Fresh off their pre-release ballad Saturn last week, MADEIN are back with their latest title track Love, Afraid (사랑, 두려움). That title might as well stand for the dueling emotions listeners have felt before and after sexual abuse allegations were leveled at the group’s CEO. It’s a messy, unsure time to be a MADEIN fan, but that doesn’t mean the music can’t still be great, right?
I’m confident Love, Afraid is a great song in some form, but it would require a rearrangement to fully capture its potential. At its best, the track recaptures the magical, melodic heft of K-pop’s third generation. I’ve been waiting for a modern girl group to tackle this sound, singing with their full chest as dynamic melodies back them up. I’d hesitantly put Love, Afraid‘s chorus in this category, which shows great potential for MADEIN going forward.
However, the song frustrates as much as it thrills. Up until the second verse, we’re coasting nicely along. My head is bopping and it feels like we’re ready to crest into an increasingly ornate arrangement. Instead, the bottom drops out and we must slog through an overly busy — yet oddly reserved — second verse that stalls momentum. The more I listen to this the less of an issue it becomes, but it’s still a sonic leftover from K-pop’s fourth gen that I could do without. On the whole, there’s much more “good” than “bad” here, and that’s enough to pull the track across the finish line. I just wish I could rave about it without any qualifiers.
Hooks
8
Production
8
Longevity
8
Bias
8
RATING
8