Here is a translation of the review from IZM which gave the EP 1.5/5 stars:
ITZY, who debuted with “DALLA DALLA,” is no longer different. Although K-pop is a field skilled at closely observing trends and transfusing them, the method here is overly blatant. ITZY’s new release didn’t need to be the stage to prove that the Charli XCX-created storm of
<Brat>isn’t over. By aiming for a very high mountain, they failed to even cross the entrance, let alone the midway point. The direct sunlight poured out by the presence of the reference material makes even the shadows faint.“Kiss & tell” and “Walk” are similar to Charli XCX not only in their autotuned vocals but also in the way the beats and melodies are constructed. There are even several flaws, such as cramming in syllables, and the imitation itself wasn’t properly executed, accompanied by miscalculations. In many ways, this is a failure born of complacency. Moreover, music is not a product with a large price difference; the value is the same for anyone using a monthly subscription streaming service. If so, who would welcome uninspired reproduction? The listener would have gladly added it to their playlist if ITZY’s own answer could be seen amidst the repetition.
The title track is at least a step up from their previous work. More space is secured for their strength, which is performance, laying the groundwork for the stage. However, based on the prestige of the group that landed four consecutive hits from their debut to “Not shy,” this is an infinitely weak result. Furthermore, while digging into their last album revealed “Imaginary friend” as a hidden gem, this time it’s a case of showing a weak hand. “Lock n loaded,” a mix of rap, a hard-hitting beat, and a guitar solo, provides some backing, but the overall sense of diminishment doesn’t change.
ITZY’s position is shaking, so it seems inevitable that they will have to recover from the production aspect. This isn’t just because of this album. Broadly speaking, starting with
<Guess Who>in 2021, led by “Mafia in the Morning,” and more narrowly, with last year’s<Born to Be>and<Gold>, several albums have produced results that fell short of expectations. Although there were very slight upward trends at times, the continuous downward trend weakens any attempt at a rebound.Now in their 7th year, they are facing contract renewals, a turning point for idol groups. However, unlike their brilliant start, they are not achieving the same results as before, so a time for more intense contemplation and reorganization has come. After much deliberation, couldn’t they open a second act that continues the legacy of their early days? The final ending of any play with an intermission is not act 1, but act 2. A change of act is not a failure, but a chance for transition. Now is the time to make that second leap. As the members’ capabilities are outstanding, it is a shame for them to be remembered as a group that started strong but ended weak.
I totally agree with the main criticism here which is pretty much that the team behind choosing and producing ITZY’s music is failing to deliver them music that suits their strengths or showcases a unique identity anymore. Instead they are pretty much just following trends which is not a bad thing necessarily, but the execution is poor and they aren’t managing to bring anything new or interesting to the table. Which is important because you can tick all the boxes for whatever is trending but there really has to be something to grab an audience, to show them a little different spin on things and not just make them think “oh hey this sounds like X” and then just go back to listening to “X”.
The last two sentences are also spot on IMO. Initial contracts are almost over and they haven’t had a hit in a while. It’s not like they’re trapped by trying to reproduce recent successes and becoming formulaic. Now would have been a great time for them to be more bold, and do something that feels fresh and unique while still building on what made people pay attention to them for the first few comebacks. Whatever “Girls Will Be Girls” was, it definitely was not that. It’s not that it was a bad song…it was just kind of “there”. Like what exactly about this music is JYPe expecting to hook people and make ITZY’s music popular again? At this point it doesn’t feel like their team is trying, at least not as hard as ITZY deserve.
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