Here are my credentials (again): Like one and a half? One and a third? (How are credentials measured here? I’ll get back to you on that.) So, I know a few songs by Cravity, mostly their newer ones and a couple scattered b-sides recommended by friends and acquaintances, but I don’t think I’ve listened to a full EP, much less an album from them. I also don’t know much about them as people.

(Part One)

EP #4: New Wave

As a 2000s child, I got flashbacks to LMFAO’s “Party Rock”, the moment I saw the title for their next hit. And given that the members of CRAVITY and I are roughly the same age, I’m sure at least one of them knows that song. (Probably Allen, since he’s American). Their version is as bubblegum as you can really get, and is so different from the likes of My Turn and even Flame that I had to listen twice to get over my surprise and really write any notes. It’s a lot of fun, that’s for sure, and I think it’s one of those tracks that gets better as it goes along. The final chorus, as is fairly common in songs like this, was the best part, and though it’s fairly short—barely over three minutes—it doesn’t feel cut to fit a mold. By the end, it really won me over, and I like it more every time I hear it.

From the EP, I enjoyed the laid-back synths and great vocals of Automatic and the beachside joy of Colorful. My hidden gem was, to no one’s surprise, the all-English, midcentury-tinged Boogie Woogie with its pops of funk and great sense of fun. It’s such a great song. After the last couple of releases, I wasn’t expecting to like this one so much, but this is actually my favorite mini so far!

EP #5: Masterpiece

Since I was little, I’ve been called a 60’s / 70’s baby, despite, as mentioned, being born thirty years after all that. Flower child reincarnation, you get the idea. So, needless to say, I was very excited to see that CRAVITY’s next song was called Groovy. I had a couple gripes—for example, I could’ve done without the rap verses—but I definitely liked them more than I usually do, and I appreciate that they don’t interrupt the melody and flow into the rest of the song pretty well. I’m also not always a fan of instrumental bridges, as they can tend towards making a song feel a bit lazy, but I liked it here. The chorus is of course my favorite part, with a great build and a better payoff. Also, this isn’t a choreo blog, but that little whistling dance move they do in that section is very cute. This is probably my favorite single so far; I could absolutely see myself dancing to this in my bathroom mirror getting ready for a night out with friends.

From the EP, I enjoyed the sharp bass guitar of Baddie and the great vocals of Light The Way, but my hidden gem was the Disney Channel theme song wannabe Fly, with its chanty hook and its free-for-all percussion. I suppose the title of this mini-album was accurate, huh? It’s an excellent little collection, that’s for sure. I may even prefer it to New Wave.

Single #1: Cheese

I hope it makes sense when I say that Cheese has that specific brand of sun-drenched nostalgia that makes you think of summertime at your grandma’s house as a kid. (I say this as if I played golf at palm-tree surrounded courses with my grandma instead of bingeing Agatha Christie movies and solving Sudokus, but you catch my drift). It has an almost timeless feel to it, between the jaunty piano, the mix of hip hop and solid pop, the upbeat singing, etc. I honestly think I enjoyed the MV more than the song itself, which, in terms of complaints, is a pretty great one. The almost long take at the beginning may be the best part. Is it goofy and tending towards cringey at times? Sure. The “you still here? It’s over! Go home!” at the endgot a full laugh out of me. I’m here for it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go rewatch the Backyardigans like the very grown-up college student I am.

EP #6: Sun Seeker

Ready Or Not takes the “fun music video” idea up to 1,000; the comic book illustrations melding into the live-action was honestly one of my favorite parts of the MV, and may be one of my favorite parts of any of the MVs I’ve seen recently. The panel transitions are just excellent too. The video’s also colorful in a way very reminiscent of comics too, between the graffitied backgrounds, the eclectic clothing styles, and the special effects dancing in the corners. The song itself isn’t quite as excellent as the visuals, but that’s a tall order, to be fair. It’s a really good song, mixing funk, pop, and synths into a very strong track that just makes you want to get up and dance. The bridge surprised me with how understated it is, but it worked really well, and gets you excited for the final chorus I even sent it to my mother, who’s a certified comic book lover, to get her opinion; she gives it two thumbs up.

From the EP, I enjoyed the ready-to-burst bubbly pop of Vibration and the late night synths of 9 O’Clock, but my hidden gem was the summer-ready Love Fire with its pulsing beat and laid-back yet undeniably catchy chorus.

EP #7: Evershine

Despite being from one of their newest releases, Love Or Die was actually the first CRAVITY song I heard. It sheds the funkier, hip-hop inspired shell of songs like Cheese or Ready Or Not and opts for a straight shot of synth pop that just hits in all the right places. My one gripe is that I wish the rockier edge present in the verses was present in the choruses too, which sometimes veer towards average for the genre. My wish was somewhat granted in the outro, which builds on the final chorus with another few lines of rockier rap, although, again, I wish it went further. But overall, it’s a pretty good song, and feels like a more mature version of their earliest synth tracks like Flame.

From the EP, I enjoyed the funky off-kilter beat of Cherry Blossom, the whistling hook of the eerie, pared-back Worst Thriller, and the percussive acoustic guitar of Over and Over.

Single #2: Find The Orbit

Now Or Never is the third CRAVITY song with a ___ or ___ title, and I’m not sure if this is a coincidence or if its another series of theirs, just in the opposite way from Hideout. The video is different for them; while some of their past MVs have been filmed outside, they’ve all been in a city setting, and this one is mainly in nature, which is very nice. It also makes the transition between those scenes and the more space-inspired nighttime ones more obvious. My favorite part of the song would have to be the bridge, with its chanting hook, and the way it bleeds into the final chorus, both in video form and in the track. Also, funnily enough, I was actually working on a presentation for an astronomy class on music inspired by space while I was writing this, and I ended up including Now Or Never. So, thanks, guys!

From the single, I enjoyed the spacey, whirling sound of Horizon.

Album #2: Dare To Crave

Set Net Go is a bit like Groovy in the sense of fun and touches of folk that it has, which is always great to see. It’s a little more pared back in the way of Now Or Never., but mostly makes a pretty good combination. My biggest gripe is that instrumental that separates them, which just kills all the great momentum the build-up had. It’s strange, because I really like both the chorus and the verses separately, but they don’t quite seem to go together, making a song I’m not sure how to feel about. The MV, though, I’m a bit more sure about really liking, by the way, covered in a hazy summer feeling while still managing to tell a story. (What exactly that story is I’m not certain, but I’m attempting to find out). In a way, it’s CRAVITY in a nutshell, all their best qualities and their missteps too.

Dare To Crave is technically only CRAVITY’s second album, but considering how much I liked the first one, I was interested to see where they’d go with it. There’s a lot I enjoyed, from the slowly building, nostalgically synthy opening On My Way to the electro-based spaciness of Rendezvous to the pulsing beat and sweet lyrics of Love Me Again. There’s also three unit tracks, each featuring three of the members, of which my favorite was definitely Allen, Wonjin, and Hyeonjun’s Stadium. It melds pop, hip-hop, and a bit of funk very well, feeling at home in CRAVITY’s sound but still branching out.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this. I knew basically nothing about CRAVITY before this deep dive, but I’m happy to say I’ve changed that. While I edited, as per usual, I watched some of their B-T-S content, including their quick question parade and, my personal favorite, their longer interview on Zach Sang (it’s good, go watch it!), where they talk about their New Wave EP, KCON, and the pressures on idols. Also, this is very random, but I love Seongmin’s voice. LUVITY will know what I mean when I say I’ve never heard a speaking voice that sounds like someone’s both doing ASMR and about to burst into song before, and it’s great.

My Top 5 songs were Groovy, Ready Or Not, Boogie Woogie, Fly, and Love Or Die, with Flame as an honorable mention. CRAVITY gets an 8.25 out of 10 from me. I found it a bit difficult to give them a rating, to be honest, because I’d rate all of their sounds / eras separately. First there’s their synthier, more toned down music (like 8/8.25), then their trappy anti-drop heavy boy group sound (7 at best), then they’re more maximalistic and funky (solid 9), and now they seem to have found a happy medium in a vintage synth sound with a touch of their later work (8.5). So in the end I just threw up my hands and combined the scores, and 8.25 was the average, so here we are.

No matter what I have to say about some of their music, I can’t deny that they consistently managed to surprise me, and they’ve produced some really good—even a few excellent—tracks on their way. I confess I’m rather fascinated and very interested to see what they do next. Who knows, maybe I’ll finally be able to make up my mind.

Next time, we’re onto a fairly new girl group before diving into one of k-pop’s most famous soloists. Tschüss!