As many of you know, Cosmic Girls are one of my absolute favourite girl groups In the industry. Their spacy sound is right up my alley and they’ve consistently come back with material that feels fresh and addictive but never too far from their core sound. Last years excellent Butterfly continued that trend but opted for a more chaotic, towering sound, something which sub-unit chocome also followed, though in a more quirky fashion. And while I had initially expected new single Unnatural to follow in the footsteps of the groups preceding efforts, it harkens back to the sleek, vocal heavy sound of the girls best work.
Now this isn’t to say that Unnatural is a retread. It’s definitely a more mature track, both conceptually and musically and one that fits the girls perfectly. I don’t think i’ll ever be able to enjoy a track that paints the girls in a pure “Badass” light (~ala Catch Me) but this is the kind of development I like. It’s dark, atmospheric synth sound is right within the girls wheelhouse and the rousing shots of melody that appear throughout the track are a great conduit for the girls immense charms. The instrumentation while strong, is only the backbone for a track that is much more vocal and performance driven than we’ve come to expect. But as much as I adore the atmospheric soundscape, the actual verses could have been tighter. They have really strong moments but the energy varies quite jarringly at times. This is mostly an issue during the tracks first verse though and is pretty easily made up for with a great performance. I adore the vocal arrangement here. It has a kind of seesaw feeling that goes from explosive to reserved before once again hitting the listener with a whopper of a chorus.
Speaking of which, Unnatural is home to a brilliant one. I love both the pulsing instrumental and the great shots of melody and the sheer immensity. It’s a little too short for my liking and would have been truly transcendent with a post chorus instrumental loop but what we get for the first two choruses is pretty damn great. It feels like a great middle ground between the more light, spacy sound of the groups earlier efforts and the hard hitting centerpiece’s currently in demand. It’s also quite funky, embracing a slinky beat that underlies a chorus that grows more and more addictive the longer it goes. But Unnatural truly comes into its own during its climax. The incredibly funky bridge leads into a great climactic chorus that incorporates an additional chanted post chorus hook that recalls past hit (and personal favourite) As You Wish in stunning fashion. It isn’t as breathtaking as the hook that took out that song but it’s pretty strong. And the same could be said for the song as a whole. This is yet another slam dunk effort from the girls.
Verses: 8
Chorus: 9
Production: 9
Performance: 9
Final Rating: 8.75 / 10
KBopped 
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