Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
It has seemed like EVERGLOW has been away forever now, but perhaps that’s more of an indictment of the frenetic pace of the K-pop industry than anything, as they’re now back after not having a release since December of 2021. Yuehua Entertainment has sure as hell made sure it seemed longer than that, but regardless they’re back now with “SLAY” and it mostly fits in with their discography (outside of my favorite outlier, “La Di Da”).
There are times where “SLAY” seems to want to launch into a hype boy group track, but for the most part it’s more of a lurching and shouty affair, especially so during the post-chorus when the title is yelled over and over. That naturally invites BLACKPINK comparisons except with more vocals than rap, and I’m sure if that quartet released this, people would talk about it like it’s the greatest thing ever. Unfortunately, EVERGLOW doesn’t quite have that privilege, though things like a vocal-centric and minimalistic bridge make it an improvement in many respects.
While these types of songs will never be for me, there’s obviously a market for it, and “SLAY” at least seems like something that’s made to perform at concerts for fans to enjoy. Given their discography, it’d be a waste for Yuehua to not allow them to utilize what it’s basically made for.
