[#4] Nine Muses - "Wild"

From: "Wild"
Released: May
Territory: South Korea
Previous Best of Entries: 2011: [#50] "Figaro" / 2012: [#24] "News"
Other notable song(s) from 2013: "Dolls", "Gun", "Glue", "Miss Agent", "Time's Up"

If you asked me back in 2010 if I thought Nine Muses would ever get to this point, I'd scoff at you for such a ridiculous thought, because "No Playboy" really was a total disaster. But what is working in K-Pop without a few surprises, and Nine Muses' ascent is definitely one of the biggest surprises of my career as a K-Pop fan and writer.

2013 has been very, very good to Nine Muses -- "Dolls" "Wild," "Gun," and "Glue" are all extremely strong songs and I think have cemented Nine Muses' identity and the fact that they are capable of delivering quality pop. And so choosing between those three singles was difficult, especially between "Gun" and "Wild." But I think what sets "Wild" apart is that shows the wonders of a good song even more obviously. It shows exactly what the right material does for a group, and just how important A&R is in the making of a pop act.

Because really, what has really made Nine Muses is the fact that they've been getting better and better material over the years. That really is essential for a pop act -- a lot of people in pop can sing, so what will set acts apart is what they sing, and how they sing it. And Nine Muses have the best of the what, so good that it positively influences the how.

Touches of Sweetune are all over this -- it's a slick, stylish, but very much substantial pop song. And it's not ashamed of that. It has all the trendy synths, the computerized drums, the "cool" electric guitars, all put together with a sense of musicality. They weren't just thrown together last-minute, and you see this in the dynamics -- each element is given time to show off, like the thumping bass at the second verse or the dramatic piano line that stays constant throughout but closes off the song.

"Wild" also brings together the instrumental and the melody extremely well -- with such a tightly-packed arrangement with so much movement going on, you'd think the melody would either end up creating too much friction, or would just laze around. It does neither. In fact, it even makes the song sound that much more powerful, per se. It's a singable melody, which is perfect considering the groups' limited vocal prowess, but it's still very melodic. They're not talking their way through the song, unlike other less vocally-proficient groups. The melody is feminine where it has to be, like during the verses, but the short lines give it urgency and a bit of drama. Because of the relative simplicity of the melody, it just clicks with the instrumental -- it's just as slick as all the synths running around, but it also pulls everything together and it knows when to let what take center stage.

"Wild" is a well-done, polished song, with impeccable production and proficient delivery. It's a pleasure to listen to, and even after almost half a year of listening to it. It definitely deserves to be the highest-ranking girl group entry on this year's countdown.

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