Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Brave Girls are back with “Rollin” after dropping member(s) that I honestly don’t really remember, which is actually the one benefit of a nugu group as I don’t know whether or not I miss that member. Either way, they managed to surprise with this release, despite the pronunciation taking me out.
Look, I can’t not mention how “Lollin'” has a humorous mispronunciation to the point of distraction. However, if people can look past “Chore Up” and “Lookie” and many others, I’m sure eventually I can do the same. For now, though, just really wish they pronounced it somewhat close because the rest of the track is so immersive.
I’m still not over the tropical house sound, so this was immediately going to appeal to me on some level. But instead of just sticking with that default — which would’ve been fine since the driving 808 beat worked for me as well — they actually added some bells and whistles, most notably the inclusion of a flute which seems to hover around the pentatonic scale. That helps make “Rollin” an original effort and gives it a unique sonic twist in the post-chorus.
The lack of a rap verse actually works perfect for this track as the momentum carries throughout the track, with the differentiation provided by the aforementioned post-chorus and a much more bare bones instrumental during the verses. Then when the chorus hits things really kick off, and I’m almost physically embarrassed that I’m already singing along to “loli loli loli” and loving that “hey” addition, which makes it easy to chant for.
After showing a lot of promise with “Deepened“, Brave Girls followed that up with two releases in “High Heels” and “Yoohoo” that were thoroughly uninteresting. “Rollin'” is an important step for them because it manages to get them back on track with their first effort that I could truly get invested in musically. The direction forward is still a bit murky because they have anything but their own sound and identity developed at this point, but at least it’s a path worth following now unlike before.
