Ah, the days of Born To Be Wild feel soooo far away. Like label-mates INI, JO1 occasionally hit things out of the park but more often succumb to the limitations of their material. They remain immensely popular, so this is obviously a matter of taste. But, new single Tiger feels like reheated K-pop with no ideas of its own.
The pots and pans intro was nearly enough for me to leave Tiger before it really got started. I wouldn’t have been missing much, as the rest of the song largely follows suit. It’s a piecemeal construction, hinging on an obnoxious beat drop hook and plenty of sing-song melody that feels disconnected and threadbare. The truth is, I barely enjoyed this style when it first appeared in K-pop. Years later, I’m not only unimpressed by it – I’m downright exhausted.
The group is better than this.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.75 |
Grade: D+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
*sigh* very far from Born to be Wild days
It is saying something when the classical radio station plays more variety than contemporary Kpop – Jpop does these days.
This one here is by the books, this time around with the hook synth set on “deep bamboo #3” or whatever.
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Would rate this one way lower than 6.75, ngl. I’m soooo fucking exhausted with this noisy boy group fare that while listening to anything like this, my inner self feels like destroying everything surrounding me. Fuck contemporary K-pop for being this dull😭
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You’re absolutely right, and as a longtime fan of the group, this song really bums me out. I feared this might happen when SuperCali’s views far outpaced any previous title tracks of theirs – that their agency Lapone would see those numbers and assume this generic 4th gen bg sound was the way to go. Months later, I listened to Tiger and got real sad about being right.
I’d love to hear another “Move the Soul” or “Born to be Wild” or “OH-EH-OH” from them again. (Better yet, “Go” or “Safety Zone” – ever listen to those? They’re fantastic.)
I’m glad JO1 is doing well, but this kind of music just isn’t for me.
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(…while I’m at it, “Freedom” was awesome too)
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