When last we heard from Kiss Of Life back in April, they were mining a Y2K sound the way so many of their peers have done over the past few years. Y2K has been one of their musical inspirations since debut, but they’ve found most success with sultrier summer fare like 2024’s Sticky. New single Sweat attempts to replicate that appeal to mixed results.
Right off the bat, Sweat feels like a direct successor to J.Y. Park’s Wet from a couple weeks ago. Obviously Kiss Of Life are very different artists, but the song’s thumping drum beat and repetitive chorus (that just so happens to rhyme with “et”) can’t help but feel a little familiar. Sweat boasts a bit more melody at its core, but is still a repetitive dance track with one main idea.
I’m a fan of the synth blasts that punctuate each line of Sweat‘s chorus. Sure, they’re a bit gimmicky but they add needed texture to the otherwise monotonous groove. The same can be said about the occasional peaks of head voice that break up the hyper-repetitive hook. But apart from these touches, Sweat feels like a bunch of short sentences strung together into a song. It’s just too predictable and plodding to leave much of an effect.
Hooks
7
Production
8
Longevity
8
Bias
7
RATING
7.5