Ever since the release of last years Hip, the members of Mammamo have lent a much greater focus on their solo careers. Moonbyul, Hwasa and Solar have all released solo singles (and in Hwasa and Moonbyul’s cases, mini albums) and Wheein has furthered her reputation as an OST mainstay within the K-drama sphere. Now, nearly a year on from their last full group release, the girls are back with the 80’s inspired Dingga, a pre-release single for their upcoming album.
Dingga is the latest track to take heavily influence from the burgeoning retro trend that has taken over the music industry in the past few months. And while this may displease or seem like a trend that’s become oversaturated to many, it’s one of the few trends that I don’t mind being everywhere. Tracks like this are usually tailor made to suit my tastes and have a much greater focus on melody and strong hooks than many other genres so it’s no surprise that I do enjoy Dingga quite a bit. Its combination of rhythm guitar and consistent retro synths is something you can never go wrong with and Mamamoo give a suitably dynamic performance. The hook has a nice kick, although I personally believe it would have benefited from a more complex melody.
In fact, Dingga as a whole could do with a bit more experimentation. Now, I love me a nice, simplistic pop song, but Dingga feels much more like a straight line than the expected hills or troughs. And while this likely bodes well for Dingga‘s longevity, it does blunt much of its instantaneous appeal. But given its status as a pre-release, I guess I should cut it some slack. It does ramp up for its climax, but I do really wish more of that energy were to be redistributed throughout the rest of the track. However, despite my gripes, Dingga is a enjoyable pre-release single who’s retro influenced charms leave me excited for both the title track and b-sides off Mamammo’s future album.
Verses: 7
Chorus: 7
Production: 8
Performance: 9
Final Rating: 7.75 / 10
KBopped 