Le Sserafim is officially back with their first album “Unforgiven” after their smash hit “Antifragile”. I do have a hard time actually calling this an “album”, as half of the songs are taken from their previous mini albums… but that is a conversation for a different time. For this review, I will only be looking at their new songs on this project. As someone who absolutely LOVED their debut and has enjoyed their discography so far, this has been a highly anticipated project for me! Let us see how “Unforgiven” shapes up compared to their previous work! Let us dive in!

“Burn the Bridge”

As consistent with their previous projects, we are introduced to their album by an atmospheric intro track. This one takes a softer, more ethereal approach than their prior intro tracks. I really enjoy the dreamy guitar riff, which invokes a sense of nostalgia within me. I really enjoy how this track builds and progresses. However, my only complaint is there is just a little too much talking from the girls over the track. I don’t particularly mind that they talk over the track in general, but this one felt a little too overbearing, as the voices feel more over exposed and distracts too much from the gorgeous back track.

Rating: 7.5/10

“Unforgiven” (Feat. Nile Rodgers)

Moving on to the main star of the show, we have the title track “Unforgiven (Feat. Nile Rodgers)”, which takes us on a new journey conceptually, with a track filled with samples from the classic western film’s soundtrack “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”. Along with these samples, we have a fun little guitar riff that packs a punch from the legendary Nile Rodgers. Overall, I enjoy the direction they went with the song and I think the samples they used were very fun. However, I just feel like there is something missing or feels less impactful than their previous title tracks. I believe part of the reason is that the production on the track seems to not be full enough, or they didn’t give enough bass in certain sections that needed to be filled out more. I generally like the track, but im afraid to say that this one falls a little flat compared to their previous title tracks

Rating: 7/10

“No-Return (into the unknown)”

Next up, we have their first real B-side on the album “No-Return (into the unknown)”. I enjoy that this song shows the girls brighter side and this definitely feels like a song for the summer. The little brass sections in the track are cute and add more dimension to the song. My biggest complaint is how terribly dry the production sounds. I’m not sure what is going on with Sorce’s mixing equipment, but the bass feels very drowned out. Not to mention the vocals need much more layering in the chorus, as it almost hurts my ears from the way it is pitched. The girls sound good on the song though and is not their fault. I hope to hear better production in the future as this seems like a newer issue on this project.

6/10

“Eve, Psyche, and Bluebeards Wife”

Next we have a very interestingly titled track, “Eve, Psyche, and Bluebeards Wife”. And WOW, I mean WOW…. This song has no right going THAT hard. It would be an understatement to say this song is meant for the club! The production on this track is infinitely better, with a bass so rich it will hurt your stomach. I also love how they did the top line on this song; as it can be difficult to write for songs with such a strong and bombastic instrumental. This track gave me everything I wanted and expect from Le Sserafim. This might be in my top 3 favorite from them now!

Rating: 9/10

“FEARNOT (between you, me and the lamppost)”

Taking a sharp turn from the previous track, next up we have “Fearnot (between you, me and the lamppost)”. If any of you know from my previous reviews, you will already know this song is not my cup of tea. This ballad in particular feel very plastic and commercial. The guitar reminds me of a Home Depot commercial and I just cannot get that out of my head. Not much for me to really look into here, its a below average ballad and a very unnecessary addition to this latest project.

Rating: 4/10

“Flash Forward”

Next up we have the summery, city pop influenced track “Flash Forward”. I still have a similar complaint to many of the tracks on this album, as I find the overall production dry and dated. There is nothing particularly bad about this track, but I just find it lacks any progression or originality. The melodies are alright, just cant find anything too notable about them. Overall, just ok.

Rating: 6/10

“Fire in the belly”

Closing out the album we have the latin influenced track, “Fire in the belly”. This track unfortunately just didn’t make the mark for me. I found it to be quite dizzying to listen to and very messy. The brass sounds very inauthentic and plastic. It almost sounds like an AI generated latin song. Overall, disappointed in this track, but I will say the girls vocals sound nice.

Rating: 5/10

Final Thoughts and Rating

I am slightly sad and disappointed to say that Le Sserafim’s first album fell a little flat for me. Out of the 7 new songs we got from the girls, there was truly only one song that had any impact on me. I do feel like some of the songs had potential to be better, but were ultimately brought down by bad production. Although, I felt this was not the strongest piece of work the girls have put out, I am still looking forward to see how they improve and evolve their sound in the future.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

Best song: “Eve, Psyche, and Bluebeards Wife”

Worst song: “FEARNOT (between you, me and the lamppost)”