With the recent announcement that boy group A.C.E would not be renewing their contracts with Beat Interactive, the agency’s decision to debut Newbeat seems even more important. These rookies are now the vanguard of the company, paving a new road forward. If their pre-releases were any indication, that road seems build around quirky, old-school hip-hop. For better or worse, title track Flip The Coin is more of the same.
The song kicks off with a now familiar rumble of bass. It’s the five millionth K-pop song to employ this 90’s sound. At this point, it takes an insane amount of skill and personality to breathe new life into the concept. Sadly, Flip The Coin quickly becomes unlistenable for me. It’s not that the track is any better or worse than any of its contemporaries (though it’s quite reductive in its approach). It’s just that the specific frequency of sound that occurs when K-pop boys shout-rap in unison gives me a headache. Somehow, the vocal blend always sounds exactly the same. Nothing about it is enjoyable.
For a brief moment, Flip The Coin offers a reprieve in the form of a guitar-backed breakdown. We get a glimpse of what Newbeat could sound like back with different material, but that promise is yanked away immediately because it’s more important that they shout “Flip the coin! Shut up, we’re gonna make some noise!” at us a few more times. I’d like to keep an open mind about this group. They very well may deliver incredible material in the future. But so far, I can’t get into anything they’ve released.
Hooks
5
Production
7
Longevity
7
Bias
6
RATING
6.25