AOA’s “Excuse Me” has a driving beat that grows on you and an excellent concept

In case it wasn’t clear enough, I didn’t much care for AOA‘s “Bing Bing. Fortunately then, they also released “Excuse Me“, which was a much better overall effort.

The soft vocals on “Excuse Me” were noteworthy because it allowed basically all of the members to stay within their range instead of yelling over some instrumental clusterfuck like they usually have to. The benefits of that were reaped on “Excuse Me”, which sounds a lot more comfortable and confident from the group. Most importantly, the delivery most reminded me of the “love me, love me” part from “Lovefool” by The Cardigans, and that laid over a pulsating dance beat immediately provided a nice foundation to build on.

My primary concern as the song went along was that the “‘cuse me, ‘cuse me” hook was going to be overused and would eventually get stale by the end of the song, and while that did still play out to an extent, what saved it was the adjustment towards the end of the chorus where they go double-time with the escalating vocals. The rap break had me torn because it does disrupt the nice groove the song has going but it also provided a much needed reprieve from what can become a rather repetitive thumping bassline, so I think Jimin‘s contribution was well timed.

“Excuse Me” actually didn’t hit with me immediately, but after a few listens it became clear that it was rapidly growing on me thanks in large part to the fact that it’s undeniably toe-tapping and the “‘cuse me, ‘cuse me” is more of an earworm than I thought. Pair that with verses that fit into the ranges of the members for once and it was definitely an enjoyable release.

—–

The “Excuse Me” experience was only made better by the ‘Dick Tracy‘-esque and/or 50s private investigator concept that had a coherent plot and comically amazing visuals.

From the group…

…to the individuals…

…it was all amazing to behold.

The point dance is also hilariously fanservice-friendly, and for that I’m grateful.

Perhaps the best part of the tale, though? This tip of the fedora.

M-M-M’SEOLHYUN

Sums up a lot of what’s to come from this AOA comeback, I guarantee you.

—–

“Excuse Me” was a great way for AOA to start the year off, and it makes me wish it was their only title track. The song has flaws but generally powers through them by using the hook effectively and laying down an addictive beat, while the visuals are typically insane and the concept itself was well-executed and fresh. Hopefully everything goes smoothly for AOA during this comeback so we can truly see where they now stand in K-pop.

=====

‘Angel’s Knock’ Album

“Excuse Me” Song

About IATFB

Avatar photo
Thot Leaderâ„¢