents, uncles or aunts if you can borrow their Madonna, Robert Palmer and WHAM! records. If that is to your liking, you will surely enjoy what the Wonder Girls have done here.

Besides the lead single I Feel You, there are a plethora of songs here that deserve your attention. Baby Don’t Play, Candle (feat. PALOALTO) and Loved bring the whole dance club feel to the album. Rewind has the early New Jack Swing vibe for the R&B heads and Hip-Hop lovers; there is the very old-school sounding Back for you to whip out your best b-boy moves.

The album ends with several slow jams that fit well within the established retro sound and do not sound out of place or break the flow. They bring calm to the affair after all the goodness before them.

Given that the Wonder Girls have been around for nearly a decade, it’s odd that this is only their 3rd album (5th overall if you count mini-albums). In the modern age of instant gratification and low attention spans, not bombarding your fans with your constant presence is almost like a death sentence.

But for the Wonder Girls, long absences make the heart grow fonder, and they are expected to deliver big time whenever they return as a group. Much like their previous full-length releases, they continue to impress. There is not one bad or filler-type song on REBOOT. It’s quality from beginning to end.

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