“We’re gonna fly in the blue sky.”

“Memoria” by GFriend | We’ve had our ears peeled for GFriend’s first official Japanese single; with the music video for it dropped yesterday, we finally have a properly clear stream for it. If anything, “Memoria” makes it clear that the girls are taking the melancholic route. And yet this pushes that narrative further, something. Maybe it’s the decision to blend everything more: there’s no “powerful” Yuju moment, although she is still there to lift the song with her vocal runs. Maybe it’s a sound that’s even dreamier than “Rough”, and a slight departure from the cinematic nature of “Time for the Moon Night”. There are a lot of videos on YouTube where fans lay this song over random anime opening titles – here’s one for friend of the blog Louis – and that says a lot about how, surprisingly effortlessly, the group adopted their sound to Japanese audiences. This year seems to be the year when more than the usual K-pop suspects make the jump across the sea – Mamamoo’s releasing a new “Decalcomanie” next month, too – and I’m happy GFriend’s is distinct. I did just say that, right, hun? [NB]