It’s been a long time since we heard new music from KARD, and with member J.Seph enlisted in the military it seems we’ll have to wait at least a few more months. After label-mate April’s disbandment, they join rookies Mirae as DSP Media’s only active group. It’ll be interesting to see if the agency takes advantage of their potential or simply lets their discography languish.
Until then, member BM has released a new solo single. LIE (Lost In Euphoria) has been around for a few days, but a new music video gives it greater prominence today. With this track, he’s embraced an alt-rock/rap style that’s become increasingly popular in global music over the past few years. It’s a great match for his skills, and I’m so happy to hear him pull back and offer a track that’s more emotionally affecting.
I know some readers hate when I make comparisons, but you just can’t listen to Lost In Euphoria without thinking of Post Malone and The Kid Laroi. BM approaches the song with a very similar angsty drawl. Even the vocal effects feel indebted to their popular sound, giving his voice added texture that blends well with the trap-rock production. It’s not a style I’m super enthused by, but the track is very catchy. A strong melody line drives the entire thing. It’s essentially the same theme repeated for three minutes, twisted enough to keep LIE feeling fresh. However, BM gets his mileage out of this looping refrain. Its repetition becomes hypnotic rather than irritating.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
You may know this already, but RBW acquired DSP media this week (hence April’s disbandment I imagine). So perhaps KARD and Mirae will get a boost from having Mamamoo’s agency behind them.
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Oh, I didn’t know that. It’ll be interesting to see what (if anything) becomes of that!
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We likely won’t see the influence. RBW tends to be quite behind the scenes. They clearly were behind April’s disbandment, and they also made some major changes to WM’s trainees. They don’t outright act, however, to keep things subtle.
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yeah, rbw probably didnt want to deal with april’s bullying scandal so they just dropped the group after the acquisition
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RBW not even waiting a week to disband April was comedy ngl.
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This style is just not my style.
I wish KARD the best of luck under RBW. Most of us still have fond memories of their early songs when they carved (karved) out a little distinctive niche for themselves. Hopefully when J.Seph returns in April, the group will find their feet again.
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I loved KARD’s early sound. They were actually the first Kpop act I saw live (When they’d only released 2 songs. Somehow they made a concert out of that!). Their swerve into harder territory lost me.
Hopefully they will still thrive since they have such unique strengths. JSeph, in my opinion, is one of the best idol rappers, and someone who truly understands flow. BM has one of the best bodies in Kpop and is a fantastic dancer live. Jiwoo is a cool all-rounder, and Somin is extremely telegenic on broadcast stages. They balance each other so well.
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I liked this much more on a second listen, with the MV. I think the MV adds a sense of progression and build which the music by itself lacks. I certainly prefer it to BM’s other solo tracks to date.
I definitely agree on the comparison to The Kid Laroi’s style. It’ll be very interesting to see how far that style continues to be adopted by other K-pop artists (given that Stay has charted really well in Korea – as of this week, it’s still at #17 on the Gaon chart). This style potentially offers much more interesting opportunities for synthesising K-Pop’s pop and hip hop elements than simply dropping an awkward few bars into the middle of an otherwise-unrelated song.
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