K-pop has seen a glut of debuts over the past few weeks, and Aimers is another name to add to the pack. You might remember a couple of these guys from the short-lived Spectrum, who released a great pre-chorus in 2018. Given their group name, I’d hope Aimers are aiming for something new and exciting. But judging by Fight Inside, we’re in for more of the same.
Fight Inside is a good example of a decent song ruined by cookie cutter production. It’s home to a few of my biggest pet peeves, including a second verse tempo switch and that godawful chain link percussion that drags itself across the verses. These elements pull down what should be a light-on-its-feet blast of funky pop. I mean, that’s clearly what the song wants to be. So, why add these competing sounds that aren’t even trendy anymore? My ear can’t unhear them, and it makes for a frustrating listen.
Other than that, Fight Inside is buoyant boy group pop by the numbers. It has a couple of cool ideas, like the bubbling synth underlining the second half of verse two and the catchy vocoder sounds that pop up right before the track ends. But without developing any of these unique musical perspectives, Fight Inside succumbs to its own generic concessions. It’s occasionally hooky, but there’s nothing here that hasn’t already been perfected by stronger songs. Here’s hoping Aimers will nail down an identity of their own with future comebacks.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
Grade: C
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
As the resident contrarian, I disagree. The song as written is actually a bit subversive. It has a Kevin of ReacttotheK level of chromatic goodies buried quietly – mostly notably hear that shift right at 1:26. Instead of going somewhere normal and boring, it shifts. The line at 2:47 and again 2:56, again it enters some other scale mode for a line before reverting. And there are more goodies!
This is actually SHINee-level songcraft. Its the production that lets it down. SM would have done a far better job with this one. Think of how well SHINee Atlantis highlights the flat note in the chorus (how 0:53 is different than 0:44 ) so nicely and cleverly. Even if you can’t hear it, somehow it feels like an emphasis point.
‘https://youtu.be/PSYRbJjIT6U?t=42
This song missing that clarity on the production that highlights the musicality. So as is, it resembles a bog-standard boy band song when it is better than that.
Mid 8’s for me.
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Yes ! I’m totally agree with you at 100% ! And I also want to add that it’s been a while si ce WE didnt have something that synthy and well done SHINee like track in a while, the melodic is well structured and unpredictable. Totally a 8 for me at minimum !
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Why is there a screaming goat in the background. I thought I was hearing things but then it happened again right before the chorus. I don’t know how to feel about this one, it just did too much for me to enjoy.
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reminds us of this absolutely iconic song
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A classic 😉
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The verses and instrumental are a bit nice, and the chorus is awesome through. However, there is something that just doesn’t click for me
Rating is 7.75 for me (8, 8, 8, 7)
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It’s a bit of a mess, but I kind of like it. I liked the b-side Nemo quite a bit, too. One of the guys was in Mirae pre-debut, too.
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