f(x) – NU ABO

Posted: May 19th, 2010 ˑ Filled under: f(x) ˑ No Comments

I’ve always thought that the Korean market had plenty of varied girl groups. f(x) fits into this category since they offer a combination of catchy electronic music, strong vocals, great dancing and quality releases. That however doesn’t mean their immune to the stereotypical K-Music flaws.

The title track NU ABO serves as a base for what the mini-album’s sound is like. Catchy and electronic. While the song did lack the “charm” that their previous songs have had, it bounced back with it’s hooks and better vocals.

Mr. Boogie, a previously released song, makes it’s official appearance here. As the former track, it centers around the synth and melody. I can’t doubt that the chorus is very addictive and since the song is only three minutes long, it appears multiple times. ME+U follows that electronic path but is the most unique of the three since it has a chiptune sound, very high pitched and funky vocals and a funner atmosphere.

The more “pop” songs on the album include Ice Cream, another catchy and enjoyable track with a sweet feeling accompanied by great hooks and light synth. I was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. The most “laid-back” song on the album would be Surprise Party. Even so, it’s still pretty cheerful, but I didn’t find anything too special about it.

As usual, there’s the ballad track of the album. While I think that Sorry (Dear. Daddy) is a step in the right direction in terms of the melody and sounding interesting for the user, it still suffers from a generic instrumental and sounds very much like an SNSD ballad. I won’t say I hate the song though since it’s definitely a solid track.

f(x) delivered. I wasn’t expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. Overall the tracks are great and minus the flew flaws and unnecessary generic tracks near the end, the overall result is an enjoyable, catchy mini-album with some very memorable songs.

♠Overall Rating♠