About a month after pre-release BYOB (Bring Your Own Best Friend), Billlie are back with title track DANG! (Hocus Pocus). That’s a lot of parenthesis! This one-two shot further establishes them as a quirky group who exist just outside the mainstream.
DANG! enlists songwriters Daniel Caesar and Ludwig Lindell among its team of four, and if those names sound familiar you’re probably recalling their epic pop track Red Flavor by Red Velvet. It’s no wonder that DANG! feels a bit SM-ified — as filtered through Billlie’s off-kilter worldview. The track retains the sing-song style of earlier singles, utilizing chirpy vocal effects for a post-chorus earworm that will either enchant or repel.
I’m somewhere in the middle. I don’t find DANG! cloying, but it’s not particular interesting either. It has a slight marching band sound that reminds me of 2010’s-era girl groups but doesn’t bring many new ideas into the fold. Its chorus is catchy, yet the overall vibe can’t quite match the understated appeal of BYOB. For now, the song feels like a lateral move rather than an exciting new development in Billlie’s fascinating discography.
Hooks
7
Production
8
Longevity
8
Bias
8
RATING
7.75