Unafraid to showcase the beauty of the grotesque and question their deepest desires, South Korean girl group (G)I-DLE returned with the gothic lead single “Oh my god” on their album I Trust this April 6. Fresh off their run on the competition show Queendom, the six people powerhouse astounded fans with a deliciously dark concept after a nine month hiatus following their last release, “Uh-Oh.”

Check out this nightmarish rendition of “Put It Straight,” a track from their second album I Made. 

Dripping with mysterious echoes, the song begins with a desperate prelude, half sung, half whispered by member Minnie. She recounts her woes of losing control and being “blinded by the glaring sky” while falling into someone’s embrace.

The theme of an inescapable love affair is further explored in the verses (accompanied by a groovy electric piano) and pre-choruses. However, the climax is an unexpected “anti-drop” where a sudden decline in rhythm highlights the sultry, confession like chorus. Sung all in English, the girls dreamily praise a “she” who lifted them out of the misery and showed them “all the stars.” Far from a one off, the second rap verse by leader Soyeon (who also helped write, compose and arrange this song) asks a higher power how she’s going to “escape from her” and bravely asks to take on the punishment for adoring this person.

While Soyeon leaves space for fan theories, the music video for “Oh my god” toys with sapphic elements as the six members are separated in troops of angels and demons. Lighting, background dancers and set pieces heighten the extremes, with some members sporting floor length white gowns and others writhing around in dark red mud. In a striking monochrome interlude (not included in the official track), member Soojin caresses her fellow members’ faces while whispering “Ab Imo Pectore,” which means “from the bottom of my heart with the deepest affection” in Latin.

Soojin later confirmed in a behind-the-scenes video for the music video that she portrays a devil trying to seduce the rest of the girls.

Beyond all the diverse representation (G)I-DLE offers, this comeback marks the third installment of their “I” series, which includes the two prior albums I Am and I Made. With this album, as the name suggests, (G)I-DLE continues their streak of being an independent girl group in control of their image, from songwriting and producing to coming up with inspiration for their music videos.
“I took love as a metaphor for the process of trusting oneself no matter what kind of reality they’re in,” Soyeon said during their worldwide debut of “Oh my god” with TongTong Culture.

Thumbnail image licensed via WikiMediaCommons.