GOT7 Flight Log: Arrival - A Song by Song Review

Six months after the release of their second full-length album Flight Log: Turbulence, K-pop sensation GOT7 is back with their sixth EP Flight Log: Arrival. The album feature some of the group's best material to date and is a refreshing mix of both experimental sounds and contemporary pop trends. Here's a song by song breakdown.

1. Never Ever

"Never Ever" served as the perfect title track for the album as it showed the group's musical growth and their diversity. Though described as a hip-hop track in press releases, "Never Ever" is a lot more complex than that. It opens with a tropical house-influenced intro before exploding into a bass-heavy, explosive mix of hip-hop and EDM in the raps and bridge, with soft, ethereal RnB-like verses. It's GOT7's most experimental title track yet and illustrates their willingness to take risks and continuously evolve.

2. Shopping Mall

Like the track "Boomx3" from their previous album, "Shopping Mall" is definitely this album's hype track. It is a dancey, 90's-sounding hip-hop number, co-written by members JB, Jackson, Mark and BamBam. The lyrics are also very tongue and cheek and cute as the boys compare a girl they like to a fun and exciting shopping mall. Rapper Jackson's deep voiced "my shopping mall" hook will be stuck in your head for days.

3. Paradise

With its summery, tropical-house sound, "Paradise" perfectly fits into the music trends of the past couple years that we saw in North American pop hits like Justin Bieber's 2015 hit "Sorry." Similar in structure, "Paradise also features breathy, airy verses and a bopping chorus. This song is an absolute gem on the album as it showcases the members vocal talents exceptionally and is an overall feel-good track. This song is already a fan-favorite based on early reactions on social media and could've easily been an alternative choice for the title track.

4. Sign

"Sign" is another album standout. Though ballads can often go overlooked, "Sign" is the total opposite. It is the only ballad on the dance-heavy album and is arguably one of GOT7's most vocally mature songs they've ever released. Main singer Youngjae's vocals in particular really stood out on this track which he also co-wrote. Youngjae's climatic belting in the second half of the RnB jam will give you goosebumps.

5. Go Higher

"Go Higher" is a straight up, electronic dance song. Though not particularly unique production wise, GOT7's strong vocals takes it out of the realm of being generic. If you are a fan of the house or EDM genres, this is the track for you. The song features the vocalists singing the verses over a pulsing, fast beat, a slowed down bridge features the rappers and then the fist-pumping, fast beat returns as a build up to the catchy chorus. It is the most traditionally "K-pop sounding" song on the album.

6. Q

"Q" is another member-produced track, this time lead vocalist and group leader JB taking on the role of lyricist and co-composer of this sweet, Motown-inspired track. JB is known for his more modern RnB-sounding compositions, so this marks a change in style for him and the group as a whole. Though the melody has a vintage vibe, the rap verses keep the piece fresh and modern. This song is perfect for easy listening on a spring day.

7. Don't Care

"Don't Care" is another gem on the album and arguably the most unique song GOT7 have ever done. Written and co-composed by the group's youngest member, 19-year-old Yugyeom, it is ironically the most mature song on the album. The song features a simple, but creatively distorted, beat which is definitely RnB-inspired but also has the feeling of deep house music. The only way I can really describe it is that it sounds more like something that would be on a experimental SoundCloud account as opposed to a mainstream K-pop album.

8. Out

Closing out the album is, appropriately, the track "Out," co-written and co-composed by one of the group's rappers Jackson. The EDM-heavy song is both fun and ridiculous, with Jackson repeatedly yelling "wait a minute, I'M OUT," during the chorus. This is definitely a track that may come across as odd to those that are new to the group, but serves as a fun nod to GOT7's fanbase, called "IGOT7," who are aware that the saying "I'm OUT," is a running joke, as the members love to say this when they end their online live chats which they host regularly. A fun, personal nod to their hardcore fans to wrap up the album.

Album: Flight Log: ArrivalArtist: GOT7Release Date: March 13, 2017Label: JYP EntertainmentCountry: South Korea

Available digitally through iTunes and Apple Music.