Review: Brave Girls - Chi Mat Ba Ram
2021 has been the year for Brave Girls. Their 2017 single Rollin finally blew up, taking them from unknown to a household name in Korea, and almost overnight. Now, they make their dramatic return with the mini-album Summer Queen. Unlike many, I think they made the right choice for the title track. It is commercial, pulls off the current season, and is a unique take on the sound, at least compared to Rollin.
Currently, as Summer begins, the battle is on for the song of the season. For Korea, BTS's Butter seems to be having the most success on the chart, though my favorite Korean song for the Summer this year has been TXT's I Know I Love You, a great song and an even better grower. However, Chi Mat Ba Ram is likely to challenge both those songs at the charts and as a potential song of the summer.
Besides its title, the first thing that you realize when entering Chi Mat Ba Ram is its massive opening chants (of course, after some dialogue), assisted with a tropical beat. The first verse then slows things down, for a Rollin call back and a more fun tempo. The only real issue here is that the vocals are half of an octave higher than they should be.
Thankfully, the chorus is a stand-out moment. The melody is filled with hooks, while each individual one remains massive. The first phase has some great melodic moments, getting better each second. On the other hand, the second phase drops into a tropical synth loop, which is paired with a choreography trying too hard to go viral, despite the good tune.
The second chorus is a little more of the same. Thankfully, we are soon back to the chorus, which just gets better with each repetition. This time, the second phase is skipped, as we enter the bridge. The bridge is great, and leads into the massive chant from the song's beginning, which works excellently right here, along with the second phase to end the song on a high.
For Brave Girls, this comeback would be a make or break in their career. Regardless of how things go from now on, however, they have delivered a true stand-out. I am truly happy for them, and the fact they relied on good music to continue their grand return.
Super fun and I've grown to like it even more through music show performances, they have so much energy. ☆ (YAY for I Know I Love You love, music to my ears)
ReplyDelete'Music to my ears' made me laugh, for this is the music community. However, not all music is music to my ears (cough.. cough... Blackpink's Ice Cream.... Cough) lol.
DeleteChi Mat Ba Ram is holding strong in all fronts for me song quality, chart acclaim and even public reception. As always, Brave Girls is the best and the queens for they are. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteWell as you all know, Summer Music Awards won't be announcing anything but I'm going to tease you with something. Hot Summer Song is gonna be the most stacked category this year with 10 nominees and you might be shocked by the nominees so I'm going to share the predictions.
Hot Summer Song
0X1=LOVESONG (TXT)
GAMBLER (MONSTA X)
Sneakers (Ha Sungwoon)
Ready to Love (SEVENTEEN)
Up All Night (Ghost9)
Alcohol-Free (TWICE)
Chi Mat Ba Ram (Brave Girls)
Paint The Town (LOONA)
Vanilla (LIGHTSUM)
There is no BTS since the eligibility period is from May 31, 2021 - August 6, 2021. Sorry for that, I guess we will have to wait for the prime award season.
As you said, BTS is not included, but it is hard to deny that the song was literally created to be a 'song of the summer'. That said, my personal vote will go for TXT unless something grows massively.
DeleteLooking forward to seeing how your predictions play off, they usually are quite accurate!
ofc because I pick the nominees lol. Agreed! BTS will be called song of the summer. I guess it will be interesting to see how this year's summer songs will play out.
DeleteNo, I mean your nominees are great predictions for success, and your predictions for mainstream award-shows are almost always correct.
DeleteAlso, No Rules has grown on me like crazy as well.