Momoland embrace the corniness & get an addictive sound on “Wonderful Love”

The cute and fluffy girl group track is an evergreen in the K-pop world, but it’s been particularly prevalent over the past couple of years. Momoland debuted last November with a track that crash boom banged its way into listeners’ memories in the most shameless, stuffed-with-candy style its producers could muster. New single “Wonderful Love” is no less saccharine in approach — but it’s saccharine with a dynamite chorus, and that definitely counts for something.

Imagine the soundtrack to an advertisement for some princess-themed amusement park and you’d come close to defining the sound on “Wonderful Love”. That description sounds absolutely dreadful, but by going full bore and completely embracing its own cheesiness, the song feels surprisingly engaging. Its derivative verses do little beyond count time, but they’re brief enough to act as a suitable breather between choruses. And make no mistake, “Wonderful Love” is all about that big pop refrain at its center.

Large groups are the trend at the moment, but their material rarely feels expansive enough to justify the bloated line-up. In contrast, the chorus here truly feels like it’s positioned for nine members. Faux orchestral bombast gives the instrumental a swirling, cinematic grandiosity just as the melody sweeps in with a belt-it-out power that’s unexpected from a group who debuted with such a frenetic, aegyo-dependent track. Delivering these vocals in unison gives Momoland a big, attention-grabbing sound that actually feels more J-pop than K-pop. Even the overly cute “luck is in my pocket…” hook slots well into the song’s triumphant energy. “Wonderful Love” may be completely corny, but at least it goes all in!

It’s hard not to be won over.

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