Let’s get the super-biased, personal stuff out of the way first. Last year, I found Romeo to be one of the most promising rookie groups based on their work with composing/producing team Sweetune. We don’t get to hear enough from Sweetune anymore, and I was thrilled that this group seemed to be building their sound with my favorite producers. Then, their agency merged with another and they have seemed to abandon Sweetune for different (cheaper?) composers. For me, this is very disappointing and only serves to lessen their identity as a group.

Now that that’s out of the way, I can focus on Miro, which is actually pretty good. It’s not Target or Lovesick good, but it gets the job done. Rather than imitate Infinite this time around, the guys sound more like a junior version of Shinee. Miro pulses with the aggressive, sledgehammer dance hooks SM artists used to give us on the regular. It’s not a quiet song, for sure, and never opts for the subtle when it can bludgeon you over the head with high octane, rapid-fire repetition.

The verses are built on a hooky funk guitar riff, eventually exploding into a chorus that seems to be pulled in several directions at once. The first time through, I found it all a bit overwhelming, but I appreciate that the melody never seems stuck or predictable. Yes, it’s missing the sweeping melodic touch Sweetune would have given them, but I suppose this angular, hyper-speed dance attack is the next best thing. It certainly feels like a statement, and keeps their streak of glossy pop magic alive, even if it feels just a bit more generic than I would have liked.