ITZY’s new album won’t be with us until next week, but they’ve already given us two pre-release tracks and short versions of the members’ solo songs. I love seeing album rollouts this insistent! Mr. Vampire emerges as the second pre-release, following the more combative Born To Be last month.
Given its title, I half-expected a lore-filled track with spooky undertones. Instead, Mr. Vampire is quite reserved, bopping over a harpsichord-filled R&B beat before plunging into a percussive breakdown during its chorus. The track is largely sing-talk, meaning none of the melodies captured me on the first few listens. But even without much melodic range, the vocals often feel strained. It’s simply a case of miss-matched material. I don’t think ITZY ever really thrive in this sonic setting.
Mr. Vampire goes from dull to irritating during its chorus. It’s as if K-pop producers are fighting each other to see who can pick the most annoying sound effects to build their anti-drop around. The squeaky sample that highlights much of Mr. Vampire is quite unpleasant, neutralizing the nice piano accent that marks the transition back into the verses. If songs like this are going to center themselves around a groove, they had better find a killer, chest-thumping groove to work with. Otherwise, the track leaves little impact.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
they used the same squeaky sample in the chorus as Somi’s Birthday 💀 they’ve been constantly releasing disappointments for far too long now. JYP needs to get their shit together…
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this song is just..boring. Thats it
Also, happy new years and heres to a great 2024
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Thanks! Same to you 🙂
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surprisingly, i quite like this. contrary to your thoughts, i thought their vocals sounded fine and it worked effectively well within their limitations. the song feels more cohesive and self-assured and drops the cloying optimism of their past songs to good results. i thought the hook was satisfying too!
if i have any gripe with it, it would be that weird, warbling synth in the chorus that is too loud in the mixing. on a bad day, i’d find it very annoying but i can look past it for now. i don’t think subdued r&b-infused pop songs are a perfect fit for itzy but i find this tolerable and fine for what it is.
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oh and happy new year, nick! i’ve been a big fan of your blog for quite a while now and i hope that you reach even higher heights of success this year! you deserve it
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I agree with this review and think it’s well-written. Hopefully Itzy can release another quality song at some point, their output has been pretty bland/disappointing as of late
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Rip Itzy. It’s astonishing to think how many quality releases, in my opinion, these ladies put out from their debut. To now at the point I don’t even care about a new album or a tour. I keep thinking they will turn it around, but I personally think this is the worst release of the last year by them. It was a nice run ladies.
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Ya’ll have been saying that for the last nth ITZY comebacks lmao people like you say this shit everytime yet still ‘care’ to leave comments like this. This is just a bside too. Give it a break, literally.
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So I have to like every comeback or give it a break? The world would be a very dull place if everybody liked the same things. I’m not rooting against Itzy. Supported them going to their concert, streaming the albums, but I do believe the last years worth of comebacks lack the original quality of songs. Obviously you don’t agree. That’s what makes the world go around.
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Sounds dreamy and I love the melodious verses. The instrumental was unexpected but I actually really enjoyed it.
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I love ITZY so much, but omg, their recent songs are it, this is just so boring
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Dare I say one of their best, most ‘itzy’ songs in YEARS. I wish it was maybe 30 second longer but I always do LOL. It’s strange and quirky but very listenable and interesting at the same time. For me this is a step in the right direction for them and I’m hoping their official title charms me as much too.
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I loved this at first listen. The noisy beats with the subdued vocals is soooo what ITZY would do. This is very dreamy and even with the noisy beat, it still flows so well and easy to loop. I think they’ve found this style of music a good fit along with None of My Business. It’s not every time they have to be confident loud teens like in their debut era.
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Quite liking this actually! Ryujin’s vocals are surprisingly pleasant to the ears. Also liking the instrumental, I just hope that JYP could actually hire a mixing/mastering team as capable as SM’s for the company’s female artistes’ outputs :c
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It manages to be boring and annoying at the same time. I appreciate that it is at least a * unique * sound, but I’m hoping for better hooks in the title track.
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I actually really like it. It’s just catchy, dreamy and pleasant for me. The instrumentals are a big part of that too.
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Usually, ITZY songs are a hit or miss for me, but this one left me thinking “this is good, and it’s just my vibe” (chill r&b) but I also feel there are some elements that don’t work to well in the song.
The first being the strange sound effects that are used in the chorus, I know that these songs generally required a “lighter” or “more fun” type of beat to contrast with the more relaxed and laid back nature of the track, but they took it to an extreme.
Also, the members are just halfway in terms of vocals, so I agree when you said it is “mismatched” material, because the song could’ve done better with a different vocal direction. I’m thinking aespa could’ve performed better vocally, since they’ve delivered similar tracks to this one being “Thirsty” and “Lucid Dreams.”
I like it but I don’t love it, in short.
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To me it’s literally a combination of IVE ‘Kitsch’ and Exo ‘Love, Love, Love’ + some RV sprinkled in and the synth beat thing reminds me of XG ‘Shooting Star’. I think for sure they were going for that a similar sound to Kitsch
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