Review: Super Junior - Mango

Ever since 2018, legendary K-Pop boy band Super Junior's songs feel more like variations on the base Super Junior soundscape. "Suju but they discovered Ricky Martin", "Suju but they are taking the place of the CDC", "Suju but they discovered they are no longer twenty", and "Suju but they think once again that they are twenty". That said, it has been ages since we got a simple Super Junior pop song. That said, it is quite hard to define that, Suju have always changed up their style as a group, which has been one of the reasons for their continued relevance, whereas many of their peers have moved out of the industry. Mango is about as simple as you can get, and in some form or another, I could see Super Junior post-2014 releasing this song.

With the exception of the House and Spaghetti Western elements dropped in throughout, Mango is about as uniform as they come. There are no surprises or twists throughout the song, and it works simply, relying exclusively on a strong melody. The chorus (which seems to have taken some inspiration from the very different Oppa Oppa) instantly is an earworm, while the pre-chorus and the middle eight are also loads of fun.

The real reason Mango ends up working though is simply due to Super Junior. The group has some fantastic vocalists, and they blend together wonderfully for the joyous "La La La" post-chorus refrain, with several great solo vocal moments. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook have been the group's best vocalists for a while (Yesung is great whenever he gets a chance), and they dominate Mango too. The rest of the group have aged as real strong, with Shindong and Siwon providing modern-day lead-vocalist-worthy performances.

Super Junior are now in their seventeenth year as a group, and whenever they are down for the count, they reinvent themselves and come back stronger. I am not sure Mango can count as a reinvention; it does very little that is new, but it is so satisfying, that it breathes some life back into Super Junior. If this is what the group can do, I cannot wait until the second volume of their album drops.

Rating: 8.75/10

Purchase Super Junior's Mango and Road: Keep on Going Vol. 1 or any of its songs right here!

Image Source: The Bias List