The song was stuck in my head all day after I listened to Twice’s new single once the morning of its release. Only once.

That is what I call a catchy song.

As usual, Twice puts out music that’s a lot of fun. Twice isn’t the group that I’ll listen to for b-sides, but their title tracks are always A++ in terms of personality and danceability.

My willingness to suspend disbelief is stretched to the absolute max in the video, which is the story of what happens when party girls are stranded on a desert island, but it’s cute and fits the theme. I appreciate how the concept is stretched to its limits, with the girls wearing outfits that were cobbled together with shipwreck leftovers.

JYP is a personality-driven agency, and it shows in the way that they allow ‘impure’ aesthetics to exist when the motivation is right. (Not that the girls’ nighttime party scene costumes weren’t perfectly calculated.)

Jiyho and Jungyeon stole this video. Jihyo looks stunning, especially in that asymmetrical white party dress, and I’m so glad that Jungyeon is finally center for a chorus. Jungyeon stans, unite.

Anyway, this is a fun song that is Twice-level sticky that’ll be good to have around for summer. Sometimes that’s all you need–one little pick-me-up in your back pocket.

I took a minute to listen to the rest of this album at work today, and honestly it just made me want to listen to ‘Dumb Dumb’ by Red Velvet.

Red Velvet is the rare girl group that I enjoy beyond title tracks. (I’m not that into female vocals; it is what it is.) I think it’s because there’s usually a dark edge to offset the optimism that usually accompanies pop music.

That dark theme carries over to the concept of their newest Japan single, ‘#Cookie Jar.’

I’m a sucker for people who say “hashtag” out loud because I do it to.

Red Velvet always has such a good aesthetic vision in their videos. They’re the only girl group that I want to steal clothes from (especially ‘Ice Cream Cake’ and ‘Peek a Boo‘ eras).

#CookieJar is fun, with a nice funk groove. Nothing too groundbreaking but I wouldn’t turn it off. The reverb on the spoken ‘hashtag cookiejar’ is before the chorus is probably the catchiest part of the song, which isn’t saying much for it.

Japan comebacks are always a little beyond me, tbh. I never quite understand what’s going on. Part of it, I think, is that the market is quite a bit younger in Japan. For instance, Twice does cartoon anime versions of themselves, while Red Velvet is doing this. It’s more simplistic across the board.

Anyhow, ‘#Cookie Jar’ is nice, but forgettable.

It’s not really a battle, but Twice wins it anyway.