January has already been stuffed with debuts, but TWS are surely the most hyped of all. They’re Pledis Entertainment’s first new boy group since Seventeen, buoyed by a similar brightness they’re calling “boyhood pop.” Pre-release Oh Mymy: 7s was a promising taste of this sound, though it was undercut by a threadbare chorus. Debut single Plot Twist (첫 만남은 계획대로 되지 않아) is even more promising, but it needs an extra minute to fully develop its ideas.
I’m calling it now. A debut track should never be under three minutes in length. This is TWS’s grand introduction. All the pent-up excitement and emotion needs more than 152 seconds to unfold. This is even more important for a song like Plot Twist, which thrives on its sonic detours and pull-the-rug-out-from-underneath-you twists. Just as the song really gets going, it comes to an end.
To be clear, I love most everything about this. I just want more of it. It’s refreshing to hear a new boy group play around with a brighter palette. Plot Twist isn’t too dissimilar from what The Wind have been doing over the past year, though it will receive much more attention. The unconventional structure of the track works well. It’s mostly build with little pay-off, but that sense of acceleration keeps the tension high. By the time Plot Twist crests in its sing-along climax, we’ve stumbled upon something very special. That’s why the track’s short length is so frustrating. There’s too much song to stuff in this narrow frame. In my perfect world, they’d bring that first chorus instrumental drop back and layer the melodic hook on top with added guitar for a knockout finale. K-pop remixers of the world… I leave it to you!
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
Grade: B+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
what a great debut! but I agree with everything you said. they needed to make it at least three minutes to make it sound complete.
the album is very good as well, first hooky was love at first listen.
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It’s so weird to be the first here😅. Boy do I feel confused by this, I mean it might be due to listening the other album tracks together with this one, so they all just mixed up in my head like a weird cookie dough. My fave part is the na na na in the end heheh, because of it my initial liking is pretty high, and I guess it will get a fixed place when my cookie dough gets baken.
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Never thought I’d be so confused about a 2:32 song… I feel like the sections are fighting each other to decide which one should be the actual chorus.
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This is such a fantastic song and debut. It’s so refreshing. I don’t mind that it’s only 2:32 minutes long, the song’s so good that it’s forgivable.
9/10
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I think I was lulled by the charm of the MV into thinking this song was more substantial than it was…listening to it in the context of the album I feel like this should have been the prerelease and Oh Mymy the debut? But the album is decent overall and it reminds me a bit of TXT’s debut album (still one of the best recent bg debuts, I think).
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Is it me or did they sample gfriend? The song sounded so familiar…
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The chorus was so good I had to rewind it the first time. This radiates happy energy and makes for such a nostalgic listen. 9/10
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Great debut!
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I love this song so much, I’m not even their stan but they ATEE!! The song is so nostalgic idk… I TWS. 💞
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this is one of those songs that I for no reason am unable to appreciate cos the chorus just sounds so familiar and generic that I feel like I’ve heard something like this for way too many times already to bear listening to it again… same feeling that I got from listening to Tom Boy 🥲 I think actually the chorus might be the thing I like the least about the song the rest sounds pretty good 😂 bias entirely consumes me when it comes to certain melodies..
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I am once again very late to the party but I came across this song on some show, and I think it’s just great! This is right up my alley.
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Ooh, is this your first experience with TWS? 👀
They’re the best thing going right now! I feel similarly about them as I did during Golcha’s debut era.
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It is! Oh my, that is high praise. I remember Golcha’ s debut era and I haven’t felt the same way about a new group since. You’ve convinced me to check out the rest of their music now!
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Immediately commenting again because I hadn’ t watched the MV yet: wow is this giving me early Seventeen vibes! It’s full of personality, and a bright concept without being too cutesy. My interest is officially peaked!
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Knowing your taste I’ll be shocked if you don’t love “hey! hey!”
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Great song! Thank you for recommending 🙂 I will also be looking at the rest of their discography and your reviews of them.
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