By: Fletcher Pike

Red Velvet is a popular K-pop girl group that was formed in 2014 with five girls, Irene, Wendy, Seulgi, Joy, and Yeri. Since then, they have released 3 full albums along with numerous EP’s, or extended plays, which are also called mini albums. One of these mini albums, named ‘Russian Roulette’, was released on September 7th, 2016. This mini album is their third ever mini album and includes 7 songs in total.

Track 1: Russian Roulette

This song is definitely the most popular song from this album, possibly even one of the most popular Red Velvet songs in general, having reached second on billboards. This song features a bright and joyful melody and was a big hit when the album was released. 

The music video that accompanies this song is colorful and bright but holds a bit of a darker meaning, as all the girls in the video are doing dangerous actions hence the name of the song “Russian Roulette”. This is a great song and I would rate it a 10/10.

Track 2: Lucky Girl

“Lucky Girl” is personally one of my favorite songs on this album. It starts off with a catchy brass sample that evolves into a vibrant beat. Sections of this song seem to have different kinds of styles or genres, as some parts are slower while other parts are faster, which was pretty interesting to hear. I think this has to be one of my favorite songs by Red Velvet, so I rate it a 10/10.

Track 3: Bad Dracula

“Bad Dracula” is also a very good song from this album. Like “Lucky Girl”, it starts off with a brass sample that reminds me a lot of old jazz music. It also includes a glitchy electronic melody over that and topped with some great vocals. I really liked this song and I will rate it a 10/10.

Track 4: Sunny Afternoon

“Sunny Afternoon” pretty much lives up to its title when it comes to the instruments included in the song. It’s bright and reminds me a lot of summer. This is a very good song with its stunning vocals. I rate this song a 10/10.

Track 5: Fool

I thought that “Fool” was pretty good, but it seemed a bit out of place on this album. The reason I think it is unique to the other songs on this album is the simplicity of the song. 

Most of the songs have a bit more instruments added but this song does not have that many. It is a cheerful song with a sunny guitar melody accompanied along with a glockenspiel. I will have to give this song an 8/10.

Track 6: Some Love

I’ll be completely honest with my opinion, but this is not my favorite song on this album, but it is still alright. It features an airy and echoey melody paired with a pop style beat. I will have to give this song a 7/10.

Track 7: My Dear

I really enjoyed this song and I think it is a good way to end an album. “My Dear” is upbeat with an electric piano bass along with some brass elements. I liked this song a lot and I would rate it a 10/10.

Overall, this album is an amazing creation made by Red Velvet that includes some of my favorite songs by them. I would have to rate this album a 9.5/10 and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of K-Pop.