9Muses has since disbanded, but as of their last comeback, their members were Hyemi, Sungah, Gyeongree, Sojin, and Keumjo. Their past members were Jaekyung, Bini, Rana, Eunji, Leesem, Euaerin, Minha, and Hyuna, and due to all these lineup changes, they weren’t actually a nine member group for a sizable amount of their career.

Here are my credentials: Very few, this time. I know a few of the members of 9Muses (Sera and Hyuna especially), but since there are / were so many, I don’t know them all. I think I’m too casual to be a casual fan of them, but I do really like the songs I’ve heard and I’m excited to hear more.

Single #1: No Playboy

They debuted in 2010, near the end of 2nd gen, with No Playboy, which starts with a clippy, pulsing beat that reminds me of Kara’s Lupin. It’s got that identifiable mid-2nd gen sound from the start, and 9Muses’ voices do some great harmonizing. I think that the choice of very little instrumentation during the verses works pretty well, but the choruses feel just a bit too understated when they could’ve been louder as a contrast. I did like this one, and it’s pretty emblematic of where they’d go from here. Ladies, the b-side of this single, has some interesting interpolation of speaking in English and cheering, but the song itself is a pretty standard R & B dance pop one.

EP #1: Sweet Rendezvous

Figaro is a song I’d heard before, and I’m honestly surprised how early into their careers it was released since it feels like such a classic. It does exactly what No Playboy doesn’t, expanding on what could be such a simple R & B base by adding funk and a backing section of brass, along with the electronic heartbeat in the back. The hook of “give up, up, tonight” that leads into the chorus is excellent, and always makes me want to dance. I feel like it ends a little fast, but that’s a pretty tiny critique for a pretty great song.

News starts with sing-talk, which I wasn’t expecting but I shockingly don’t hate it? I know, bizarre. This one goes right into a more disco-y production, especially as that chorus takes over and I can just imagine a swirling disco ball and a rainbow floor. The sing-talk actually repeats throughout it, but paired with such a knockout of a chorus and such a great background melody line, I think it works pretty well, especially in the outro.

Ticket I had also heard before, and wastes no time getting right into the fray. It continues the trend of very minimalistic verses, this one just punctuated with a hand-clapping effect and light drums, before the incredibly catchy “one way one way one way ticket” (which I knew would get stuck in my head but oh well) hook takes over. This one also includes sing talk, which I hadn’t noticed before, and made me come to the realization that I honestly don’t mind it if it fits the song’s energy, but when it comes out of left field, it interrupts the flow too much for me.

The b-side, Why RU, feels brighter and rockier than their previous songs, and I think it’d be a great summer song if it leaned more into that.

Single #2: Dolls

Dolls, at first, seems like it’ll go full-on ballad with that twinge of strings, but then of course, the horns come in and we’re treated to a very different song with a swingy guitar and the occasional flash of brass. This time, it’s the opposite of their previous songs, where the instrumentation is really what makes the song great and the vocals themselves are more understated. I prefer the other way around, since I’m a singer after all and I wish the voices were the star, but it’s nice to have a change once in a while. I’m not a fan of the rap here, to be honest, due to the tempo change.

EP #2: Wild

Wild has a lot of layers in its background, between its pulsing heartbeat base, electronic keyboard, and the very interesting high-pitched distortion (which I didn’t catch the first time), and combined with the voices, it gives the song the feeling of never having a moment to slow down. Even the pre-choruses, though slower in tempo, don’t feel like a break, and the several raps add to this rushing forward. Every time it pulls away, it snaps back like a rubberband, stronger and higher than before. I can’t decide if I like this never-ending energy or if it’s too tiring for me, since I feel as though on some days I like it more than others.

From Wild, the EP, I loved the excellent disco chorus of Action and its verses’ distortion, and the softer tone that both Paper Scraps and Living Person take, though I preferred the second.

Album #1: Prima Donna

Gun makes the choice to begin with its chorus, announcing itself with a surf rock guitar and 9Muses’ signature horns. When it returns to its verses, the song does have some time to rest and recoup, but not much; twenty seconds and we’re already gearing up for the pre-chorus. I was surprised to find that I still liked the chorus so much after hearing it first, but it’s so catchy and swingy that I couldn’t help it. Though I think the verses and chorus’ tempos don’t quite match, I really liked that bridge and its combination of sing-talk and singing works well in setting up the final moments. As a side note, I loved the dipping dance moves in this last part of the video, though I think that this one, like Figaro, ends a bit too fast.

Prima Donna is a full album, so there’s a lot to talk about. Prima Donna, the song, gives a great intro into Gun, and its hard guitar only made me like the single more. Rumor, meanwhile, has some great dramatic strings that compliment the voices well, A Few Good Men has an excellent guitar riff, Just A Girl ends with a classic fade-out, Miss Agent has a wonderful 60’s-spy-flair, and OMG has a jaunty piano. Overall, this is a very strong and surprisingly cohesive piece, so I’m sad that it’s their only LP.

Single #3: Glue

Glue leans into the funk like Figaro does, though this time pairs it with a calmer guitar in the verses, before it continues into the more electronic-focused verses. There’s also a rap verse here, which I’m not the biggest fan of, I’ll be honest, though I’m not entirely sure why. I do like the choruses, but I feel as though they don’t reach as high as the ones in some of their other songs. In a way, they feel more like pre-choruses, and need a good 15 seconds more to really expand on the great ideas that they have. I like this one.

Next time, we’ll be doing Part Two. Tschüss!