Kuzzviews: Apink's Pink Blossom is a delight.

Apink has been trying to get on this come up for three years. Of course, it takes some time, and some stuggles. In their three years since debut, they have released three minis (including their new one), and one album. They have been the cute girl group, and finally started making some sort of traction with their last single NoNoNo. Despite the plagiarism controversy, the song was successful and did well for them. It also doesn't hurt that Eunji is really liked after her role in Reply 1997 and whatever other drama she was on (or whatever it is called) and is a good singer, and seemingly nice person. Also Nauen got some attention for her times on dramas, as well as her being Taemin's play wife on We Got Married. I can't speak for the other members but they exist.

So the year is 2014, and Apink have made their comeback with the appropriate for spring mini Pink Blossom.
To start Pink Blossom is very...cute.
I mean that in two different ways. Overall it sounds like some sort of body spray preteen girls wear. It's cute. It is very nonthreatening, very bubbly, light, and flowy. There is nothing about this album that comes off edgy, mature, grand, or quirky. It is simply cute.
It is the Bubbles of minis.
If you had to think of a physical manifestation of this album...it would probably be cherry blossom, or some other pretty and pink flower.
. It has this late 90's early 2000's pop feel. Like right before Christina and Britney did their switch to a more mature/overtly sexual looks they sported, it was that R&B inspired, sugary as fuck pop music. A more concentrated form would be Mandy Moore.
Here is an example:

And for their emotional ballad existence they embody this.

Yes Apink at their truest...is Mandy Moore.

I'm kidding, I am not saying that Apink is the Korean group version of Mandy Moore. Instead I am saying these two acts (at different times of course) have similarities. Apink is an idol group, and by that they are required to not only to be able to sing (in theory), but also perform. Mandy was a bubblegum pop singer, who turned into an actress....Eunji....I'm kidding.
But anyway, I am just using Mandy as a reference point, nothing more, nothing less.

Apink starts with Sunday Monday. I sat here thinking about this title, and asking why...but I stopped that. The song is essentially about a girl who cannot stop thinking about the boy of her dreams. From Sunday to Monday. I assume they mean more than that...but...eh. The song starts off the mini, and while I don't agree with that, the song is pretty nonthreatening. It is very chill, only getting anywhere remotely big during the chorus. The verses are strummed and a few random sounds in the background. I think they could have just kept it simple and it would have worked. The guitar is soon accompanied by a string section (which is really used liberally now). One thing that bothered me was the overall lack of uniqueness in the voices. All of them are the same shade of pink, with Chorong and the other one being of a slightly darker quality, while Eunji have a much more fuller and vibrant feel to her voice.
A six member group and everyone is blending in...that's not a strong look, but the song is not meant to really capture you.

Mr. Chu comes next and...I like it. I love the beat to the verse. It is very bubbblegum pop. Very R&B pop for teenage white girls, very digestible. There is nothing about it that comes off dangerous or even threateninig. The chorus pick up and try to give a more brighter, sweeter tone to the song. The verses are not sexual...but romantic. There is a lusty vibe, even if it is supposed to exist in the PG realm. I mean they are talking about their first kiss...Vocally we have the same issue of the girls not really being able to stand out. Eunji is the main vocalist, with Bomi and Namjoo coming in as the leads. The other three are there...and that is all there is to that. When you have songs that don't really utilize the talents you have, it is kind of a problem. But the song doesn't really need the same kind of oomph that a song like NoNoNo would. My issue is not the delivery because it works...it is the fact that the voices are all similar, and blend in way too well.

Moving on to Crystal...we have an uptempo that is very pep in the step. Here we finally having Eunji trying to be about shit as a vocalist, as well as Bomi and Namjoo. I really can't think of anything about this song that would make me want to write. It bright, cute, and lovely. It's like walking down a street on the first day of spring (not the first date of spring, but the first day the weather wants to act right and giving you warm weather, and shorts, and clear skies and shit). I think Bomi is slaying in the background, but I am not sure. That may just be Eunji but I don't know. I think this song is the high point of the album...and then we move into ballad territory.

Fairy Tale Love was one of two tracks that Chorong contributed. No one else is listed for lyrics, so there you go...The song is about a girl who wants her love back...her fairytale love. Eh she was in the wrong and now she crying about it. It is sad and sweet at the same time. It sounds exactly like something Jessica Simpson would have done. Whomever created this beat made an interesting choice in replacing the acoustic vibe, with a more dramatic electric guitar. It gives the song a bigger feel, and oddly it is not out of place. Namjoo was getting big when it came so the drama was right where it should be if it was needed. I would like to hear this simply with the guitar and simpler vocals just because...but overall nothing really about this song I can hate.

So Long is another ballad of the sad kind. It's about a girl who wishes her friend had saw her the same way she saw him. It's cute. Honestly...everything about this song is giving me late 90's pop. I love it. I can't even front.

Mr. Chu is at the end thankfully because I can skip it. I got the On Stage version which shits on this version.
Overall this is a really solid ep. Apink have a niche that I don't think they will be able to continue on in, but for now are doing a good job with. They are the nice little alternative to the maturing SNSD, and the more...fierce...2ne1. I'm not even into the "cute concept" but I do believe that they make it work. The music is very pink to give a color, and works well for spring. If I have a criticism, it is for a new listener I am not totally familiar with their voices; like I said they are all various shades of pink in my opinion with Eunji being the most vibrant and fuller color (due to her being the best vocalist in the group). I am also a little surprised that Namjoo was as active on the album as she was. Usually when you have a group with as big of a talent gap as Apink does (Namjoo and Bomi are the lead vocalists), you usually see the main vocalist kind of dominating the song and will always get the heavy lifting parts. But in some songs Namjoo was the one doing the high notes...strange.
Anyway this is the perfect Spring time album. Very safe, floaty, and sugary pop perfection.
4/5
Faves: Mr. Chu (On Stage), Crystal, Fairy Tale Love