aespa have done a fair amount of covers in their career, and they haven’t exactly chosen obscure material. There’s a danger in covering beloved classics, which is my cue to encourage you all to listen to the original Regret Of The Times and Seo Taiji & Boys’ entire 90’s discography. It’s amazing how many genres they were able to pull into their orbit. It was “mixxpop” before mixxpop was a thing.
When it comes to Seo Taiji songs, this has never been among my favorites and that actually makes it ripe for an update. aespa keep the general grunge rock feel and give it a glossier makeover. Their version highlights big percussion, giving it a slightly more hip-hop arrangement. The chorus here feels much brighter than the original, which is a testament to both the girls’ vocal tones and the driving production. You can feel the song occasionally slipping into modern tropes — especially during its second verse — but overall the arrangers did a solid job updating Regret Of The Times without tying it to closely to this era. If anything, the song comes across as more scattershot than the original, and the 90’s version was already pretty generous with its sonic shifts!
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Oh, it’s THIS song! My introduction to it was when Dreamcatcher did a somewhat streamlined cover of it.
I do wonder what they would’ve done with an extended version, but that ship has sailed at this point.
Aespa’s version feels, not just disjointed, but a little sluggish for my liking. The last minute is good though. It’s not bad overall, but I’m also not sure this song/arrangement is the best showcase of their talents.
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Okay, but now I’m curious: what’s your favorite Seo Taiji and the Boys song? (I really like Regret of the Times but that might be because I love the lyrics and the context the song was released, not necessarily the sound itself.)
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My favorite is probably still I Know, which is a basic/predictable answer. But, I also love Dreaming Of Bal-Hae, To You, Come Back Home, You In The Fantasy, and Swamp Of Death.
I think their first two albums are really, really good. It’s a little patchy after that for me.
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I need aespa to continue this rock sound. Their MMA performance with the rock remix of ‘Drama’ was epic and elevated the song to s completely new height.
I dig this song a lot. I haven’t actually heard the original so for me, this is the original. The chorus is amazing and I don’t see myself getting sick of this song.
9/10 for me
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