✦ THE OFFICIAL THREAD OF ✦ GFRIEND ✦ I'll be your BUDDY ~ #ThankYouGFRIEND

[tuut]

11 minutes ago, spopo said:

oh good Stairs in the North is another acoustic.  Loved From Me so I'm glad to see this style make a return.  And it's pretty hard for a ballad.  Love those strings

oh fuck i wrote that before the electric guitar kicked in... wtf amazing

the snippet from the highlight was amazing but it did not do Stairs in the North justice!! i think i love it more than From Me which is ??? i LOVe from me

 

[tuut]

i adore this album so much and it makes it 100x better knowing the inspiration for songs like Eye of the Storm/Stairs in the North as well as hearing how some of the girls participated in writing

[tuut]

ooo!! they're performing labyrinth in the Tilted outfits 

[tuut]

random thought but Stairs in the North sounds a little like a Fearless era Taylor Swift song and creme brulee's production reminds me of n*t 127 collaboration with marteen called What We Talkin' About

Edited July 13, 2020 by tuut

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25 minutes ago, Sofs said:

I’m still trying to understand how melon now works.

me too

i guess since it's arranged based on UL in the past 24 hrs, so obviously a song which only has a few hours of data can't compare to the rest?

 

i'm sure the freshness of it being a new release and hype is helping Apple but it's still good to see it slowly rise

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by tuut

[tuut]

we stan hardworking girls

[tuut]

8 minutes ago, Memoria~ said:

Sowon's IGupdate

 

caption translated by GFsquad:

Sowon: ' 'Flowers not falling out of my mouth .. #NG' 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

LMFAO mv sowon vs irl sowon 

im dying gurl is really trying her best 

[tuut]

 

omg i really wanted some of the members (especially wonb) to guest on this show!! SOTS era is a gift that keeps giving

 

[tuut]

4 hours ago, spopo said:

In the grand scheme of things is Apple my favorite song from them?  Definitely not.  But it might be my favorite overall comeback.  And honestly, I think it's come at the perfect time for them.  Fingertip felt a little too soon, even though sound-wise it wasn't that drastic a change, but as senior artists, moving on from two different eras of signature sounds, I think this is fantastically done.  And those black outfits are just... chef's kiss.  That kind of styling can wash you out really easily, but visually they pull it off flawlessly. I can't wait until they start promoting (esp with the black dresses), and I just hope the response is good because they really deserve to see it from all their effort.

i think this best sums up how i feel 

they always say they want to do concepts that are age appropriate and push the envelope of what being Gfriend means - Apple and SOTS as a whole achieved that perfectly. if i had gfriend's entire discography on shuffle, none of the SOTS songs would feel out of place if they suddenly came on. At the same time, all the songs on SOTS have something unique about it that would make me go out of my way to find the songs and play it

if Apple/SOTS is any hint on what kind of direction they're going musically then i'm excited! Power Innocence and Passionate Melancholy are always welcome in the future but i'm so down for more WitchFriend

Edited July 14, 2020 by tuut

[tuut]

 

their highest peaks thus far in their career in both charts if im not wrong

[tuut]

9 minutes ago, eternal glow said:

 On a different note about the album packaging though...

spoiler alert: it's not positive.

  Hide contents

I am VERY disappointed with how SouMu has been handling the past few albums in terms of packaging. Not even going to even sugarcoat it because I've had enough trying to sugarcoat it every comeback after TFU as a buddy who buys albums and enjoys buying albums to show my support for their songs. They've (SouMu okay, not the girls personally) been delivering some of the most fragile and impractical designs which honestly grind my gears because I know that SouMu are perfectly capable of giving them good packaging as seen in the past.

Fever had this paper wrapping(?) slip around the album. It is the most fragile, thin piece of paper and many buddies have received this damaged in transit. The spine of Fever is literally just a thin piece of paper whilst the two sides are much heavier. Again, this is easy to tear apart.

Labyrinth had an irritating sticker (which yes, it was easy to peel without problem I'll give them that) but the open-box style with the tab is an absolute disaster because it becomes damaged a little bit more every time you open and close it. The open-box design is also really easy to damage in transit and all the contents are just tossed in there and rattling around so they can arrive with some bends or dents.

Finally, Apple. My biggest disappointment honestly. Firstly, it's needlessly bulky. Secondly, the album packaging does not even close properly. I've seen the unboxings and I've seen the girls decorating the album on the Dispatch vlive uploaded just today. The thing does not close properly. The girls are literally pushing against it to close and it just doesn't close. Did nobody check the design before confirming and mass-producing these? Not to mention, the jewel case again. The box is so huge that everything will be rattling around in there and we all just need to pray the jewel case doesn't break. Yes, there are lots of cool random goodies but the album packaging quality does not and should not need to be compromised. TFU had nice goods and the packaging was absolutely substantial and perfectly fine.

Ultimately, I feel like SouMu is skimping on the album packaging while trying to look like they're being 'creative' and it's irritating because the designs are impractical and not well thought out despite the increase in random goods. The albums have all increased in price considerably but physical quality is lacking. It comes off as SouMu cash-grabbing buddies who they know are loyal to the girls and that annoys me. Sorry for the rant but I'm passionate about album packaging I guess. 

 

Spoiler

yeah was not impressed with the FS thin paper album cover and the 回 boxes have been...excessive and lacklustre to say the least

im going with the assumption that there is one last cb for this 回 series and that SouMu intends to continue this "parcel/outbox" *just* to make it cohesive with Labyrinth and SOTS like how tftmn/ss/tfu were similar in packaging visuals 

so fingers crossed that when they presumably start a new series / finish off with 回 we get more practical packagings

 

[tuut]

so i've been watching and re-watching the mv and live performance from the showcase and - i didn't catch it at first in the mv version but - the live version brought my attention to Yuju's adlibs in the last post-chorus!! i adore it!!

yuju's tone is beautiful and the melody just seamlessly fits right in between the "we o wow wow wow wow" and the other members' solos 

 

[tuut]

the recent g-ing which shows like a fancam of yesterday's Apple stage makes it so much easier to see who is singing what in the post-chorus and fleshes out so many nuances! i was so focused on the choreo i missed out on the performance itself.

Yerin's does the "kiss" & "dance" in the very last post-chorus and Sinb actually sings the "We O wow // We O ya" parts in the first and last post-chorus. and YES to the amount of lines Sowon got - i love her "kiss" & "dance" 

[tuut]

4 hours ago, love said:

that growth 

!!! from YouTube views & likes, first day sales, Worldwide iTunes charts and now Spotify - i'm so happy the girls are still bringing in new fans and gaining exposure with a wider audience

digitally in the domestic charts they've also been holding tight in iChart's top 20 against many digimons & hit songs so that's great too! 

[tuut]

they're live now i think

 

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anticipating!!! 

 

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[tuut]

 they sound great!

about yerin I would've thought she'd at the most opt to sit at the side to sing but i trust she knows her body best!! maybe it's a blessing in disguise that they don't have a bside to record / stay back for this time! more time to rest in between

Edited July 16, 2020 by tuut

[tuut]

i love this part of the Apple choreo but i knew stan twt would eventually turn it into so many memes...with their live perfs starting i expect more MemeFriend coming our way 

[tuut]

Apple's choreo may not have many moments to showcase their signature knife-like skills but imo this is the strongest and most charismatic stage presence they've shown in awhile...from their facial expressions to the way their bodies move between formations - you can see how much thought and effort they put into making sure this change didn't come across awkward on stage 

[tuut]

8 minutes ago, Memoria~ said:

Not sure anyone notice that the intro of their Apple stage today. They used Labyrinth instrumental

 

i noticed! i would love to hear acoustic/instrumental arrangements (idek if this is the right word) of their songs because the production for Gfriend tracks are always so good!! 

[tuut]

having had time to digest the mv, lyrics and yes the Märchen booklet too (i've been too caught up with listening to the amazing melodies and production) here's an extended reflection i had while listening to SOTS on repeat

Spoiler

i think the main gist/message that Gfriend and SouMu are trying to put across with their music (or at least their music videos / storylines) is how dangerous jealousy and envy can be. which i think is such a powerful message to send across to listeners, especially given how toxic social media and the entertainment industry can be. 

apart from the amazingly cinematic mv we got from crossroads which triggered my imagination --- i dont usually take interest in and am not good at analysing, dissecting and piecing together theories and elaborate storylines (honestly hats off to those who do) BUT the Gfriend universe, from what i can gather in their mvs and Märchen books, is basically about

6 girls who lived happily as friends -> were given gifts/powers -> envied each other, acted out of jealousy -> now they regret their actions & want to right their wrongs.

at first this sounded completely out of a fiction novel but the SOTS album is helping me put things into...perspective? (disclaimer: i obviously cannot decipher the nuances of the Korean language so i'm basing this off of rough translations/minimal Korean vocab) EOTS as explained by Yuju is about being overwhelmed then finding yourself amidst the noise of what's happening around you; ROM is likely about body-confidence and self-love; Tarot Cards seems to hint at wanting someone (destiny) to decide for them because they feel lost; SITN is supposedly a summary of their ups and downs from debut till now. 

if you go and read the lyrics in this album (esp SITN and EOTS) and you put it side by side the kind of answers they've been giving in interviews/radio shows recently, it's clear they've all struggled with hate comments, hectic schedules, high expectations etc as with any celebrity out there. there's also a subtle awareness that despite coming from a small agency, they know they had a very high peak very early on in their careers, and they will unfortunately often be held to that standard be it from certain buddies/casual listeners/non-fans/GP or even themselves

im sure it becomes very easy for them to compare their popularity/visuals/achievements with: fellow successful idols, their past selves, heck it im sure they've compared themselves with other members in their group. they've worked so hard from pre-debut and are still working so hard but i think they're slowly realising that the process and people close to them matter just as much as the supposed "fruits of their labour" that is often labeled/quantified.

and so i think it's great they're being given a chance to "heal" through their own music and at the same time spread this message albeit in a more subtle/artistic manner 

 

TLDR: i got emo listening to sots and i love the message it seems they're trying to send across - jealousy & envy is unhealthy y'all!

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by tuut