译Pitchfork评NewJeans 2022年单曲“Cookie”

翻译：thesweetescape

原文链接：https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/new-jeans-cookie/

Under the direction of K-pop mastermind Min Hee-jin, the new K-pop girl group offers a remarkably strong debut.

在KPOP企划大师闵熙珍的指引下，该新秀女团强势出道。

NewJeans are a Y2K-inspired five-member girl group masterminded by Min Hee-jin, the music exec and creative director behind the branding of some of K-pop’s best acts (f(x), Red Velvet). Under her direction, NewJeans’ launch has been the most elaborate campaign in K-pop this year. Every song on their self-titled EP comes with music videos, with one track boasting four. The label has even made a custom phone app where you can play games and interact with each member of the group.

NewJeans是由闵熙珍策划的Y2K风格的五人女团。闵熙珍是KPOP顶级女团（f(x)、Red Velvet）的幕后音乐执行人和创意总监。在她的掌陀下，NewJeans组合的推出可以说是今年韩国流行音乐界最精心策划的项目。她们的同名EP收录了四首歌曲，每首歌都拍摄了MV，其中一首（“Hype Boy”）更是拍摄了4个版本的MV。唱片厂牌甚至为她们量身定制了一款手机软件，使用者可以在里面玩游戏并与每位成员互动。

Such ambition also translates to the music, a plush and stylish collection of ’90s and ’00s-indebted R&B with production from two risk-taking figures in the Korean underground: Jinsu Park of the experimental rap duo XXX, and 250, a producer who embarked on a years-long journey to craft a contemporary version of traditional Korean trot. The EP’s most interesting selection is “Cookie,” a weightless groove about courting a crush. Whimsical synths, faint 808s, and wobbling low end create bubbly momentum, grounded by members’ sly and elongated delivery of the titular “cookie.”

如此的雄浑野心也体现在歌曲上，致敬90-00年代奢华时髦的R&B音乐，大胆采用两位韩国地下音乐制作人：来自双人实验说唱组合XXX的Jinsu Park，和数年来致力于打造现代韩式快步舞曲的250。EP里最有趣的歌曲是“Cookie”，一首讲述向心仪男生表白的轻盈动感歌曲。异想天开的合成器音效，轻微的808鼓点，摇摇欲坠的低音营造出泡沫的劲头，再加上成员们延长声线的隐讳演绎，献上了这份并非名义上的“饼干”。

The bridge finds a simple, elegant detour by way of Jersey club. “Cookie” ditches the oft-sampled bed squeak and focuses on the beat; the only other K-pop single to feature such direct homage is XUM’s “DDALALA.” The sudden inclusion of this rapid stuttering extends the song’s cutesy schoolyard demeanor into hopscotching ebullience. “I want to ruin your diet,” they sing, following up with ad-libs to further assert their dominance. The best K-pop songs have always transformed their acculturations into a site for stylistic adventurousness, and “Cookie” does so gracefully. It's a remarkably strong showing, even based on the high standards Min has set.

歌曲bridge桥段转向简约精巧的新泽西俱乐部风格。歌曲“Cookie”摒弃了床铺嘎吱作响的寻常音效，而专注于节拍；在其他KPOP单曲中只有XUM组合的歌曲“DDALALA”如此处理。忽然掠过的口吃磕绊将歌曲从学生妹矫揉造作的讨好姿态上升至跳房子嬉耍时的朝气蓬勃。“I want to ruin your diet,”她们唱道，随后意气风发地大胆发言，彰显自己的主动身份。最优质的KPOP歌曲总是敢于突破自我地兼收并蓄开拓创新。歌曲“Cookie”优雅动听地实现了此举。就算以闵熙珍的超高标准考察，这首歌依旧表现出色。