#bingle bangle

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With this fun, luxurious and carefree album, AOA have taken their own spin on summer and created something really fantastic. They showcase their impressive voices and unique rap throughout the whole of this dance-worthy collection, and it flows amazingly from one bop to another.

The first song is Bingle Bangle, which was my song of the summer last year. It has the perfect amount of upbeat sections woven in with cool, relaxing parts to keep the essential balance between laid-back and exciting. It’s truly the kind of song you have to start dancing to, and the bright and cheery sound perfectly creates that summer vacation feeling. The pre-chorus is my favourite part because the unexpected banjo part adds so much! Their powerful vocals over the simple instrumental in the verses are also uniquely electrifying. Special mention to Yuna’s amazing vocalisations over the last chorus!

Next up we have the elegant, sassy and perfectly AOA Super Duper. The whole song is like a classy wine: it flows smoothly through so many different tunes and emotions. The chorus wins first place in this one because their harmonies are just exquisite. Chanmi’s ‘Super duper du’ from the rap section will honestly feature in your dreams after listening to this song. There isn’t a single part of this delicious song that is unnecessary in any way; it’s refined.

This is followed straight up by HEAT. This shows a special type of sadness and sexiness together that only a girl group this experienced could produce. This song has a slow pace in the verses, lulling you into sleepiness but this is followed by a much faster chorus just to wake you up again. What I love about all the songs in this album is how each tune in each song feels like it was the only one that could possibly follow the tune before. The soft guitar in this song is really beautiful to listen to as well.

Then you’re hit with Ladi Dadi! This is a party song that reminds me of Shakira’s ‘Whenever, Wherever’ and is sad, upbeat and dark all at once. The electric saxophone at the beginning of the song is so distinctive and is one of the best things about the song. Jimin’s rap is also amazing and fits with the song perfectly (as always). This song really is an ‘eternal party’ – or at least an unforgettable bop.

The song after this is Parfait. This crazy and sassy song is one of my favourites of this album, as some of the tunes are really special as they seem to be teasing your ears the whole song through. We hear that Jimin can sing as well as she can rap in this song as well (that’s no small order with her CL-esque rap we hear in this track as well).

Finally, it’s the unforgettable DoDoDo. This a classic AOA disco song that is good enough to be a title track! Their unusual and mature chords in this song add that stunning flavour that makes AOA so amazing. It’s also the catchiest thing ever, of course.

This sexy, elegant and fun album was some of AOA’s best work, and there truly isn’t a single song that’s not good enough to be your favourite.

Kpop Review Café’s Overall Ranking: 7.5/10