This year has been a streamline of strong 4th girl group releases, so how does Kep1er fare against them? Surprisingly, not too bad!
Kepler’s albums have only been growing stronger every comeback. While title track ‘Giddy’ is a solid ‘grower not a shower’ kind of song, ‘Back To The City’ is arguably the best Kep1er song yet (besides their summer comeback Up! which is easily one of my favourite K-pop summer tracks).
‘Giddy’ sports a sleek baseline that runs through the whole track, almost reminiscent of Les Sserafim’s earliest work ‘Fearless’. Even its minimalist approach and generally lower-pitched melody that allow the girls to shine in their comfort range is reminiscent of the mentioned song. The verses are quite strong, particularly because of the song writing is solid, having enough variation of dynamic and a solid melody. Better yet, the song’s pre-chorus changes the tone of the song’s production that adds a new dimension of interest. However, its melodic hook, ‘tu-du-du-du’, could probably have been stronger.
The song’s chorus is sleek and effortless, but it threatens to wear itself with repeated listens. I noticed that that I enjoy the chorus quite a lot when I listen to it once in a while, but my enjoyment noticeably dampens when I listen to it repeatedly. Hence, it needs a stronger hook.
Nevertheless, the most of the rest of the song (which is build around the hook) was done quite well to make it shine. My main gripe with ‘Giddy’ is its post-chorus which needlessly echoed Kepler’s bratty sounding debut, which changed the song’s tone far too much for my liking. It felt really out of place. I am all for experimenting, but only when it feels appropriate. Fortunately, it is only a brief section, so it doesn’t utterly taint my experience with the song. The nice bridge which is also somewhat unusual in structure adds a nice touch, elongating just a bit longer than what one would expect, which makes it stand out from most girl group releases.
Kepler sound great in the song throughout, especially thanks to the fact that it isn’t pitched high up.
Overall, Giddy is a solid, but possibly forgettable offering from Kep1er. I quite like it, but I cannot repeatedly play it. Nevertheless, the song has enough good points to make for a good occasional listen.
Hooks – 7
Production – 9
Vocal Delivery – 8
Rap Delivery – 9
Overall – 8.25
Even though ‘Giddy’ is not a bad title track by any means, ‘Back to the City’ far and away a better song than Giddy- in every single aspect.
‘Back to the City’ has one of the most well-written melodic lines of any K-pop song released so far this year. From the very beginning, every note builds upon another, and flows from section to section seamlessly. Everything is very pleasant, but it isn’t uninteresting either. It revisits classic traditional songwriting- finding a set of core melodies that are stand strong by themselves and loop it just enough to stick in your head firmly while ensuring the listener does not get tired of it from repeated listens.
Its production based on the genre of city-pop compliments every part of the melody. It finds a strong foundation with a classic snare-snare-base drum beat that continuously drives the song forward. The song never feels unfocused at any point, continuously sounding like it is heading a certain direction. In the wake of the experimental nature of many K-pop songs over the past few years, I find it easy to reward songs that simply stick to the roots, especially when they are well-executed. ‘Back to the City’ is such a case.
The vocal delivery of the song is breezy and pleasant, matching the light nature of production and general sound of the song. It isn’t pitched too high, just like Giddy, allowing the girls to shine. Kep1er is not a technically strong group of vocalists, so this arrangement flatters them so.
All in all, ‘Back to the City’ is easily one of the best K-pop songs of the year. Additionally, the rest of this album’s b-sides are also quite strong. Kep1er has finally found a firm footing in the overall quality of their albums, and I am excited to see what direction they go next.
Hooks – 10
Production – 10
Vocal Delivery – 9
Rap Delivery – 9
Overall – 9.5
K-pop Evaluated 
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