No matter the agency, fromis_9 return again and again with strong material. Their rocky journey has now brought them to the doorstep of Pledis Entertainment, who will be managing their career from now on. Pledis’s recent history with girl groups is far from strong, making many fans nervous about fromis_9’s future. But for now, new single Talk & Talk is a promising step.
This track brings together a number of well-known producers (Ryan Jhun, Andreas Carlsson, Anna Timgren, etc), though none have composed a fromis_9 title track thus far. Luckily, they nail the group’s bright, poppy sound. Talk & Talk takes me back a decade or so, when Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream was ruling airwaves. The track bounds along a similarly bright beat, anchored by a catchy vocal refrain. Taken alone, these elements could wear thin quickly, but Talk & Talk makes a few unexpected moves.
On first listen, I was sure the song would rely heavily on that aforementioned “doo doo doo” hook, but the actual chorus turns out to be quite different. It has a laidback energy, tied to an ascending melody that keeps things brisk and compelling. I much prefer this breathy sound to Talk & Talk’s more obvious chants. However, the two extremes work quite well together. This synergy continues through the verses, which strike a nice balance between cute and frothy. A second verse switch-up is especially welcome, as melody gives way to rap while the instrumental continues to chug along. Talk & Talk won’t set the K-pop world on fire, but it’s another satisfying example of fromis_9 doing what they do best.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Its a solid pop song. Of all the retro sounds going on, this one does something slightly different – the bass – percussion – short synth style line in the verses are very 80’s, “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” style. Too bad they don’t carry that sound through more of the song, but still, its a solid pop song.
Fun, and I am not overthinking it.
Let’s Hear it for the Boy
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI7YHZVc7mM
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I really hope they’re given the chance to keep developing their sound! Love Bomb, Feel Good, We Go and Talk & Talk are all great.
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I listened to this last night and just didn’t get it, and listening to it again, yeah my opinion is staying the same. Which is weird, I’m someone who loves bubblegum style songs. It’s a 7.5 – 7 for me.
It’ll probably take me a few music banks for me to appreciate this song, it happened with we go, it’ll happen with talk and talk.
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Hmm…..I like the repeated “dododododo” post chorus. The first verse is the song’s strongest melody. The prechorus and bridge have some interesting changes in key which I quite enjoy (during Chaeyoung and Gyuri’s parts specifically). The overall retro synth sound is pleasant. But I have one major gripe….the first part of the chorus. Not only is the instrumentation a bit too sparse for my liking, but the melody/top line is so uninteresting. Not enough range between high and low notes. It feels like they are coasting on the same couple of notes throughout, compared to songs like We Go and Feel Good where the chorus melody had clear, distinct “high” sections. The chorus melody would’ve done better as a verse melody and the verse melody would’ve done better as a chorus melody, in fact. Overall it’s a nice, pleasant, enjoyable song that generally highlights Fromis’s refreshing sound very well. But the lack of a robust, memorable chorus compared to their other title tracks lowers the ranking a bit. I’m going to have to give it a 7.25/10. That could change over time, of course. ASAP grew on me a LOT and I had the same original problems with that song I did with this: underwhelming chorus (Melodically and instrumentation wise).
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After We Go, I didn’t expect it. Tbh, This is the worst comeback of the year so far for me. No impact in hook, chorus, verse nothing satisfied. just series of disappointment from intro to the outro. I fell in love with We go and i got slapped by this comeback..5/10.
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I’m surprised to hear this because the don’t strike me as being all that different from one another!
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Not to say everyone, but majority of Kpopers in SK are frustrated with this song. We go was way better than they expected and their expectations were high for this comeback. Its similar with bouncy and juicy era of Rocket Punch after Bim Bam Bum. But i am not sure about success of talk&talk. You know quality of song doesn’t matter to success of idol groups if they had a stable fan base. Quality does matter to rookie groups or groups belong to small companies to get attention
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worst comeback of the year? now let’s noe lie
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Tbh when the chorus started I had to check if I accidentally clicked on another music video because of how abrupt the change sounded from the first verse. But apart from that, it’s not bad. It’s not their best work but I like it. Maybe it will grow more on me like ‘Love Bomb’ and ‘Feel Good’
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I was intrigued by fromis_9 through Feel Good, and We Go totally won me over – it’s one of my top songs of this year for sure! I just really like their fun, bright poppy sound, as you described it. I think this is a nice follow up, but at first listen I don’t like it quite as much. In particular, I wish the chorus wasn’t as understated as it was, the drop in energy from the pre-chorus takes me out a little bit every time it happens. Other than that though, I do like the song, and I think it will definitely grow on me.
On a side note, I hope the move to Pledis/HYBE does the girls good! It seems Pledis has already stepped up, with the first year with two comebacks since their debut year…though I hope this isnt just something immediate to tide doubtful fans over.
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The chorus is a disappointment. Wish the song was a bit more dynamic.
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Yes, because right at the chorus, they turn off the stealth retro 80’s bass line. Without it, the chorus just lags.
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This song just doesn’t do anything for me. “We Go” was an instant hit for me by comparison, so it’s a bit of a disappointment. It’s not bad by any means. In fact, it’s got a professional sheen to it, befitting of a dish with a lot of cooks. In that sense, it kind of reminds me of BTS “Butter” which I also did not take a shine to originally. Just kind of feels soulless to me. Nonetheless, I wish the girls all the best and really hope this new agency turns out to be a good move for them.
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I actually find this quite generic. It sounds like a knock-off entry into their Feel Good – We Go saga. The producers clearly are trying to gain continuity, but it is evident they were unsuccessful.
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Don’t know about the song, but I love the colorscape in the video. My eyes are happy.
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We go was amazing, because of that, Talk and Talk seems lackluster
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