It’s exhausting to inform what Hearts2Hearts are aiming for throughout their debut yr. Are they the new-gen SNSD redux many people hoped for? Or, are they a moodier prospect with subdued sounds befitting Okay-pop’s present panorama? They are often each or course, however I’m craving a powerful musical id from the beginning. New title monitor Focus takes them in a distinct route, fusing a contemporary aloofness with a banging home beat.
If I had been to level out one overriding Okay-pop pattern of 2025, it will be “speaking over a beat.” The business has all the time integrated rap, however what the ladies are doing in the course of the refrain of Focus is way more monotone and “catwalk runway prepared” in execution. Hooks like this have a tendency to age poorly for me as a result of there’s simply not a lot to latch onto. Fortunately, every part round this refrain bursts with power, elevating an in any other case uninteresting tune with propulsive dancefloor drive.
This units up a irritating dichotomy. On one hand, I need to reward Focus‘s manufacturing. Certain, it doesn’t do something we haven’t heard one million occasions in home music earlier than, however I really like the fluidity of the groove and its sudden spikes of additional drama. However, the songwriters might have made this monitor legendary had they opted for a sequence of memorable melodies reasonably than the subdued fragments we now have right here. General, it is a success… however a reasonably minor one when in comparison with a monitor like RIIZE’s Unattainable and even Hearts2Hearts’s personal Model from earlier this yr.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Manufacturing | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B
