Review: Time for the Moon Night by GFriend

Last year I wondered whether Parallel, the last mini album from GFriend, was for me. I was wary about the step back to their old sound (although it clearly works for them) but, more importantly, I was wary about how much of a slow burner the record is. Now it’s clear that’s definitely their approach: the girl group who established themselves in one sound, tried to break out of it, and returned to it, is doing things slightly differently. “Love Whisper” and its follow-up “Summer Rain” were the old sound, but with a tinge of maturity and elevated subtlety, down to the sampling of German pianist Robert Schumann. Now we have Time for the Moon Night, which ups this further with a title track that’s not an obvious hit, but somehow makes you feel blubbery. (The lyrics are blubbery.) Is this the sound they’re looking for? Perhaps, but they don’t really commit to it: apart from the similarly sublime “Love Bug” and their first proper ballad “Bye”, there’s still the fun GFriend sound from the School era. But now all throughout you can’t help but feel melancholic. Is this an album about sadness and less? It’s not an easy trick to pull off, but they might as well have. [NB] | 4/5

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