K-Pop Ranter

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Review: f(x) - Red Light

The f(x) cats came back with their song Red Light as promised. Following their Pink Tape album, the five girls were looking to go beyond limits and make their craziest concept yet, and with the challenge placed on the table, they clearly accepted it as well as conquered it. Check out the video below... if you dare.

Reviewing while watching the video and listening to the song for the first time:

When you first start the song, the beat they drop is undeniably inviting. I mean, I actually was starting to put off all the comments regarding how sucky this song was until around when Victoria was done rapping/singing/basically talking her part at around 0:50. Of course, it could have been a little cleaner, but for the most part, it was something I could get into with a few listens just like their other songs, especially their last comeback, Rum Pum Pum Pum. The hook came in, a slower tempo, but sounding like it was going to build up to an amazing, indescribable chrous, highlighting and explaining all that is life to the listeners, making us find another reason to love f(x), making us find another reason to know that our anticipation for this comeback was not wasted.

Fuck sense.

And then the chorus came in like a Wrecking Ball. This isn't like Girls' Generation's I Got a Boy shit. No, this is more like 4 Minute's Whatever shit, a sloppier (how can IGAB get even more sloppy) version of the sloppiest possible slop. I literally had to go back and replay this one part about 4 times to realize they were actually being serious. It was by that time that I realized SM Entertainment really actually didn't give two shits about f(x). I mean, for crap's sake, they even reused one of the highlight dance moves (slowly creeping out of line) of their last Rum Pum Pum dance, easily caught by me.

When I time out of my day to even make a gif, you know I'm serious.

Likewise, did no one else catch the recycling of 1984's Apple Macintosh Commercial's concept at approximately 1:53 of the video (approximately 0:34 of the Apple Macintosh video if you're watching it?). WELL, I DID!!1 If that's from a different commercial/video, I'm still in confusion about the implementation of so.

Anyway, after giving this song a go, I'm completely confused. However, I do realize that some parts of the song actually do sound...audible by themselves? I mean, it's not horrific. The beginning is tolerable, harmonizing part of the chorus actually isn't bad, the hook is good but the bridge is probably the largest saving grace of the song.

Elle Goulding... is that you?

Listening to the song about five times without the video:

Anyway, after giving this song a go, I'm completely set to actually like this song a little bit. Just the opposite of what I did with PSY's Gentleman, I'm giving the song a go without the crazy video just to see if it eases the confusion. Aside from the Illuminati-like (fuck, I said it, beat me with a stick, you fucks) concept, it really did seem to add more to the confusion for me therefore, I wanted to give it a chance without it.

Without the video, and listening to it five times (the amount of replays it usually takes me to get to like f(x) songs) the song is more tolerable, but honestly, not the best. It's not something, for me, anyway, that's adjustable like Rum Pum Pum was. It's okay but still a bit... weird? I don't know, maybe because I actually don't like fifty songs in one but the worst part is undeniably the anticlimatic chorus after the building up hook. It's like a... lie, to me. I'm not going to shit myself about my feelings about this song just to get more likes and people not arguing about how completely right I am. I like f(x) but I just don't like this friggin' song. Some parts are insanely good and I wish they built on those individual parts (the hook and the bridge, especially) more than they did so this convulted jungle. I mean, it worked for their other songs but now, they met their quota.

A plus? Luna got much prettier. I don't know but she really did. She's really killing the mysterious, blue-haired elf look. Victoria on the other hand? The Russian con-artist bob cut isn't really working.

All-in-all, not that great of a comeback. The video was good on SM Entertainment video standards, at most, and the song was tolerable at most yet forgettable. If you want, you can watch the live version placed above but... not the best work done by f(x) or on SM's behalf.

Update: However, I just found a really great analysis of the video on Twitter. Long story short, it's about how society's standards are so screwed up and everyone is naturally okay in their own way but we keep striving to meet society's standards. We shouldn't really, though.

I'd put a score below but I really don't know what to put. Out of five stars for this comeback, what would you rate it? Put your comments on the section below!