Kang Daniel’s newest album comes paired with striking Mad Max-esque visuals. SOS‘s music video is very cool, delivering high octane action even as the song trudges away underneath. Its sound continues in the vein of past singles — an alt rock/trap hybrid that feels emotional and gritty.
This has become a preferred style for Kang Daniel, and I admire his artistic vision. SOS is one of the stronger entries in his singles run, mostly due to its crunchy rock production. However, I’ve never been a big fan of this sound palette. It’s so angsty, without a hint of lightness or contrasting texture to pique my interest. This is a purely subjective analysis, but I can’t pretend I’m naturally drawn to this style of music.
Personal taste aside, SOS is well-constructed and performed with confidence. I like the squiggly bits of electro in the verses, and the prominent guitar during the chorus adds a nice sense of drama. The second verse is also a standout, ratcheting up the percussion before heading into a moment of ascending vocal harmony. With these strengths in mind, I could see SOS staking a longer claim on my playlist than past singles.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Get major Paranoia vibes from the chorus. Not a big minus since that song rocked, but I think it hews to close still.
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o.o paranoia 2? the chorus does sound similar
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The song sounds much better without all the sound effects in the MV going on.
I am happy that Kang Daniel seems to finally be settling into his own. Song is aiight.
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When I heard the first half of the chorus, I got surrounded by a strong sense of déja-vu. Luckily, a moment later I realized that my expectations had been lowered down too much, so in general, gotta confirm I like this one. I’m sold on the crunchy rock-infused instrumental.
On the other side, can’t say there’s any kinda lasting impression left for me. Execution-wise, the song is nothing more than a solidly-performed piece of radio-friendly rock (at least that’s what I think of it), nonetheless.
Giving it an equally solid 8.25.
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Wasteland is so much better, definitely one of my fav songs of the year so far. I would have chosen that as the official title track rather than a pre-release (same feeling towards J-Hope’s More vs Arson last year).
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I love this song, but they could have backed off the sound effects a bit – they don’t need to be that loud to get the message across, and it’s hard to hear the actual song. Still, it’s a pretty impressive MV.
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