I will start this off by noting that Rocket Punch is my second favorite group right now, and Red Punch has been my favorite album all year. That said, it doesn’t mean I’m going to show favoritism, in fact, I think I’m coming at this album even more critically for it. Last note is that I am not a fan of outright summer songs and albums, so take my opinion with that in mind, nobody does summer like Sistar, or WJSN’s Boogie Up. So let’s get to it, usual format, talk about the video for the title track, then go through the whole album, and, of course, all ratings are out of 10.
The Music Video
Alright, so this video is bright, oranges and yellows and bright blues abound. It is all summer all the time. This isn’t really my style, I tend to like things a little more even, leaning into moody, like Twice’s Signal, or Nature’s Girls respectively. That said, in spite of this, the setting fits the song fairly well, although I think they come together in such a way that it makes both parts feel almost too cutesy, even though neither part is when taken separately.
I do like the styling though, I think they did a great job of suiting each of the girls to their individual image. Standouts here are Yeonhee, who I think just tends to stand out generally, and especially here, and Yunkyoung whose hair may be some of the coolest this year. I also want to praise the company for not doing that weird black hair with blonde fronts, that style is super weird and evocative of Cruella de Ville but worse, so it was a relief not to see it. I do think Juri really fades away in this song, as does Sohee who has the loudest most annoying section in the song.
The dance is cute but simple looking, so I have nothing to praise or critique here, it suits the song and video, and the members look like they have fun performing it, which in my book makes it lean towards good. I do love that the non-Suyun members all join hands and Suyun has to go under them despite being the tallest member, I think the choreographer was just messing with her on that one.
Rating: 8.25
Ultimately, a little too cute, and a little too summer doesn’t hold Rocket Punch back from having a good music video. This is fun, my least favorite of there’s so far, but with a group as lovable as this one, I have trouble imaging them ever putting out a bad video, so cheers to this one.
The Songs
Juicy- I honestly like this a little more than I expected, I’m not really into the extremely bubblegum sound here however, so more than I expected, but not totally in love. I like their previously youthful but cool style a little more than the cutesy here. I do like a few of the sections, but one also stands out negatively which is the second verse’s section where the instrumental really gets overwhelming. Decent song, but my least favorite Rocket Punch title so far. Across the whole album I like this only more than Summer Punch!
Summer Punch!- This has that very summer party sound that we often get from girl groups in the summer, maybe a little too safe in that regard. I could have seen them making this the title track, but I’m happy they didn’t because it doesn’t have the uniqueness that a good title should have, such as Juicy. There isn’t too much more to note here, solid summer song, it’s good, but safe.
One Summer Night- I like this one a lot, it’s a nice soft jam that makes you bop to the beat. The members all sound really good, and I like the instrumental a lot. This song isn’t totally innovative, and it does sound like a Monotree produced song, but a really good one. This would be really easy to listen to while relaxing outside, or driving, or having a picnic, that kind of pleasant. I will also say it’s well placed in the middle of the album, it breaks up the higher energy songs around this, a lot of kpop albums aren’t paced as healthily and just shove the slow jams to the end.
Twinkle Star- From the first fifteen seconds I thought to myself, “why isn’t this the title track?” Twinkle Star has what I have come to associate as the signature sound of Rocket Punch title tracks, so maybe they didn’t use it to avoid feeling samey, but it works so well for the group. The energy is high, there’s a few little moments that I really enjoyed, such as the slight instrumental pause in the last chorus. But this song is really nice for fans of their previous title tracks. Up there with One Summer Night for this album.
The The- Maybe my favorite song name this year, The The is a fairly interesting song, the kind that you can imagine playing in a disco rollerblading rink despite not really being a disco. I like that Woolim continues to experiment with Rocket Punch’s musical style on the b-sides though, and this song is fun and again, makes you bop along with it a bit. This is the middle song on the album for me.
Rating: 7
I will start by again praising the album structure and pacing, One Summer Night really helps to balance the energy without losing it. A few of the song may get a decent amount of listens from me, but when I’m looking at the two best songs from their previous album, Lilac and Fireworks, the songs that I most compare to these are One Summer Night and Twinkle Star or The The respectively, and they don’t hold a candle. Ultimately, this album is good, no song is something I dislike, but the first two tracks don’t do it for me personally, and the last three don’t rise up quite enough to balance it out. It’s a buy for me, but it won’t have the same longevity as their previous efforts.
Despite my fairly low rating, at least for me rating a Rocket Punch album, I still did enjoy my listen, and look forward to what comes next for them, when they’re no longer dictated by the season as heavily. How did you feel about this album? Comment here or on our Instagram to let me know, and be sure to give a follow to know whenever a new article comes out.