Thus far, Ha:tfelt has run the gamut when it comes to song style, making it difficult to imagine how her new music might sound before hearing it. Maybe that’s why new singles always feel like an unexpected surprise, unleashed upon the world to little fanfare but great curiosity. New single La Luna (라 루나) is the latest in a string of diverse material, embracing a faux-reggae beat that gives Ha:tfelt plenty of room to channel her charms.

This song is nothing revolutionary. Even the sound is something many K-pop acts have aped over the past few years, but La Luna knows exactly what it wants to be. It never once strays from that framework, continuously steered by its mid-tempo groove. That consistency may win it many fans within the genre, and Ha:tfelt is a surprisingly convincing conduit. She’s got a natural rhythm to her performance and a rich tone to her voice that help compensate for a relatively straightforward track.

In some ways, La Luna comes across as a less in-your-face version of former bandmate Sunmi’s 2017 hit Gashina. I was pretty cool on that song at first, but now consider it to be one of that year’s most memorable singles. In comparison, I’m not sure that La Luna will benefit from the same fate. Rather than act as the kind of song that compels your attention (in good or bad ways), it has an easy flow that feels more like the soundtrack to a moment than a centerpiece in its own right. I doubt I’ll ever want to skip it on a playlist, but I don’t know that I’ll be clamoring to hear it either.

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