Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
MAMAMOO‘s new album completes their colors concept, in which the group released material each season and matched it with a defining color. “Gogobebe” arrives right at the tail end of winter, but it’s not the style of song you’d expect from this time of year. Rather than close their series with a big, sweeping ballad, the girls have opted for a personality-rich dance track that revels in its own quirkiness.
With as many title tracks as MAMAMOO have promoted over the past year, their red hot career can definitely sustain a throwaway release. “Gogobebe” is fine, but feels more like an on-brand placeholder than an evolution in their sound. The girls often sprinkle their albums with gag songs that spoof many of K-pop’s (and Korean culture’s) tropes. “Gogobebe” doesn’t quite fall into novelty territory, but it has that same energy. Its percussive arrangement moves closer to hip-hop than most of their titles, supporting a clipped delivery that never lingers on the group’s powerful vocals.
For this reason, “Gogobebe” comes across as a slight entry in their discography. Its chant-along chorus is fun, but lacks the kind of robust structure that has characterized their most enduring work. I fear that its simplicity will grow stale much more quickly than a song like “Egotistic” or “Wind Flower“. But when looking at this track as a part of a larger series, it makes more sense. In hindsight, MAMAMOO’s colors concept was all about showcasing the diversity of their sound. “Gogobebe” may not have ended the series with a bang, but it certainly highlights a specific iteration of the group’s fun-loving style.
