Girls Generation – The Best (2014)

This is a quintessential album for those who are either K-Pop fans or just want to have a chuckle at a form of cheesy pop music. Still, let’s have a listen here and see if it is more than just throwaway Pop music.

We begin with GENIE. It begins with footsteps and Korean girls chatting, before launching into a trashy pop piece which is actually musically quite good. It’s pure cheese, but great K-Pop music at the same time. It’s very akin to EDM but is pure manufactured Pop musically. Great to hear this sort of thing. It breaks down in the middle, with one of the K-Pop girls requesting the DJ to put it back on. Classy.

Next is Gee is a high school crush sort of super cheese. It is rather hilarious to listen to by western ears. But then again, what do you expect with a supergroup of nine cute Asian girls? Great to hear though. It’s very straightforward and electronic-based K-Pop music. The chanting in it is infectious.

Run Devil Run is a more serious song that has a mixture of Korean, Japanese, and English words in it. Rather incredible to hear in that aspect of musical listening, it’s more K-Pop goodness for our ears. Cheese to the power of Pop.

MR. TAXI is a tune dedicated to a K-Pop girl’s night out. It’s another similar listen to the other songs and is an okay listen, considering the type of music that it is. It’s repetitive and trashy but intended to be so. This is fun but relatively forgettable. There is a surprise key change in the middle of this song.

Next is BAD GIRL which starts off with some interesting digital sounds, before launching into a piece which is more trashy EDM style stuff. It’s a good listen, but one which is kind of captivating, to be fair. Nice stuff. “Tell me what you want me to do…” is repeated here, making it an interesting listen.

Following is Time Machine which sounds like a breakup song, with its slower pace and melancholy piano. It’s a great listen if you want to hear Korean female pop music at its finest. Most of the lyrics are not in English, however. So grab your Korean Hangul books and do some study on that.

PAPARAZZI is a more upbeat piece, likely about dealing with the impact of fame. It follows a typical K-Pop sort of structure song-wise. It’s an interesting and danceable piece if cheesy K-Pop is your genre to dance to. Great stuff. There are some hilarious sounds in it.

Oh! sounds like a retro video game at the start, before going into a K-Pop piece which is indecipherable in its meaning. It’s rather catchy though, and a good listen regardless. It’s interesting stuff here on this album. The textures here are quite interesting, though.

Next is ALL MY LOVE IS FOR YOU which is a very romantic sounding piece. It has marching drumbeats, lovely singing, and a great sense of melody. It is a nice song, with some great production in it. A nice K-Pop tune.

After that, we have FLOWER POWER which grows and develops into a dancefloor-ready sort of piece for those who are keen on listening to K-Pop bangers. It’s an interesting listen regardless, even though it’s not in English.

BEEP BEEP has the sound of phones ringing as we listen to a song about calling a lover continuously. It’s super cheese to the max, and sounds a little irritating, to be fair. Very trashy music, but still fun to listen to.

LOVE&GIRLS is a surprisingly English speaking based piece that sounds like a K-Pop maniac’s sort of tune. It’s a good listen from the girls, despite the fact many would not take this sort of thing seriously musically. It’s a fun listen though.

Next is the futuristic-sounding GALAXY SUPERNOVA which is a futuristic trip into love. It’s a surprisingly fresh listen for K-Pop. It sounds interesting and compares love with another person to a space travel sort of experience. It’s one of the better ones here to listen to.

Following is My oh My which is a more rhythmic and upbeat sort of K-Pop piece mixing Korean and English lyrics together into a K-Pop tune that sounds quite good. It’s a strange sort of music here.

Mr.Mr. is a song delivered in Japanese and is another tune for a wide audience. It’s a good listen here and sounds interesting. It has a variety of EDM textures throughout. There are two key changes towards the end which make this an interesting listen.

Indestructible comes next and is the last track on this compilation. It’s a soothing listen, and we end this compilation nicely. Some very good singing is here.

Unless you are a K-Pop fan, you will likely hate this sort of recording. Otherwise, it is an interesting listen and a good way to annoy friends with heavier musical tastes if you like this sort of thing. Cheesy, loveable and laughable – but still good music all the same.

7/10