1 month ago
95
With MAMAMOO being inactive as a group, it has felt like it has been a while since we have heard from the group or the members. It probably doesn’t help that I don’t cover their solo comeback as soon as they occur. MOON BYUL recently made her return with her 3rd mini-album, Laundri, and the title track Goodbyes and Sad Eyes. MOON BYUL also pre-released the single ICY BBY (also from the new mini-album, but I yet to review). Her last comeback was last year’s Is This Love?.
Goodbyes & Sad Eyes is MOON BYUL’s answer to the ongoing rock trend in KPOP. There have been some good songs of this style lately, with the potential for Goodbyes & Sad Eyes to join the ranks with its electrifying guitar riffs in the verses. These riffs amps up and intensifies the song greatly. I am totally for exploring this sound further in the song. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as the rest of Goodbyes & Sad Eyes opts to hold itself back to sit more generically in the pop-rock realm. While I appreciate the cleaner sound and how well it showcases the resultant melodies of Goodbyes & Sad Eyes, I just feel like the chorus missed an opportunity to give us something more powerful, cooler and explosive as the centrepiece. MOON BYUL does sound great throughout the track. But like the instrumentation, her vocals loses the edginess that she builds into the pre-chorus. The pre-choruses and bridge slows down Goodbyes & Sad Eyes into soft territory, but I like how we get to hear MOON BYUL’s familar rapping style before launching into the choruses each time.
Goodbyes & Sad Eyes celebrates an eventual break up, with that being the vibe carried through to the music video. There is no upset or sad MOON BYUL throughout the video. Instead, she is having the time of her life, choosing to look beyond the breakup and enjoy what she has in the moment. She is going out to the club, dancing around while packing her bags, but most importantly, she is genuinely smiling through everything. I do like the little anime sequences that appear at each pre-chorus sequence in the song. Definitely very cool to watch, but I also liked how it shows her at ease with the situation she is in.
I liked the energy that MOON BYUL and her dancers exude during the choreography. For the stage performances, she chooses to focus more on her live vocals, which shows us her immensely growing confidence in her live performances. It does mean that she tones down her participation, but the dance performances I have seen of Goodbyes & Sad Eyes was good to watch overall.
Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10
English (US) · 