TW: discussion of mental health, assault, depression, and suicide

Here are my credentials (again): While I only became a k-pop fan after KARA went on hiatus, I of course heard of them, and have heard a good handful of their title tracks. I know a bit about some of their members, having seen Youngji in the documentary K-pop Generation and having seen Nicole’s solo performances. This is a special review I’m doing to mark the anniversary of Goo Hara’s death; further information can be found on that in Parts 1 and 3.

(Part One)

Album #3: STEP

If you had to pick a single that defines KARA’s sound, it would be Step. Its sledgehammer beat, go-for-broke disco, and explosion of color is just the pinnacle of dance floor music. The verses are brief and light, because that chorus is the real star, and when it gets going, not even a natural disaster can stop me from shaking my hips along. You’d think that the double-bridge would feel like an obstacle to the outro, and you’d be wrong; despite slowing the song down a little, it manages to create this building sense of tension

From the album, Step, I enjoyed the surprisingly upbeat distortion in Rider, the light-on-its feet pop rush of Follow Me (my hidden gem), and the callbacks to their early bubblegum work like Pretty Girl or Rock U in My Boy. Also, quick shoutout to the dedicated fan song Dear Kamellia, because it was genuinely quite moving.

Single #1: Go Go Summer!

Go Go Summer! is the first song of KARA’s expansive Japanese discography, which normally I don’t cover in such detail, but it felt like I’d be missing out on an integral part of their work if I did. Bubblegum to the max, it’s tailor-made for beach or swimming pool listening, and its infectious hook worms its way into your heart before you can grab your sunglasses. Though it’s more on the cutesy side than their Korean discography has been in a while, the sense of attitude and interpolations of surf rock guitar help ground it and make it still feel true to their sound. And definitely won me over.

Album #4: Super Girls

Winter Magic is exactly the kind of song you think it’ll be, tailor-made for easy listening around the holidays. I honestly don’t have much to say about it, because it’s not very unique nor does it feel like a KARA song, though it is cute. I did like the instrumental break with the Spanish guitar though.

Speed Up is a more usual single for KARA, and also the first of their Japanese releases to go for a more mature sound. With minimalistic verses and a distorted electronic beat running under the whole song, it’s a little light on the payoffs they usually excel at, and while it does get better in the final chorus once there’s a little more layering, it doesn’t match up to their classics. It’s still solid though.

Super Girl is the first full Japanese album, which I think may be a first for this blog. I had a couple favorites from it, like the hard-hitting base and pulsing beat of Dreamin’ Girl or the odd yet addicting tempo of Only For You, but overall I just wasn’t as interested in this album as I’ve been about their past works. Part of that could be because it’s aimed at a different market, but another angle is that it’s difficult to go up against albums based around classics, especially jumping back and forth from different languages.

EP #5: Pandora

Pandora is a return to KARA’s Korean material, and its sound pulls from disco and synths while also incorporating these over-the-top swings of brass and strings, leaving no empty space. All this means that it thankfully has a meatier hook than the one that drives Speed Up, and leaves the track less like a song and more like a performance. It feels expansive, destined to be experienced on a stage and not compressed into my computer screen. So far, it comes the closest to recreating the magic of Step, and it comes damn close.

From the EP, I also enjoyed the orchestral flourishes in Way, though they weren’t quite as great as Pandora’s.

Album #5: Girls Forever

Electric Boy, as befits the name, is a very mechanical-sounding song, from the dissonance between its clipped electro beat and high-pitched vocals to the flashes of distortion it uses to ground its more bubblegum moments. It’s a bit light on the chorus itself, relying too heavily on the simple hook for it to be as much of an earworm as their biggest hits, but I did still dance along, especially to the post-chorus.

I couldn’t not be excited for a song called Girls Power; it sounds right up my alley. Though for the most part it’s a fairly simple pop song, the chorus feels big and it’s delivered with what feels like so much heart that it’s hard not to be won over. I especially liked the hints of rock guitar, and wish they’d gone even further with it.

Girls Forever is another full Japanese album, and similarly to their first, I just didn’t find it as engaging as their Korean releases, though I can’t point to anything in particular that makes me feel that way. That being said, I did enjoy the gently swaying beat of Orion and the consistent, head-bopping percussion of Rock On.

Album #6: Fantastic Girls

I was expecting Thank You Summer Love to be similar to Go Go Summer in the way that a lot of k-pop summer songs are, and I wasn’t really wrong. It’s a fairly standard pop song, definitely on the cutesier, more bubblegum side of KARA’s discography, but it’s still a fun time. I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to search it up, but I’m not going to throw a tantrum if it comes up on shuffle.

From the album, Fantastic Girls, I enjoyed the pulsing beats of Burn Burn Heartbeat and Rescue Me, the gently gliding vocals of Promise, and the strings of Ichibanni Watashio Dakishimete. This is definitely my favorite of their Japanese albums.

Album #7: Full Bloom

Runaway opens with a percussive acoustic guitar and what’s a pretty toned down sound for KARA. It’s understated and smooth, more a vehicle to showcase their vocals than anything else, and though it’s perfectly lovely, it doesn’t really hold your attention. Which, to give it credit, isn’t the point of a song like this. A song like this is meant for slow dancing and gently flowing in and out of your ears. And it does its job well! It just doesn’t measure up to their other singles.

Damaged Lady is the second single from the album, and to say it comes out swinging would be an understatement. Marrying KARA’s signature dancefloor electro with a jaunty yet tense piano and a rich rock guitar, the song has a harsher edge than any of their singles have had so far, but it really works. It’s a great example of how to experiment while still keeping your core sound, and I’m sad it doesn’t often come up when people talk about KARA’s classics.

From the album, Full Bloom, though I enjoyed both the smooth R&B of Follow Me and the rushing beat of 2Night, In The Game, with its rich vocals and jazzy, full-throated brass, was easily my hidden gem, and I wish it had been the single instead of Runaway. I did like Runaway more as a b-side on the album than I did as a single, though. Overall, it was a pretty good LP, though a bit short.

Next time, we’ll be doing the third and final part. Tschüss!

(Part One)