T1419’s debut Asurabalbalta was one of the few K-pop singles that never grew on me. And, it definitely had the opportunity! I feel like I watched it promoted on music shows for months. To me, Asurabalbalta was emblematic of the worst “noise pop” that’s taken over certain sub-sections of the industry’s boy group landscape. Add to that a group name that fosters no curiosity whatsoever, and you’ve got a rookie act who have their work cut out for them.
I’m eager for T1419 to release something that catches my ear. New single Exit is a step in the right direction, but still feels under-formed and generic. The rubbery bass that opens the track calls all the way back to H.O.T’s Warrior’s Descendent days, and I’d love to hear the rest of the song replicate that charm. There are flashes of creativity here and there – especially the filtered background chants and spiraling synth samples – but the track could use more bite.
I appreciate how specific Exit sets its sights. It’s a good old-fashioned hip hop track, and doesn’t twist itself in multiple directions trying to be something else. The head-nodding beat is very early-00’s Dr. Dre, and carries a certain level of nostalgia. Meanwhile, the brassy distortion that makes up the bridge/dance break is pure K-pop bombast, and should have been jettisoned altogether. In between, we have some decent rap verses and a swaggering chorus that doesn’t go hard enough. It’s all quite pleasant and much less obnoxious than their debut, but I think T1419 still have a way to go.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I was nodding my head the whole time until the breakdown, it messed up the groove for me. I absolutely loved the chants, I wish they played with them more, they could’ve been a good basis for a climax. I’m conflicted with the chorus, one hand the way it is keeps it “head noddable” but at the same time a little bit of oomph would be appreciated.
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Honestly, most music has it purpose for me. I have the songs I listen to when I travel, the songs I listen to when I wanna dance, and songs I listen to when working out which is where T1419 slots in (noise, hiphop, edm usually fall here). I honestly wouldn’t listen to their music otherwise. This is definitely the first song they’ve had that might go on my regular playlist
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After so may times talking about a toy xylophone sound, one actually shows up. It starts at 0:33, and again at 1:42
The performance and the boys here are fine. They are seriously let down by the one note instrumental.
Literally one note. That one note C# that keeps hammering on a rigid quarter note beat on 4/4 time throughout the chorus and it drives me nuts. It is drilling into my skull. And then just to hammer it in more, they repeat it under the second verse with other sounds 1:30 a flute-like sound, then my bad boy xylophone at 1:42. BUM bum bum bum, BUM bum bum bum, and repeat for three minutes. It is as if they are trying desperately to craft a clever ostinato, trying to achieve an EXO “Growl” level of ostinato, but instead of producing something musical they leave it at one note.
(Ostinato being a repeated line through the song that is a defining characteristic of that song. Similar to a hook, but a hook tends to be more front and center and longer. You can play a hook above an ostinato line, but not vice versa.)
And then they start my other new “favorite” musical cheat: playing with all the cool sounds buttons on the synth, such as 1:51 that descending electro-creep line.
OK I am done.
(Nick – as an aside – you have left Asaurablablablah off the A-Z reviews tab list.)
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This gives me the opportunity to go off topic and post a awesome example of ostinato in the Peter Gunn Theme by Henry Mancini. And brass too.
And since I don’t think we expect many comments on T1419, I will post the whole thumbnail! Living dangerously.
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Ha! Now I have to convince you that it wasn’t intentional…
Just kidding… I was probably fed up with trying to spell it one more time!
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Sometimes I wonder why these companies prefer to follow the trend rather than producing songs that suit their group members skills. The rap performance doesn’t impress me at all here, I can feel what the idea was but unless you’re a strong rapper you can’t really get something out of this song.
The high note just for the sake of having one in the bridge is another exemple. It’s not good so why would you keep it just because it’s the trend ?
It’s not the idols fault, they probably do what they are asking to. But I’ll never understand why so many groups fall in this trap. They probably won’t be a big thing in the k-pop scene anyway so there is no reason to always want to play it safe.
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There are things to like here. I really like the production (though the one repeated note is kindof loud, if it was more back in the mix maybe it wouldn’t get grating). Their performance cannot keep up in my opinion. For a track like this you want some really powerful charisma and strong rap to make it work – I’m not convinced these guys have that yet. It leaves me feeling a little empty.
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