This is the first time ever in the history of the K-Pop Hero that I have posted something on SF9! Quite frankly, I’m shocked! Behind the scenes, I listen to a number of their songs, and they have become a staple in some of my playlists. So, when I found out that SF9 Narcissus was coming out, I thought that it was about time that I wrote a post on them!
I did not order a copy of the album, but you can get it on eBay. This is a *CHANGE LINK* link to the best priced one that I could find. A copy costs $23.99 plus free shipping (without unfolded poster). Plus, with eBay, you can save a little bit of money by using the E-Bates extension on your browser, as it will save you 2% on all album purchases, which definitely adds up.
What is E-Bates?
E-Bates is a cashback site that gives you money for purchases you may have already made. They even have an extension for multiple browsers so when you go to a website that uses Ebates, it will automatically pop up the cashback button to make sure you are saving money. I use this all the time, and I got over 80$ back from them for purchases I was going to make anyway. That’s about 3 more albums I can buy!
If you’ve never used EBates before, you can use this link to get $10 when making a qualified purchase of $25 when using EBates. You will also get whatever percent cashback is being offered from the site you are purchasing from. Sephora, typically has 4% cashback, through here. Sokoglam typically has 3%. These percentages Many other major retailers are on there as well.
Can I get it on Amazon?
Yes! You can pick up a copy using this link *CHANGE LINK* here for $27.80 dollars (not as good of a deal), with free shipping if you have Amazon Prime.
If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can get a 30-day free trial using this link here. I will not lie, the free 2-day shipping, plus all of the free music and videos are totally worth it. I also now use it for books for my Kindle Paper White too, and it is honestly a life saver. They have a program called Kindle Unlimited where you can check out 10 books at a time, read them, and put them back in the Kindle library. The program cost $7.99 a month, and you get the first 30 days for free with this link.
How do I read this post?
I recommend that you put the album on in the background, and read through it while listening to the track that I am talking about. It will help you understand what parts of the music I’m referring to when I talk about different instruments and different vocal parts. This is what I recommend for all of my song reviews.
SF9 Narcissus Track By Track:
예뻐지지 마 (Enough)
This is the single on the track, and I have actually gone and reacted to it already. You can watch my reaction to the music video here:
So, one thing I will point out about this track, when I’m listening to it while writing this post, the track has a completely different feel to it than when you are listening to it while watching the music video. When listing to just the song, the track has a much more smooth feel, and it doesn’t feel as sexy as it did when I was watching those leather pants. I love the smooth, modern instrumentation. I like how through the first verse the percussion is simple to put more emphasis on the lyrics.
Other things that I really like when listening to the song are the harmonies and the bass line. The harmonies that they are singing you can tell are mixed very well. They sound extremely tight, almost as if they are one sound, when in reality there are at least 4 levels of them. On top of that, that deep, bass line that moves the chorus forward just adds to the momentum that you hear in the chorus.
Overall, I really like this song! It’s extremely catchy, well produced, and the harmonies are on point. It also doesn’t feel like your “typical K-Pop” song. It has a wee bit of edge to the track. Big fan of it.
화끈하게 (Play Hard)
Okay, SF9 is bringing us full on funk/dance track! I like this track from the very first note. It’s a pump up song with an electronic bass line that makes your head bob. In the instrumentation, I absolutely love the piano chords and the modifications that they made to them. I love how the track starts with an impressive rap verse. Let’s be real. I’ll never be able to rap like that! I can barely even finish a sentence when talking.
Once you get to the chorus, I love how the beat drops and you get this fantastic, soprano saxophone (at least I believe that is what it is!). On top of that, they do this great ASMR throughout the chorus that contrasts so nicely with the rest of the track. As a “pump up” track almost all of the instruments in the song are very loud, so that little bit of ASMR refocuses your ear.
One final note on this song, the beat change in the bridge where they modulate one of the members voices while they say something is awesome. It makes me happy, just like this song does from start to finish. Good job guys!
하필 (Heartbeat)
This track is a completely different direction from the previous one! It starts out with just the sound of a heartbeat and a snap. Once you get into the chorus, I love the modulated harmonies and the reverb on all of the singers voices. It is a really cool way to start a song and draws your ear it. Thankfully, they don’t do that through the whole song, as it would be a little bit challenging to listen to.
Once the track shifts, it does a complete 180. It has an extremely happy, positive vibe with a guitar and some clapping. It’s very “typical”. Even though this part is “typical” sounding, they add a couple of things that I find interesting, like the moment of silence in the chorus. I like how the heartbeat sound is brought back into the second verse as a piece of percussion. Finally, I love how the harmonies through the bridge when they drop out a lot of the instrumentation. Those are not easy harmonies, and SF9 executes them well. Honestly, it’s an interesting take on what would otherwise sound like a typical track.
Life is So Beautiful
Another bop! I like how this track starts with what I will call harmonized, vocal “om-nom-noms”. It’s really cool, and completely unexpected. Honestly, for that piece of the track alone, I love this song, and want to listen to it. It’s shockingly pleasing to listen to! Another thing that I really like about this track besides that is the atypical “setup” to the track. It doesn’t go intro, verse, hook, chorus, where the track continually builds momentum. After the rap in the first verse, it interestingly pulls back before quickly propelling itself into the chorus.
Yet again, the construction of the chorus in this song is really interesting as well. The instrumentation of the chorus makes it feel like the speed or BPM of the song are being pulled back. This is done by extending notes, and adding syncopation. It’s really fascinating! Although to some this track may not be appeasing to the ear, I love how it really plays with music and breaks the mold as to how typical pop songs should move. For that alone, this song gets top marks.
Fall in Love
This track starts off like I am going to be finally getting a ballad so I can really listen to their vocals. The instrumentation on this track, is relatively simple. There’s a piano and some drums with what sounds like a little bit of strings in the background. So, I love how the piano part has a bit of a Jazz flair to it. It isn’t your typical piano chords. It has flourishes to it.
K-Nuggets, you will have to inform me on this, as I don’t know the voices from this group very well. I absolutely love the rappers. They have a very nice tone. His deep voice, and even tone are great. On top of that, yet again, I love the harmonies on the track. They’re great but a bit breathy, and still allow the beautiful piano part to come through. Although this isn’t my favorite track on the mini-album, I really enjoy it and what it is doing with the music.
무중력 (The Beat Goes On)
Okay, we’ve got another funk and soul track! I like the vibraphone chords on the track. They’re different from what I’ve heard yet on the album, and make this track feels like it popped out of a song from the 70’s! I like the shaker egg that they brought in as well as the guitar rhythm that they added to the song. It’s cool.
In comparison to the rest of the mini-album though, I will say, this is the least interesting track musically, as well as my least favorite. The harmonies are very simple, and not very plentiful. You hear them in the hook, and a bit in the chorus and bridge, but that’s it. My biggest issue with this track though is that it doesn’t really have much momentum to it. It feels like a “we need another song on here, so we’ll just add this” song. I will note, that I say this about every song that is in this style, such as Victory on Super Junior D&E ‘Bout You, which is an artist I love. Donghae touched my hand and I still talk about it.
K-Points: 28/5
This mini-album made my ears quite happy! I really like how they played with music a bit, and mixed styles! They had a track with a wee bit of a reggae feel, another one that didn’t feel like it followed a typical structure, and one that said “Om-nom-nom”! So, why did I dock points? Mainly because I could pick at it, and I didn’t like the last track. Everything else was good, but the album would have been better without the last track.
So should you get yourself a copy of this album? I mean, it is a pretty solid mini-album! I, personally, am not purchasing it because the space on my shelves is prime real estate at the moment, and I feel like I should save the money for other albums. If you are an SF9 fan though, it is totally worth it. Should you stream it? This shouldn’t even be a question. Most of the music on the album is fun, and different. I greatly enjoyed it, and you will too!
What song on the mini-album was your favorite, K-Nuggets? Let me know in the comments below!
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
