Review

Song Review: ENHYPEN – Blessed-Cursed

ENHYPEN - Blessed-CursedI hadn’t given ENHYPEN’s music much love until last year’s Dimension: Dilemma album, which finally began to carve out a musical niche that didn’t just rehash other HYBE groups. This was most apparent on the album’s rock-influenced tracks like Attention, Please. Given that song’s success, I’m happy to see the guys continue to explore an edgier sound. But, I would’ve preferred a proper release for Attention over new single Blessed-Cursed.

Blessed-Cursed has great intentions, and I’m totally smitten with the late-90’s aesthetic of its music video. But, the song ends up feeling too sluggish. Distorted guitar looms large over the track, from a searing loop to the power chords thrown over the pre-chorus. But, the beat doesn’t match this intensity. It needs to kick up the tempo big time, or at least opt for a more resounding thud in place of its trap percussion.

On the plus side, this may be the first time I don’t complain about vocal processing in an ENHYPEN title track! The song includes the requisite level of post-production fiddling, but the guys display genuine personality here. Their vocals have presence. Blessed-Cursed needs a much stronger series of hooks to take advantage of this charisma, but it’s a step in the right direction. At just under three minutes in length, the song is one chorus (and a bridge) short, ending with a whimper rather than a killer climax. It all feels like a missed opportunity, potentially laying groundwork for better things to come.

 Hooks 7
 Production 8
 Longevity 8
 Bias 8
 RATING 7.75

20 thoughts on “Song Review: ENHYPEN – Blessed-Cursed

  1. The first enhypen single I was left confused after listening. Surely will grow on, but the song was short of a bridge, and a chorus. And yes, a thump would’ve been better than that trap percussion.

    Also, repackaging? An outro, one song, and a title? Anyways…

    Al

    Liked by 1 person

    • Definitely it lacked a bridge! I was so confused at the end thinking I had missed it but one really strong interesting bridge and lead-up to the chorus could have made it quite different!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. it was a really boring song in my opinion… the vocals were ok, the production was ok, the melody was lacking, and so was their vocal presence. it’s their most halfhearted and uninspired release yet and i kinda agree with you on wishing they made attention please a single instead. although they had a few songs i truly liked on their latest ep, i’m still not fully sold on enhypen

    Liked by 6 people

  3. Yeah I agree with this. It really did end on a whimper. I liked the vibe but I wish it had atleast half the energy of Drunk Dazed. The processing was not as bad as before for once but the song itself never hit at any part.

    I am one of those rare Given Taken supremacy fans and no other Enhypen track has hit me the same way really 😅 But I still felt something or the other in all their other songs – this one just fizzed out and I didn’t have any thoughts at all lol – I was expecting a slightly hard chorus at the end but nope nothing.

    The stages might be interesting because I barely say any of the choreo in the MV lol and I usually like Enhypen’s choreo 🙂

    Don’t know if you are going to review this,but Kim Yohan’s Dessert was NOT like the other “sweet” titled Kim Wooseok’s Sugar, as I had thought 😂 and I rather liked it!✨

    Liked by 3 people

    • I have to be Honest-Goodness, I have lost track of the Something-Something titles. Actually I don’t even Bother-Either, as the titles are so contrived. That said, I Enjoyed-Downloaded whatever was the Sing-Song that came out in April-April last year-year.

      Liked by 3 people

  4. I really liked this one on the first listen but I totally understand why someone wouldn’t. I’m also kinda liking that it’s shorter than the usual lol, don’t know why.

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  5. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it an “It’s Okay!”.

    It sounds a bit like old Exo does rock. Exo would have had more impressive and expansive “vocal layering”, but Hybe is not of that SM production style.

    Yes, I agree that the song is missing that kick it up a notch section. I listened to it three times over, and after a while it does cycle around. Like you could make an hour loop and loose track of time easily of how many times around has it been. Maybe that was the intention?

    I have to add that the boys have improved their performance style greatly in the couple years since debut. Clearly a lot of money has been poured into training. Now, lets hope that Hybe invest in vocal training too, is that too much to ask?!

    Liked by 5 people

    • Pretty much a solid track to end their album on a good note.
      The song in itself is performance based, so not much memorable parts to get by.
      Having said that, I can see the potential of it becoming a grower over time or maybe not (whatever that distorted guitar rift in the background was meant to achieve, it was weird listening to, and did nothing much to the song throughout, for me, okay, nevermind).

      Anyways, long term fans will enjoy it.

      And “Yes”, I agree with the review and the comments above.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Honestly the first Enhypen titletrack/promoted song I dislike. Not to discredit the group and to say the song is trash because I can see why people would enjoy it.

    It definitely feels like a flat song for me with no real points of interest likely because (to me) the chorus feels almost indistinguishable from a verse when you skip through the song. Their previous 3 title tracks where ones I enjoyed because the song felt like it had more depth and layers than Bless-cursed.

    I’d also like to see HYBE give Enhypen more room for vocal showcase as well since that’s one of the few things I feel their discography has been lacking since debut. I don’t doubt that they have the skill but I honestly can’t remember a moment in their songs that sticks out for it.

    Final rant, I feel that they could have done more with the repackage as opposed to 2 1/2 songs added on (title track, 1 b-side, 1 outro).

    Liked by 6 people

    • I know! What about that album needed to be repackaged? I like the title track fine, but it’s not strong enough to lead a repackage.

      Like

  7. Didn’t like their first, but really dug the last two releases. This song is entertaining, dumb butt-rock that would be even better if the chorus had some of the zip of the pre-chorus. Not worth buying a whole repackage for, though.

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  8. Can you believe it that some of the producers for this song are the same ones who produced mago? The greatness that is mago and then this?

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  9. ENHYPEN’s title tracks have had a habit of growing on me, and I love the rock elements, but I’m not sure this one is going anywhere. New b-side “Polaroid” isn’t rocking my world either, but I’m fussy when it comes to falsetto and whoever’s doing the high line on the chorus isn’t doing it for me.

    Liked by 2 people

  10. I think their other singles have been love-it-or-hate-it affairs and I myself went from hating to loving all three of them (or perhaps I liked Drunk-Crazed from the get go, can’t remember) but this song sounds to me like a better parody of everything that makes boy groups bad since around 2018 than the two guys with the distorted voices and faces that came out a few months ago. Or perhaps just more boring than Cravity’s latest. I’m in a weird mood; can’t tell. Besides, I find the late 90s-early 00s aesthetic offensive to my tastes, so there’s not even the MV as redeeming quality here.

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  11. I agree with u. This song doesn’t have a proper climax. I expect something stronger and more hip-hop feeling, but it some parts sth is missing. The dance is not bad but there is no movement such as in given taken with its hand gesture or fan dance of tamed-dashed, but is not bad. I wish it would be sth like BTT’s Mic Drop/Not Today. They should choose a song like Blockbuster but the rap part should be written originally by members. I feel like this song lacks a good lyric.

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