Song Review: Yerin – Aria

While GFriend may no longer be, its members have kept busy by 2022. VIVIZ wades its way through season two of Queendom and Yuju debuted as a soloist. The next is Yerin, who has signed a contract with the Sublime Artist Agency and is out with his first mini-album. Debut solo single Aria are not worlds away from GFriend’s material, but lack the punch and individuality that marked their best work.

In just two and a half minutes, Aria is a piece of a song. It comes and goes, just as you begin to get into it, pulsating on a modest dance beat that would not feel out of place in a fashionable store. Yerin is a competent vocalist, but does not bring much personality to the track. Of course a song like Aria does not provide many opportunities for identity. Its push-and-pull beat drops are slavishly fused together in locking steps and move in all the expected directions. On the one hand, this continuity is satisfactory. But it’s also a little boring.

While I’m glad the former GFriend members have branched out on their own, the sting of their sudden dissolution has been amplified by how generic most of their post-group output has sounded. Aria exacerbates this fear. It’s just fine, but feels like it could have appeared as a b-side on any number of girl group albums. It’s very IZ * ONE in execution, which can scratch the itch of those who still mourn the dissolution of that group. In any case, I would love to see Yerin embrace a sound that is more unique to her. B-sides punchy pop-rock Believer is already a more promising start.