HYBE’s first Japanese boy group releases their debut album this week. I wasn’t very impressed with &TEAM’s Under The Skin, though in hindsight I was probably a little hard on it. To me, the song felt too much like reheated leftovers from the agency’s other acts. But, the groovier teasers for Scent Of You seemed to point in a more thrilling direction.
During my first listen to Scent Of You, I nearly stood up and exclaimed “EXO’s Growl!”. I don’t know if the song was designed as a tribute, but the groove and dance video certainly nod to that classic. This is no bad thing, as Growl-style tracks are relatively rare nowadays. &TEAM have chosen their inspiration well. Even better, they pull off the sound with flair. Gone are the angsty cries of Under The Skin, replaced by a light-on-its feet rhythm and fun performance that feels fresh and exciting. The melodies wrap around each other in a consistent rollout that matches the loping groove. The chorus isn’t particularly flashy, but it’s well-matched to the instrumental. This synergy allows Scent Of You luxuriate in its own energy.
Similarly, &TEAM’s light vocal performance gives the track a smooth, enjoyable texture. I love the use of layering, especially given the higher pitch that characterizes many of the vocal lines. Scent Of You‘s rap verse is smartly placed during the bridge where it can have maximum impact without forcing a tempo change during that all-important verse two. Choices like these given the song a timeless appeal. If the guys keep dishing out material like this, I may have to jump aboard the &TEAM train.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Definitely getting Growl vibe… and I’m here for it!
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I like this! hope this is the sound they go with in the future so it sets them apart from TXT and ENHYPEN.
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There’s no better song than growl to take influence from. This also reminds me of growl in the video (clean triangular lines of the set) and dances (acrobatics and pyramids).
The one shame is that scent doesn’t have a chorus as catchy as growl’s. Given how wticky some of enhypen’s chorus can get (drunk dazed, tamed dashed), hopefully this is something hybe improves on for future comebacks!
The vocal processing also isn’t as bad here as for other hybe contemporaries? which is promising lmao
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Even the camera work style on the video brings back vibes of the Exo “Growl” dance practice video in the mirror+clouds room. And I swear the bar count for each section also fits right on top of a “Growl” template.
Alright, moving away from Growl thoughts, it ok, I mean Growl was … 8? years ago which is forever to for the kids, the target demographic didn’t even have all their adult teeth yet, so a make over would probably be strangely welcome in the market.
My main question is how they heck are they going to sing this live, as the vocals are a smoothed mush of every one of them. Oh right, kids these days, singing live, duh.
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I really loved this one! Under the Skin already grew on me so much and I was kinda looking forward to this one! Hybe surprisingly seems to be doing pretty well with the Japanese songs. I wasn’t expecting to get into this group or anything – but with two really good songs I’m quite interested in them now! Aaagh wish jpop acts were promoted as extensively on shows etc for me to have more content to watch though 😅
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Nick did you happen to see Hong Jin Young’s new song? She usually does trot but this is IMO an absolute pop bop https://youtu.be/eWaTwx1bli8
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I hadn’t. It’s pretty good! The melody reminds me a lot of Ava Max’s “OMG What’s Happening”
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I don’t like this as much as ‘Under the skin’ but I still really like this. I didn’t hear the similarities between this and EXO’s ‘Growl’ at first but I can kind of here it now. I wouldn’t say the similarities are obvious but it’s definitely there. I had to play them both right after each other over and over to hear it.
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*hear
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Same, i sat up and thought, is this a Growl rehash?
Definitely welcome more Growl.
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