We haven’t even passed our first week of 2022 and the year’s crop of rookies are already making themselves known. Following on the heels of Kep1er is new boy group Trendz. They hail from Interpark Music Plus, home to girl group Laboum. New debuts are always exciting, but if TNT (Truth & Trust) is any indication, Trendz aren’t offering anything we can’t get a million other places.
This is one of the more generic debuts I’ve heard in recent years. The song is basically an encapsulation of several years of boy group material. It lumbers along with no sense of humor or originality. The guys posture and puff out their chests over a dull beat that holds little surprise. As with any K-pop group, they seem quite talented. But, the material does them no favors.
Hulking performance tracks like this thrive on their over-the-top energy. To succeed, they need a sense of build and release. TNT’s commanding chorus attempts to do this, but it’s a big let-down. The vocal arrangement doesn’t pop and the melody is too predictable to thrill. The production is relentlessly noisy but never obnoxiously so. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but a song like this could do with being more obnoxious. Instead, every element feels smoothed of its character. It’s hard to get a sense of what makes Trendz unique. TNT’s lockstep structure and dated tropes paint over any potential personality – musical or otherwise. As with any debut, I’m willing to give them a pass in the hope that their first comeback will elicit more sparks. But for now, TNT isn’t even a muted explosion. It simply fizzles.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 6 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I know their names is TRENDZ but wtf, talk about having no identity.
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OK, not a bad debut. An okay start. The song sounds like if NCT would cover an unreleased EXO song, which isn’t a bad strategy to use, to follow both the 3rd and 4th gen sound leaders. They do it well, or well-enough.
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How did you manage to describe this so perfectly lol. It’s exactly that but with a lower budget.
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I’ll be honest and say I didn’t even finish the song. Not because it’s overtly bad or anything, but I’m just quite worn on this sound and style in general.
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The NCT Dreamification of boy groups continue.
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That’d be fine if they copied Boom and Chewing Gum instead of Go.
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It’s like My First And Last never existed….. 😦
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Uhhhh…
Ano… 😶
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I did want this to go harder but I think for a debut it was pretty nice. I can imagine the parts in the chorus where with some more power in the instrumental it could have been stronger and yes, they were rather controlled and smooth. But I liked it. The rap was nice
… a less reigned in song might work! Wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, but better than many things it could have been 😋
And on the note of debuts, I doubt you will be reviewing it 😅 but I surprisingly liked H1-KEY’s Athletic Girl! I was not expecting that and upto the first chorus I was not sure but after that I really loved it! They all have pretty strong voices – both vocal and rap – and I think that could be a real highlight of the day for me!
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This is a mess, I really have no idea what to say on it. So noisy, but still so empty. It is a rare balance we do not need, but the song managed it.
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“noisy but empty” is a REALLY good way to put it.
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*dr doofenshmirtz voice* Curse you Nct for making this sound popular!
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Truth is, I don’t have must trust in groups that follow trendz. This was ok.
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I think it needed to have more character by leaving some statement so I agree that it needed to just be a little obnoxious. Actually the verses are similar to some kinda good songs in this style but the reason why this song is not it because it doesn’t leave a statement and it’s too condensed.
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Mymagoogle’s comment made me hope they’d sound like CIX, and they actually do!
Almost to a T. Or at least like they did in that slightly sucky 2nd mini of theirs.
I like the two b-sides sandwiching the title track, but I still can’t put my finger on why this particular song is so boring. I swear by around 1:40 I felt like it was on an infinite loop. To me it sounds like a mashup of EXO and Treasure, with a bit of Cravity’s rappers thrown in for good measure, although that’s probably just my brain surreptitiously telling me all these 4th gen idols sound the same. Still, I’ll be interested in their next comeback just to see if they still sound like CIX.
(I can hear Nick groaning from here)
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Not much to say about the song, but the title has me in absolute stitches. It reads like a poster in a guidance counselor’s office.
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First thought: Nice opening formation.
Second thought: Ug, no.
Third thought: I don’t hate it, but it’s pretty boring. Definitely could be more obnoxious.
Fourth thought: How is it possible I’ve been on hold with Walgreens for 27 minutes and there are still more than three callers ahead of me?
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Nothing exciting on the EP, sadly. Some promising rap on “Trauma” and “Villain” got a second listen, but… nah.
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Honestly, if they’d ended this at like the 2:12/2:15 mark it would have made for a perfectly serviceable first track on a debut album, and then they could have gone with something more interesting for their actual title track.
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