Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
TWICE are back one more time before the end of the year with “Heart Shaker“, and I thought it was quite representative of the musical best and worst of the group. Thankfully, they managed to hit the most important part of a pop song out of the park.
Generally speaking, I haven’t been a huge fan of TWICE’s musical footprint if we include all their songs and not just the singles. When the hook doesn’t bang, like with “Signal” (or “Cheer Up“, fight me), their efforts can accurately be described as childish, simplistic, and a generally unpleasant listen. However, when the hook works like it did on “TT” (or “Knock Knock“, fight me), all of that can be swept under the rug due to sheer addictive quality.
“Heart Shaker” perfectly captured my feelings on TWICE’s music within about one minute of time, wherein during the verse I decided this sounded like a generic aegyo smorgasbord that was again performed with vocals oddly soft and high, but when the hook hit I resigned myself to loving hearing it over and over because of how fresh and catchy it was. Actually, labeling it just a hook would be selling it short, as it’s a proper chorus with a wonderful melody and it deserves credit for building everything around the “shaker shaker” hook as well.
Another thing is that the consistently upbeat tempo of “Heart Shaker” definitely helps to pave over some of the song’s flaws by just keeping everything feeling like it was flowing quickly to the unstoppable chorus.
I’ve always enjoyed TWICE as a group of idols, but I’ve never felt inclined to necessarily cape for their music even if it’s been generally enjoyable. Still, it’s impossible to deny that they’ve found a way to make their sound work through the consistent development of earworm hooks, and “Heart Shaker” lands among their best. Looking forward to hating myself for weeks when I can’t get it out of my head.
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