[Review] ‘A Class’ by miss A

What is it about simple melodies and clean production that works so well for miss A?

It’s cliche to say ‘less is more’, but nowadays, it seems like it’s the one cliche I’m willing to take to my grave. Subjectively speaking, today’s mainstream music is suffocating and tiring; frankly, it’s become a bunch of noise. However, I don’t feel that from miss A, nor from their mother superior, JYP Entertainment/AQ Entertainment. The kind producers over at their agency know what it takes to elevate miss A above the crowd, but in a way that complements their voices.

Yet once upon a time, I wasn’t this fond of miss A.

When Fei, Jia, Min, and Suzy debuted back in 2010, they weren’t really doing it for me, and here’s why: I like my girl groups with tons of pizzaz. Plain and simple. When miss A came out with “Bad Girl Good Girl“, nothing really hit me as inspiring. Actually, I felt the exact opposite – their material came across as average. It was cool they were performing basic gymnastics on stage, but they could have been taming lions with their bare hands while spitting jets of fire and it still wouldn’t have changed the fact that their song just didn’t appeal to me.

And then there was “Breathe.” Admittedly, I fell for the song the first time I heard it, simply because it assured me that miss A had vibrant personalities under their pop-girl veneer. Later, of course, the whole thing fell by the wayside as I came to terms with the fact that this phase in their career was, well — aphase. One that did next to nothing for miss A, music-wise or artistically.

What has worked in their favor, however, is their vocals. Maybe they can’t belt out the highest notes ever or really sing their heads off, but the way their producers/songwriters treat miss A’s voices and subsequently know where to place them in a song is a key factor to miss A’s success as a girl group. It’s the little bits of everything coming together that’s pushed me to vouch for miss A’s latest release, ‘A Class‘.

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“Love Alone” – the single that was released before “Good Bye Baby”, and the one that promised good things were coming.

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Although miss A were promoted as a sassy dance group in their debut year, these girls somehow carried a sense of mild innocence in their stage presence. From the get-go, I envisioned a particular sound for miss A that centered primarily around something youthful, soft, and smooth. Their spunk was an added bonus.

It wasn’t until the release of this year’s “Love Alone” that I felt miss A came through on all three of my hopes. It was exactly what I was waiting to hear, as it captured a side of miss A that I always knew existed (and in the best way possible!).

The effect of “Love Alone” was that it made me feel excited to hear more from miss A’s upcoming endeavors.

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“Good Bye Baby” – miss A’s lead single, and arguable their strongest one yet.

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‘A Class’ made its grand entrance on July 17th, and miss A really brought it home this time with an album that encompassed their better qualities. It’s invigorated with a clear personality that included a strong range of styles, and left behind the experimental silliness of ‘Step Up‘.

The album takes its first (torso-less) step forward with “From One To Ten” — the song I like to refer to as ‘Love Alone Version 2.0.’  ”From One to Ten” features  a soft arrangement filled with wispy synths, and with a seemingly upbeat style, it leads right into their single, “Good Bye Baby“.

“Good Bye Baby” is catchy, yet filled with just the right amount of spunk in the chorus, and its smooth melodies tie everything together. “Good Bye Baby” isn’t a vocal challenge, but the subtle ad-libs and its overall structure adds a veil of sophistication to this pop song.

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“Help Me” – the R&B staple

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Using “Good Bye Baby” as their title track gave K-Pop fans an idea of what ‘A Class’ would hold – songs that would be more mature in its production, and yet still fit perfectly with miss A’s acrobatic stage inclinations. I also find it pretty interesting how their production team melds mellow songs with beats that play to that niche. Even without the image, these songs are still filled with a sharp attitude, and — dare I say — a hint of swag.

In fact, there isn’t a moment where a song on this album pounds the hell out of your brain, because they’re designed to do the opposite – to please with minimal extraneity. Songs like “Mr. Johnny” and “Break It” –  which are both high energy and full of fierceness – are so crisp and straightforward, that I wouldn’t mind having them ringing in my head.

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“Mr. Johnny” – the sassy uptempo track. I picture miss A working the catwalk to this song for some reason…

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miss A defied the trends of mindless pop music by ridding themselves of the nonsensical gimmicks and cheesy arrangements that seem to pervade the industry these days.

‘A Class’ is part techno, part electro, part R&B. Somehow, these elements work out as flawlessly as miss A’s stage performances. They’re rookies, but how do I go about explaining the class and sophistication I hear in this album?

Amid the many songs already released (making up half of this album — bummer), the new songs play well together. ‘A Class’ is miss A’s best release to date, and to hear them grow as a girl group is a sign of positive things to come. It doesn’t take much to make a good pop song, and this album is my testament.