It’s been eight years since WM Entertainment debuted its latest group, and a full decade since their last girl group. Thus far, it’s been quality over quantity for this agency. B1A4, Oh My Girl and ONF all have discographies that are pretty bulletproof. Now, it’s time for another act to join this impressive roster. Enter USPEER and their debut single Zoom.
K-pop’s girl groups are currently suffering from a sound effects syndrome. So many songs are built around onomatopoeia these days. By its very nature, this approach is hard for me to get my arms around. Not only does it tend to tip over into nursery rhyme territory, but sound effects themselves are more rhythmic than melodic. It’s difficult to forge the kind of robust melodies I enjoy around words like “zoom,” “beep,” or “tick tack.” USPEER attempt to work around this by stretching “zoom” into an undulating centerpiece, pulling on the word with relish. I appreciate the effort, but the resulting hook is more obnoxious than thrilling.
I hear great potential in many of Zoom‘s vocals, but the song is too fragmented to make much use of the talent. The rugged production recalls NCT while the pick-and-mix structure never lets one idea rest long enough to flourish. Apart from a few spikes of melodic drama, most of the track trades in the kind of scrappy sing-talk that usually fails to make a lasting impact. In a sea of bland, it’s nice to hear so many ideas stuffed into a single song. The problem is, very few of those ideas are ones I’m interesting in hearing again. Hopefully Zoom is a case of growing pains and the girls will find their footing during their first comeback.
Hooks
7
Production
8
Longevity
8
Bias
7
RATING
7.5