Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
When I think about it, Hyolyn has come off surprisingly anonymous for the last few years compared to even 2018 solo efforts, much less when she was in SISTAR. Not sure if that’s a company issue or not, but thankfully she’s returned with an energy that only a few in K-pop can consistently deliver with “Layin’ Low“.
Despite describing more of a toxic love than anything else, “Layin’ Low” sounds every bit the hoe/thot anthem (in the Megan Thee Stallion way, not the ex-DAY6 Jae way) category of R&B jam and thank god she’s back on this shit cause it feels like it’s been a missing piece of the palette in Korean music recently.
Sera knows the deal.
This is sort of like if “Dally” was more rhythmic and alluring than in your face, with Hyolyn understanding the assignment and keeping her power under wraps early, sticking with the seductive and sultry atmosphere. This in itself creates tension, as that’s always in her back pocket as something she can utilize, which she does in the beautiful bridge that has a back-and-forth with Jooyoung and concludes with an explosive moment from Hyolyn. Speaking of Jooyoung, his introduction in the second verse is key to this whole affair, as his vocal tone is perfect for this sound and his interjections prevents a song with a simple instrumental foundation from becoming monotonous.
Still, the centerpiece of “Layin’ Low” is the chorus, where Hyolyn’s effortless vocal powers a catchy central melody that’s subtly addicting with a lot of replay value. The fact that Hyolyn could probably just sit back and sing for OSTs but instead chooses to do tracks like this is appreciated, as she fills a rather large hole in the K-pop musical landscape and manages to impress while she’s there.
