4Minute- "Volume Up" Review

4minute definitely brought some sass and attitude to the table with their new title track, Volume Up. However; the whole entire time I was watching this video, I kept thinking of the Volturi. If you've ever seen Twilight then you'll notice that the music video kind of resembles this rich and powerfully scary clan of vampires, what with all the towering columns, the ancient-looking architecture, the marble floors, the dancing servants and Hyuna's blood red eyes. This didn't come as much of a surprise considering that their concept is vampire themed. Plus, I like how it had some Spanish influence. For example, their dresses looked similar to matadors, and I spotted that Pasodoble dance. It was a nice touch to their concept.

VAMPIRE! 

As for Hyuna I did expect her to get a lot of screen time, because I already knew that she was considered "the face" of the group. It not that different from other groups like SNSD's Yoona. I don't really like this idea of having a "face", but, hey, I'm not in charge of this stuff. Also, I do admit there was a lot of raunchy dance moves in this song, but it's all about their concept and how they want to portray their image. For me, personally, the first time I watched this, it was a bit off putting to watch the dance, but later on, I didn't mind so much. I overlooked this since I liked other aspects of the video more. 

I really like her outfit; very Edgar Allen Poe-esque! <3

As for the song, I was absolutely scared when I heard the beginning of Volume Up, because the first thing I hear is a bone-chilling whisper of voices speaking gibberish. I felt like Voldemort was whispering in my ear, and the fear factor escalated because I was wearing my headphones at the same time. Like Miss A's Touch it had a scary intro but if you wait it out, it's really worth listening to. I absolutely loved the combination of saxophone and electro. Never had I heard a combination like this before in an indie song, nonetheless a K-pop song, making this my favorite part of the Volume Up. It also makes the song sound unique while still retaining the same elements characteristic to a 4minute song. Plus I also loved the long notes that Ji Yoon belted out. The notes melded into the chorous giving it an epic feel, as well as Hyuna's part which added a kind of buildup to the chorus, but my only complaint; however, was the chorous. I felt that it was anticlimactic because it didn't seem as strong in comparison to the verses or the belted out notes. Nonetheless, the song is superb, and I hope the rest of their songs on their album are just as good.


I give this 4 out of 5 cups of Ramyun


-A