Review

Song Review: ICHILLIN – Draw (My Time)

ICHILLIN - Draw (My Time)Is it too early to hear the influence of NewJeans and LE SSERAFIM in other girl groups? Now that “girl crush” seems to have faded a bit, it feels like their subdued – almost aloof – sounds are the next stage in girl group trends. ICHILLIN’s Draw (My Time) is an interesting hybrid of the two styles. It’s much stronger when it leans into its stylish, NewJeans-esque 90’s r&b.

Draw (My Time) takes a moment to right itself. The introduction is rough, with a silly rap giving way to a verse that quickly devolves into a literal nursery rhyme. If I wasn’t planning to write about the track, I probably would’ve turned it off right here. However, Draw quickly improves. Its chorus is a high water mark, injecting funky synth that gives the arrangement a fuller sound. Its melodies are fine, but they’re buoyed by a nice vocal performance that glides over the track with a pleasant smoothness.

Honestly, I’m not sure what to do with this song. I want to take a scalpel and do some surgery. Whenever Draw devolves into its chanty, nursery rhyme silliness I find it pretty unbearable. But moments later, it’s an enjoyable midtempo bop. I’m not sure the strengths are enough to outweigh the struggles, but I’m interested in what this means for the K-pop industry as a whole. Perhaps we’re simply in an awkward middle ground as one guard gives way to the next. In any case, Draw is an uneven listen.

Hooks 7
 Production 8
 Longevity 8
 Bias 7
 RATING 7.5

Grade: C

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9 thoughts on “Song Review: ICHILLIN – Draw (My Time)

  1. the New Jeans effect is definitely present. that’s exactly where my mind went, also they are dancing on a sports field…which was done before New Jeans, but “Attention” really made that iconic.

    I was frustrated too. I love the conceit of no synths, just drums, in the verses, but the rapping over that is not so great. The verses feel really long and the chorus feels undefined beyond the change in instrumentation.

    At some point one of these mid-tier, low profile, companies is going to put something out, inspired by HYBE gg’s, that goes harder melodically than either New Jeans or Le Sserafim has gone yet. I just have a feeling…
    But this isn’t it and I look forward for when that arrives.

    Like

  2. I didn’t know what to do with this song either. I was hearing the new fashion NewJeans “girl next door” sound too. Then a crappy “ring around the rosie” quote that lasted too long. Then a quote of the song Woo!Ah! from Jan2021 “I don’t miss miss you” which was a great light-hearted song.
    ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hNTGginbF0

    And then my mind wandered to how much I miss Miss A who could really crush this new fashion sound better than all of the above. I guess Miss A debuted a decade too early.
    ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImOrSOioKxQ

    To be honest, I don’t know if this group has the talent to pull off a mediocre song like this, and that is what shows in the rating. They are not selling the shit out of a shitty song. I have no idea what agency is behind Ichillin, but I hope it all works out OK for these girls.

    Liked by 1 person

    • No fair linking a Woo!Ah! song; you know that’s my kryptonite!

      Also, yeah, I miss miss A too, along with the majority of the 2nd gen. Back then, groups stuck around longer. Now.. ..we’re lucky if we get one or two comebacks before a new group goes belly up.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. OMG one of the girls from GP999 (Jeong Jiyoon who is in the thumbnail) is a new member and finally debuted! I’m so happy for her because she has an incredible voice! But because I spent most of my night listening to meme videos like this, no joke my ears were completely destroyed so it was hard to figure out whether I liked the song or not 😅

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I like the subdued sort of production, just not entirely – since the structure of the song takes you on one exhausting ride. That nursery rhyme part is stuck in an awkward place that it makes the verses HELL long.

    I’d modify it as a pre-chorus and remove its nursery-ness. And then, the chorus (which is actually before the dra-a-aw post-chorus) will be put after the raps.

    Like

  5. Not gonna lie: was not on my radar until I saw my #1 GP999 pick as the thumbnail! We stan Jeong Jiyoon in this house! The song lacks a proper chorus, but I can see potential in this group going forward (I did enjoy their debut and first comeback).

    Like

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