Thus far, ICHILLIN’ have pinballed through a variety of styles, most recently getting caught in the sing-chant nursery rhyme style that plagues many of their peers’ discographies. New digital single Bite Me still has a (lack of) melody problem, but its dynamic instrumental counterpunches with surprising force.
Bite Me opens with a wallop, as thundering brass gives way to a rugged electro beat that underlines the verses with welcome intensity and resonance. Chopped samples of fractured breathing add tension to an already exciting mix. In a timeline of subdued girl group releases, this ear-catching production helps ICHILLIN’ stand out. I’m quite impressed with the direction they’ve taken.
Sadly, Bite Me is undercut by its lack of equally dynamic hooks. The beat drop chorus is fun because the beat itself is so engaging, but I can easily imagine how triumphant and daring the song would sound with a robust melody thrown over the top. It’s a frustrating struggle and keeps Bite Me in the mid-8’s when it could easily have vaulted up to the 9’s.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 10 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
this song reminds me of this:
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Another song with great production!
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I’ve recently stumbled upon La Luna by this group and I quite liked it. Not sure if you’ve reviewed that song here
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Not a review by nick, but a commenter once recommended this song too! I forgot the review that the comment was on, but it got me into La Luna as well – the chorus is so catchy!
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I have thoughts about this one. The choices of synth button are spot on, score 10 for that, maybe even 11. The song runs out of ideas quickly – only 2:35 and by then it already exhausts itself. And when it runs out of ideas, the next best thing would have been a more charismatic vocal. More bite into the bite me. More actual danger and sass. How many different ways could someone say and mean “bite me”? More than was delivered here.
That said, for 2:35, I was hella entertained. Heck, I’ve listened to it several times over and I am entertained each time.
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Still a great release for a nugu group
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This kind of instrumental is sort of what I was hoping for from aespa’s Drama – dynamic and dancey instead of slogging along. This could have been really stellar with stronger melodies and a more confident delivery. I do appreciate that it’s sung the whole way through! No bratty sing-talk, although a little attitude wouldn’t have hurt.
Two and a half minutes is crazy, though. Come back, four minute runtimes!
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Another banger from Ichillin. The hook isn’t as bad as you think Nick, but I guess that’s weighted out by the production not really being a clean 10, lol.
Please give Draw, Kick Start and La Luna another listen. They’re real bangers!
These girls just don’t miss! (actually Siren was a massive miss, but let’s ignore it).
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