Rookies MCND quickly established their sound in 2020 – a playful blend of energetic hip-hop and trendier boy group tropes. Their music was at its best when it embraced its inherent goofiness (Ice Age remains a guilty pleasure), and new single Crush (우당탕) returns to that tone. The song is more of an extension than an upgrade, but it’s still pretty fun.
Crush grooves on an upbeat, funky instrumental. Its chosen loops and samples sit firmly within today’s trends, but the instrumental finds a satisfying rhythm that keeps the excitement high. Most of the track feels highly indebted to NCT’s work. There are parts that sound almost identical to Make A Wish or Boss. And from a commercial standpoint, you can hardly blame Top Media for wanting to indulge in a piece of that money-making pie.
But, what I appreciate about Crush (and MCND in general) is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The chorus has an exaggerated – almost comical – delivery that accentuates the group’s youth and feels in keeping with the boisterous production. A taunting guitar loop compliments this mischievous sound, while the insistent snare ensures a certain level of rhythmic consistency. The entire thing ends just where you’d expect it to: a rousing, chant-along finale. As with most of the track, I think more inventive things could have been done here. But, at least Crush has something to build toward. And though I don’t think the song will become as big a grower as Ice Age, its light-on-its-feet delivery and engaging spirit warrant a slightly higher rating.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
As someone who is not yet on the MCND train yet, I will take a 3rd person perspective. This is a pretty good move for them. It fills out their sound by coloring in the lines to solidify who they are. It isn’t as audacious as “Ice Age”, but they don’t need another “Ice Age” until another 6 months or more from now, because otherwise they would get too much of a kitsch fringe label, the kind that appeals to the International fans. (such as Dongkiz or MONT) This confirms their commitment to mainstream kpop, which is a bigger market than the handful of us over here who dig kitsch.
Its alright. Its youthful. It is playful with conventional contemporary hip hop styling to still have effectiveness for its desired audience and remaining within a PG rating.
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Kind of puzzled at the rating, the hook is beyond obnoxious sounding to me
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This is a blast – I also immediately heard the NCT similarities. I agree that they’re wise to keep it lighthearted; the po-faced approach can work, but… they didn’t really do anything interesting with it on ‘nanana’.
What I DON’T love is the delay between the video dropping and the song’s availability on streaming. I think this has been consistent with their releases, and I wonder what the strategy is – I imagine there must be one, but as someone who’s prone to moving on if I don’t add to my library immediately, it comes at a cost!
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Run up the mv views before people can stream?
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Agree here. If it isn’t in itunes on that day, I might scrawl the artist+title on my daily to do work list and check again in a day, or maybe if it is reminded to me at the end of the month I might look for it again, but if it isn’t there on that same day, usually I forget about it. Unless it is SuJu or someone I really care about.
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The first thing that i have noticed is the make a wish similarities not only in music but in the mv also…
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This one is not that deep – it’s just a lot of fun. Comparison with NCT is indeed inevitable here. Not only the production but also their rap flow and the way the singing and rap interchange sounds a lot like the mentioned NCT tracks. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. My head is bopping. I like the little instrumental break. Not bad!
As much as I like it now, I could see that chorus & riff become grating over time. Then again, I thought that about Make A Wish and that song only grew on me, so..
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mcnd is find their own color, I like it this song
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Not my favorite song by them, but I am not disappointed. From the first listen, the part that I liked the most was the chorus. It is a little goofy, but as you said, that is where MCND shines. The verses would have my attention wane away, but with further listens I could appreciate them more.
Now I do like the song, but I am not a huge fan of the music video. I do not know why yet, but something in it clashes with the song to me. I am no expert in music videos in any means though. I could just be a little picky.
I hope MCND continues with this sound because it has really given them a distinct vibe and separated themselves from other artists to me.
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Edit: Nevermind the music video has grown on me and I like it now. This is why I need to watch it several times before writing anything because my impression always changes.
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buried treasure for me is definitely KO, OK!, it perfectly balances their hip hop tendencies with some showcases of the group’s vocalists. i really like the pre-choruses! honestly, mcnd’s title tracks focus a little too much on the rappers. meanwhile, KO, OK! solves all of that while leaving a catchy hook to spare
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Yeah, that’s probably my favorite b-side as well. But, I find the album to be pretty disappointing on the whole and won’t be featuring a buried treasure. Top Media really needs to find them stronger, more unique material.
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I really hope that MCND are given much better material as time goes on, They seem to have loads of potential and Crush just showcases it to a tee.
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It’s funnily stupid, and pretty catchy. It’s nothing amazing but a fun song, I enjoy it!
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