[Digital Single] Orange Caramel; Bangkok City

Bangkok City is the first digital single released by After School subgroup, Orange Caramel.

Released: March 31, 2011
1. Bangkok City (방콕시티)
2. Bangkok City (Inst.)

Bangkok City really changes things up. Compared to Orange Caramel’s past music, this one has a stronger club vibe to it and is a vast departure from their more bubblegum pop oriented title tracks. With that said, it’s a nice transformation. The thumping beats, funky synths and insanely catchy chorus really work well together. I also really enjoy the vocals in this song. Nana and Lizzy really sound great in this genre, especially the former with her more prominent nasally tone. Raina really steals the show with the last chorus though and the adlibs she does. With all this said, I do have one minor problem and that is there is just a little emptiness in the song. I think it has to do with the music as it comes off a little cheap sounding.

Overall: Orange Caramel return with a striking party tune that’s both catchy and shows off the vocals. While I did feel it was missing something, it’s a great listen regardless.

A

[Mini-Album] Orange Caramel; The Second Mini Album

The Second Mini Album is well the second mini-album by After School subgroup, Orange Caramel. A~ing♡ was used as the promotional track.

Released: November 18, 2010
1. A~ing♡ (아잉♡)
2. One Love
3. Yet… (아직…)
4. Standing Here (이곳에 서서)
5. A~ing♡ (Inst.)

The Second Mini Album opens with A~ing♡, which is pretty much a continuation of the style they led with Magic Girl. Compared to that track, I prefer this one though. I guess because of the more bubblegum qualities are toned down and that can really be heard in the arrangement. While there are still some instances, the majority of the music is leveled and features less of the theatrics as their previous promotional track. The vocals are still very “cute” and the girls sing with sweeter qualities to their voices. As a followup, it’s pretty good. One Love brings us something different with a more dance focused pop song. While there are qualities that make it stick to the Orange Caramel sound, it’s definitely more mature, at least arrangement-wise. While I do like it, I’m not particularly liking some of the editing done on the chorus because it comes off as a little too over-the-top. Vocally it’s decent although nothing standout. Like the previous mini-album, this one features a solo from Raina and it’s yet again the standout track for me. Compared to the last one, Yet… features a grander arrangement and a prominent introduction of strings. It’s a little on the ordinary Kpop ballad sound, but what really makes it stand out are the vocals. I find it easy to pinpoint Raina’s vocals since they are rather distinct, but here she sings with a slightly deeper pitch and comes off across a little different. It’s really well done though and her voice just flows through the song. Standing Here is the last song on the mini-album (not counting the instrumental) and is a Korean cover of M2M’s The Day You Went Away. What I like is that it keeps its nostalgic feel and doesn’t try to update it too much and ruin what was already good. I also really enjoy the Spanish twist with the guitar in the background on top of the more melancholic music. It’s well done vocally and I’m glad they didn’t have Raina go all out with belting or it would’ve broken the song a bit.

Overall: For a second mini-album, this one is much stronger than their first. First off, I personally enjoyed the promotional track more this time around and it’s much more tolerable than the first. Raina’s solo piece was also more enjoyable, although I feel Can’t You Delay Love fit her voice better. The other two songs were also pretty good listens.

A-

[Mini-Album] Orange Caramel; The First Mini Album

Orange Caramel is the first subgroup from After School and includes the members Raina, Nana and Lizzy. Their music is supposed to have a bubblegum Jpop twist to it as compared to After School’s more mature sound. Mmm, imagine them as the opposite of Tanpopo. XD The First Mini Album is well the first mini-album (despite the fact it only holds 4 songs, 2 being instrumentals). Magic Girl was used as the promotional track.

Released: June 17, 2010
1. Magic Girl (마법소녀(魔法少女))
2. Can’t You Delay Love (사랑을 미룰 순 없나요)
3. Magic Girl (Inst.)
4. Can’t You Delay Love (Inst.)

The first of the two songs is Magic Girl, a bubblegum pop song. This is certainly not my cup of tea, although the song itself isn’t bad and an ok listen from time to time. My problem is just that it’s too cute and in your face. What I did like about the song was how it was arranged. The music is very fairytale-like and matches well with the image. Vocally, the song was fine although the girls added a sweeter touch to their voices. My only issue has to be Raina’s adlibbing at the end. There were times where it was good and there were times where she didn’t sound good. Of course, all that sorta works itself out with Can’t You Delay Love, Raina’s solo ballad. This was definitely the stronger of the two songs for me just because it gave me an early-2000′s Kpop R&B feel. Nostalgia is definitely at work here and it sounds like something J or Lena Park would pull off. Raina’s voice slides through all the notes and she shows why she’s one of the main vocalists.

Overall: Orange Caramel stays true to its mission with the title track. It’s a sweet tune that is a good listen from time to time, but not exactly my cup of tea. The R&B ballad solo by Raina is what stole the show for me. A decent release altogether, although I wish there was a bit more to choose from.

B+