Debut girl group Pixy is perhaps most notable as the new home of former Cherry Bullet leader Mirae (rechristened Ella, here). Their pre-release teasers hinted at a darker, fantasy-themed concept. I’m always up for more fantasy aesthetics in K-pop, especially since Oh My Girl has all-but abandoned them of late. However, Wings plays more like a bad dream than a magical wonderland.
Despite the promise of those teasers, Wings feels like Pixy’s attempt to harness some of that edgy BLACKPINK popularity. It’s a “hard” dance track, which just means there’s a lot of shouting and clattering beats. And boy, are there plenty of both! The girls enlist the kind of hulking, brassy synth distortion favored by so many boy groups, throw an endless supply of errant hi-hats over the top, and struggle to find anything resembling an actual melody.
It’s not the group’s fault, of course. I wish every K-pop debut all the success in the world, especially within such a cutthroat industry. But, this song does little to distinguish Pixy from the pack. Worse yet, it does little to stick in listeners’ memories. It comes across as a joyless series of breakdowns, anchored by a heavy chant and piercing screams. There’s a way to fashion these tones into compelling music. I’m not against darkness or drama in pop music. But, idol group composers need to get more creative than this. It’s a shame, because there are some really nice vocals within Wings’ maelstrom of noise. The pre-chorus is an oasis of sorts, pointing toward a promising future for Pixy if only they’d find stronger material.
| Hooks | 5 |
| Production | 6 |
| Longevity | 6 |
| Bias | 5 |
| RATING | 5.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
There are times when I have a mental bingo card for kpop. This song hits multiple bingos. Its like a mashup of every A list and B list kpop girl groups style from the past year, in one song! A bit Blackpink here, Jenny, a bit G-idle there, a bit Dreamcatcher for a while with bonus points for the Dreamcatcher theming, and bit Everglow for another while.
Oh, there are the rap triplets again. Bingo!
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I want to like this, and I do better than the WEi song, but ouch this ain’t good.
Back to Beautiful Beautiful I guess!
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I was confused with the whispering in the beginning but intrigued. Then, the main beat came in and I was like “No Ma’am”. The delivery is fine but that type of instrumental has been so overplayed. The prechorus gave me hope, and I really was hoping the vibe of the prechorus would be closer to the direction the rest of the song took or at the very least a great chorus. I actually feel like I could’ve been down with a chant chorus had that drop not been there. I get where they were trying to go with this but I wish the song stuck more to the parts that actually fit with their fantasy concept. Those verses and that chorus doesn’t give me fantasy at all.
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Mirae probably should’ve stuck with cherry bullet if this is the route PIXY is going to take. Obviously, I don’t know went on behind the scenes though I’m only talking about the music
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I knew this song was coming. I read about it. I saw the teasers. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I read your review, Nick, and you make some valid points. Seeing the score you gave it, I wasn’t very hopeful going in.
Note: As far as Mirae/Ella. When I heard she was leaving CB to join another group, I wondered if she was making a mistake. You know when you’re on the highway and it starts to become congested. You start wondering if you’re in the right lane. That other lane sure does seem to be moving faster, but if I change to it, will it then become the slow lane? Should I just stick to this lane? Ugh! What to do. What to do?
As far as “Wings”, the MV started and I tried to steel myself for some BP’esque “close, but no cigar” fiasco. Then something strange happened. I became intrigued. Sure, it’s easy to start connecting elements of this to BP, Dreamcatcher, æspa, et al, but if you dig deeper into the music, there is some really interesting alchemy bubbling away in the mix. Dissonant woodwinds drifting underneath? Some aggressive experimentation with percussion. Even the vocals have some interesting flourishes. Even in the thundering build-ups, there’s some capriccioso flair. Hmm.. ..if I didn’t know any better, I’d think I actually like this. A lot.
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To each his (or her one).
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dammit
meant to say
To each his (or her) own.
there
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