You know… P1harmony’s music really frustrates me sometimes. They’ve developed this habit of hiding excellent material as b-sides while promoting their most gimmicky tracks. January’s Killin’ It album was quite strong, but the title track didn’t feel representative or fresh. Judging by the highlight medley for their newest comeback, I fear this pattern continues.
Sad Song is one of those radio-friendly earworms that centers around a repetitive, structurally obvious chorus. I’m reminded immediately of Western groups like Maroon 5, who’ve made a career on such material. The immediacy of the melodies and production make this an obvious choice for promotion, but the sugar high wears off quickly because there’s too little going on under the hood of the song. It softens its hip-hop edge with Latin touches, recalling material NCT 127 might have favored during their “that’s that queso” era. This isn’t an ill-fitting sonic playground for P1Harmony, but the samples chosen only exacerbate Sad Song‘s repetitive nature.
While the track is well-performed, it feels like three minutes of the same riff over and over again. The chorus veers too close to the instrumental hook, failing to provide the contrast needed to make this style of production really pop. The group carry the song with plenty of energy, but I’m guessing (and hoping) there are more musically interesting things happening on the album itself.
Hooks
7
Production
8
Longevity
7
Bias
7
RATING
7.25