When I first laid eyes on the tracklist for CLASS:y’s newest mini album, its length caused me to do a double take. Calling two tracks a “mini album” is quite a stretch — even for K-pop! But, the group has compensated for this brevity with a long-form music video that combines both tracks into one storyline. Since it’s released in two parts, this review will be centered around the song Tick Tick Boom. And though I don’t explicitly review music videos on this blog, I appreciate the ambition it takes to string multiple tracks together in this way. It reminds me of when T-ara released their series of mini-movies back in 2012.
While CLASS:y’s storytelling may be ambitious, the music feels slightly more perfunctory. Tick Tick Boom is enjoyable dance pop with a strong focus on percussion. However, it feels underdeveloped. Like LE SSERAFIM’s recent Antifragile, the song succeeds when it gives into its addictive rhythm and fuses its melodies to that energy. CLASS:y’s performance offers a warm tone. The producers resist the urge to heighten the key, allowing the girls to deliver a natural vocal that brings out the evocative elements of the track. I’m eager to hear the group build on this style.
While Tick Tick Boom shows great potential, its lack of scope makes it feel more like an extended intro than a full course meal. The correct ingredients are present, but the song spends too much time circling around the same ideas. It feels flatter than it could be. This issue is made most obvious when a cool brassy flourish arrives to buttress the chorus. I want the group to go all out in a similar way. Instead, they seem to be teasing stronger things to come.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
Grade: C+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Interesting, the CLASSSSSY one that popped up as released today on my feed is something called “Zealous”, and only now did this one pop up. I don’t have many kind words for Zealous, so we shall skip it and comment on this here.
OK Tick tick tick boom
There is a skill and an art to crafting songs which are a bit more spare. You know how on the British Baking Show, some do the “naked cake” look which is spare with buttercream to give extra visual effect. Or some wall painting to look deliberately distressed. Classic #Etsyfail stuff. Except you and me, we get our materials and ideas from the local Michaels, and it just does not turn out that way.
This song is that in music form.
It starts with that the instrumental sounds fully scraped off some other song. Then the vocal production is so sotto voce casual that it fades to nothingness. A phrase like Tick Tick Tick Boom should be a little more menacing, yes? The material is there, its just done the wrong way. The Signature bake was OK, but not good on the Technical – it was underbaked.
Hybe on the other hand, produced the shit out of the NewJeans songs, even if it sounds so casual they probably spent weeks tweaking to get it perfect. Star Baker. So good with Flavours!
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… Think about how someone like Sunmi would intone the “Tick tick tick boooom” phrase, and how the choreo would perfectly match with some new instant classic move.
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I really liked this one! It had a very kdrama vibe to it. In a way it is the closest to the definition of the word “Classy” so far. Usually I don’t care for concepts or themes because they are not for casual fans and are steeped in so much lore that unless you’ve done your homework it all looks random as hell – but the theme they had going here was so easily understandable and simple that I really liked it!
There is something quite haunting about that melody. In a way I’m surprised such a young group is attempting a rather mature sleek vibe like this (I’m imagining Mamamoo or WJSN as I write lol). But they made it work for me and I’ve a feeling this will grow.
Also I thought Zealous was kinda catchy and fun so overall good output from Classy for me today! 🙂
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Are you going to review Zealous their second track?
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Not planning on it. I like it less that TTB and I’ve already written about way too many mediocre tracks today haha
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I think that it’s quite good, even if it’s a little sparse.
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the Class:y song i was fed by the algorithm was “Zealous”, which was… fine.
i was kinda confused that the review on biaslist was something else haha now i’m listening to “tick tick boom”, and it’s… somewhat latin like “antifragile”, and about as okay as “Zealous” i guess
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This is like the more tropical fraternal twin to Stupid O’Clock by VICTON but I’m not complaining because I love that song https://youtu.be/OqVgOyrJsng
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I also saw zealous first and was confused because the teasers I’d seen before was for this song but when checking the page I was greeted with two surprises a – this video and b – that they have a quarter million subscribers on their youtube channel. I’m not calling or questioning anything about them but that’s really interesting and cool to me. They’re still new but clearly people are invested in them already so hopefully they continue to blossom. This song is definitely more interesting/ambitious than zealous but who can know which will grab people more. In the meantime their risk taking is definitely appreciated.
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Honestly surprised I liked this as much as I did. It never goes very hard, but it somehow enhanced it? Might be because it listened to this right after Birthday. Not sure how I felt about how long the MV was though, still enjoyed it a lot more than Antifragile.
8/10
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Well, this is a C+ for you but A- for me. The melody is catchy throughout the song, though the chorus is a bit weak. But once you keep listening to it, it will grow in your mind. This is a song without any rap (I hate rap) so I love it.
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