Debuts from major agencies are always exciting, but we really haven’t seen any yet this year. TOP Media isn’t one of K-pop’s biggest agencies, but their roster (Teen Top, 100%, UP10TION) are certainly known to most idol fans. With Ice Age, rookies MCND officially join that line-up. This comes after pre-release TOP Gang, which I found to be overly noisy and hookless. Back in January, I had hoped that their full debut might explore different musical territory. However, Ice Age is a similarly rap-heavy beast.
A track like this will never be completely within my wheelhouse, but I can appreciate its innate goofiness. Unlike TOP Gang, which offered swagger over substance, Ice Age introduces a bit of fun. It’s still noisy and seemingly allergic to melody, but I can’t help but smirk when the guys shout “ice hail!” with an earnest commitment to their staged sense of badassery. It’s just so stupid, and I like this kind of stupid.
Unfortunately, as a actual song Ice Age leaves me wanting more. Apart from its catchy, rambunctious hook, there’s not a lot to sink your teeth into. The instrumental pounds with the kind of trap-meets-EDM fury that underlines nearly every track these days. It clobbers you over the head from the very first moment, not unlike the more polarizing work of a group like NCT. With the majority of its verses (and chorus) devoted to hard-hitting rap, the scraps of melody left behind are relegated to the pre-chorus. Sadly, this segment lacks a sense of identity. It’s well-performed, but could have been ripped from any other song of this genre. That’s problematic when considering a rookie group who need to quickly establish their own lane. More than anything, MCND’s chosen sound seems to involve a lot of shouting. I’m not sure I’m sold on that.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
…I really thought you would hate this, I know I do.
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Well, I wouldn’t say I *like* this, either! I just find some of its stupidity kind of charming 🙂
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I thought the best part of this was the post-chorus where they raps one after another, it sounds pretty smooth.
The rest of the is……not good
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I thought the best part of this was the post-chorus where they raps one after another, it sounds pretty smooth.
The rest of the song is……not good
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Let’s just call this one polarizing. Well, the chorus at least is polarizing. The verses are generic, and just stretching material before that chorus … Is it a chorus or a refrain?
It reminds me that sonny boy has been begging me to take him to see Sonic the Hedgehog movie. This would be a song from that sort of movie, that or Teen Titans Go, except you would only hear that chorus (or refrain) thrice, while they are locked in a freezer and Sonic or teen Robin does their thing to get them all out.
I will agree that these boys do their best to sell the shit out of this song. The enthusiasm dial is on 11. Teen TItans Go would also sell the shit out of this song.
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I really, really like this. It is really catchy.
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well , I will looking for theses young boys, they have so much to show us
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I’m back here to say this: Fine. I hated it. It grew on me. I’m keeping my eyes on this group!
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honestly ice age was my favorite 2020 debut. it was really energetic to me, and i can always bop to it. with what you said about how loud it is, i dont see an issue. either because i like that kind of music and i just dont know it, or im used to it with their other music. all their music sounds a bit like noise music with everything, but i like how it all sounds. im glad i did discover this group, at the moment they’re my favorite group i’ve discovered aside from bts. one of my favorite parts from the whole music video is the little hand thing minjae and huijun when their parts come. i agree that the song had mostly rap, but most of their songs do anyway and i like it a lot. i think that’s just because im biased on rap lines-
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mcnd literally has THE BEST music but are STILL underrated??? HOWW
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