Roly Poly who? Nine Muses make flawless disco comeback with “Figaro”
Nine Muses (now with only 7 muses due to the departure of Bini & Rana) were one of the most controversial girl groups to debut last year. They were criticized for everything from ripping off SNSD to being talentless bimbos, and their heavily-promoted backgrounds as ‘supermodels’ turned them into a laughing stock. But love them or hate them, it was hard to deny the awesomeness of their JYP-produced debut single “No Playboy”, which stopped the girls from becoming the first CHI-CHI. After flopping on the charts and temporarily becoming the most hated group in K-Pop, the Nine Muses disappeared for close to a year, but they re-emerged this week with two less members and a brand new single “Figaro”.
Further proving just what trendsetters T-ara have been this year, Nine Muses have pulled a Dal★Shabet and gone with what is fast becoming the year’s most popular K-Pop concept, disco. But just like Dal★Shabet , Nine Muses have put their own unique spin on the concept, drawing inspiration from both Studio 54 and classic Italian fashion, which can be seen in the group’s gorgeous concept photos (above).
As a song, “Figaro” is also vastly different toboth T-ara’s “Roly Poly” and Dal★Shabet’s “Bling Bling”. It’s got a far more sophisticated and mature sound to it, like it’s not trying so hard to be obviously catchy, and just wants to be something classy that you can boogie on down to. The whole sound is almost entirely retro, mixing together Italo-disco with more American disco sounds from the seventies, with a few heavy dance beats sprinkled in to give it a slight modern edge, but not enough to take away from the vintage vibe. During their “No Playboy” promotional cycle, Nine Muses often received a lot of criticism for their vocals, but they sound nothing short of flawless on “Figaro”, hitting all the notes, harmonizing beautifully, and delivering everything with a sassy and sexy confidence.
The official music video premiered today, and while it’s obviously been done on a low budget, the charisma and charm of the Muses’ makes it really enjoyable. When they were parading around in cheap lingerie and tacky hot pink dinner jackets during “No Playboy”, it was hard to believe their agency’s claims that they all came from high-end modelling backgrounds, but after seeing them in “Figaro” there’s no doubt that these girls used to walk the runway. Granted, their fashion has absolutely nothing on the brilliance of T-ara’s “Roly Poly”, but on a purely physical level they look absolutely stunning, and could easily give the likes of SNSD a run for their money as K-Pop’s most attractive girl group.
It’s almost pointless to name “Figaro” one of the best comeback tracks of the year considering that everybody from After School and Rainbow to T-ara and Girl’s Day have all served up stellar comeback tunes, but given Nine Muses total underdog status, the title applies.
Now that the SONEs have calmed down and Nine Muses have classed up their image, “Figaro” could end up becoming one of the year’s surprise smash hits.
Score: 4.5/5
