Album Review - Forever 1 by Girls' Generation (2022)

This year (2022 as I'm writing this) is Girls' Generation's 15th debut anniversary. To celebrate this occasion, the members released their first full album (and their first music as a full group) in five years: their 7th full album, Forever 1! I'm so excited to review this, so without further ado, let's go!

1. Forever 1 - This is a super energetic song that is definitely my song of the summer! This is an absolute earworm, and the kind of bright and happy song that just perks you up, you know? Tiffany's "we're not stopping" at the beginning seems to be (and I hope is) a statement that Girls' Generation are back, which is very exciting for me as a SONE who's never experienced an SNSD comeback before! And the notes harkening back to Into The New World in the bridge are amazing, and kind of feel like they're acknowledging where they came from and where they're at now. This song feels like I'm at a festival/concert and I love it!


2. Lucky Like That - This is a chiller, yet still happy and upbeat song! This song is pretty relaxing to listen to, and gives me vibes of sitting inside eating ice cream on a summer afternoon. I love the guitar solo! The only thing is maybe an extra chorus at the end would've been nice, but other than that, I really like this song!


3. Seventeen - This is another pretty chill song, but not as upbeat as Lucky Like That. I really like Hyoyeon's rap verse! Other than that, this song is good, but not as good to me as the prior two songs.


4. Villain - This song is pretty (pardon my French) badass! Honestly, it reminds me of something that a boygroup would put out, and it's particularly reminiscent to me of Fallin' on Verivery's newest album. (Check out my review of that album here - shameless self promo Lizzie out!)


5. You Better Run - This song is lyrically a sequel to Girls' Generation's 2010 single "Run Devil Run". It's once again pretty badass, but a little more forgettable than Villain. I do love the references, though.


6. Closer - This is probably my favourite of the slower b-sides on this album! This once is kinda slow, kinda upbeat and another chill song (am I overusing the word chill? Oh well.) Anyways, I love the instrumental here! This is the kind of song that makes me want to tap along to the beat. I love this one!


7. Mood Lamp - This is a calm, relaxed ballad that's a pleasant experience, but not particularly memorable. It's pretty good!


8. Summer Night - This is probably my least favourite song on this album. It's not bad, just forgettable. Pretty meh.


9. Freedom - This is another more chill/relaxed song, but this one has a little bit of the badass sound from Villain and You Better Run. It's pretty good.


10. Paper Plane - My second favourite of the slower songs besides Closer! This song's title reminds me of the paper plane from the Into The New World music video and this is probably one of the most Girls' Generation-feeling tracks on this album. It just exudes pure SNSD to me! Honestly, this reminds me of Holiday Night, their 6th full album from 2017. This is a great song to end the album on a high note! (Pun intended.) I love it!