Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Good Day’s “Rolly” is what happens when you take the worst song from your album and make it the title track. The girls are new to the k-pop landscape, but have received a boost right off the bat by featuring Wanna One‘s Bae Jinyoung in their music video (he hails from the same agency). And in what seems to be an ever-expanding trend, the 10-member group is further divided into three sub-units — Good Morning, Good Night, and Midnight. The concept may not be entirely original, but it hints at promising potential.
Unfortunately, the overly cute and cloying “Rolly” doesn’t offer anything new. The song takes a retro approach, stuffed with brass and the kind of throwback instrumental that sounds more like a pre-loaded sample track on a kid’s Casio keyboard than a fully fleshed out production. Infantilization is rampant in K-pop, but usually it’s tempered by an edgier or more experimental song. When combined with something as lightweight as “Rolly”, the girls’ high-pitched squeals and practiced pep just sound like part of a bad talent show act.
It’s a shame, because the rest of Good Day’s album hints at more interesting genres. The narrow ambition really paints the girls in a corner, coming off as hopelessly dated when they should be storming out of the gate with something new and exciting. There’s no doubt that the song’s ultra-repetitive chorus is catchy. It might even stick in your brain after just one listen. Whether you’ll actually want it there is another question. It feels like the kind of track that could keep listeners up at night, desperate to dislodge its insipid refrain from their memory.
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