Though it has yet to be officially confirmed by their agency, there have been reports that this will be TAN’s final comeback. Hopefully that doesn’t end up being the case, but Hyper Tonic is bittersweet for more than one reason. It’s likely the last new song we’ll hear from the late, great producer Shinsadong Tiger. Fortunately, it’s a total victory, grabbing the baton from last year’s excellent Heartbeat.
Hyper Tonic continues to develop a scuzzy electro sound, calling to mind classics from K-pop’s second generation. Those who love SHINee’s work and, more recently, NCT 127’s Superhuman and Mirae’s Killa, will find plenty to latch onto here. This happens to be a sweet spot for me, making Hyper Tonic instantly appealing. I love how textured and bold the instrumental is. It almost over-stuffs itself, but delivers a sense of controlled chaos thanks to Shinsadong Tiger’s steady hand. I only wish the lower end of the production hit harder, but maybe I just haven’t listened to it on the right speakers yet.
At just under three minutes, Hyper Tonic is a sleek package. But unlike many of its peers, the song stuffs so much into this narrow frame. The bombastic pre-choruses are big highlights, as is the multi-part bridge that carries us through rap, vocal harmonies and a breathless build before the instrumental goes absolutely mad for the song’s finale. It feels like a fully-fleshed out track, deployed with utter panache. TAN don’t get enough credit for their vocals and performance skills, but they carry Hyper Tonic with a natural strength that never relies on shouting and sneering empty boasts.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
Grade: A-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I’ll be a little destroyed if this is their last comeback – I can’t find any other current groups who are making this sound.
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You and me both!
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Couldn’t have said it better myself
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It’s delicious and the album seems really strong on first listen. Now I have strength to revisit DREAM()SCAPE.
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I mean… DREAM()SCAPE has some highlights like Box (even though the Sticker-influence can be annoying, but it’s hardly prominent in this song), but Smoothie can be ehhhh… 🤡
But hey, Hyper Tonic be a nice ear bleach once you listen to Smoothie again 🤡
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I’m enjoying everything but the slurpy song. It’s spacy and quirky kind of like kind of like DreamieOneOf and I dig it. The singing might be their best yet.
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I don’t even hate Smoothie that much today. It’s now like an eye-roller I can just tolerate like 2 Baddies.
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Am I the only one who thinks that the “Hy-hypertonic” hook is similar to Get a Guitar’s “Get get get get a guitar” hook? 😅 But I likey! It has this drive to it that never seems to go off.
With that being said, I agree that it sounds almost over-stuffed, to the point the vocals sound muffled-ish (maybe it’s my earphones, I don’t know). But that’s the only problem with the song, I like the rest of it!
Also, it’s a shame if it is actually their last comeback. The guys seem to be following the futuristic sound now, and they nailed it so far! It’d be a shame if they didn’t get more chances to show the potential their futuristic sound holds.
Exact 9 for me as well.
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It would suck if they disbanded now I’ve been loving their music
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if this is really their disbandment song, then I guess this leaves their careers on a very high note
8.75/10 for me
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Finally, a kpop release to interrupt my vacation for. Actual sung chorus. Actual hook with good catch-phrase. Break that takes us in interesting sonic directions. Its a yes from me.
Oh TAN, you naughty naughty boys, you deliver us solid kpop for a couple years then disband. Say it isn’t so!!!
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Its tragic how they’re going to disband when they’ve been killing it recently, even in Kpop the good die young 😦
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Disband? Noooooo. I love their music – it’s really top-notch stuff.
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This is so good, as usual. I’ll miss this group. I’ll never get over how they almost came to my country, and then it got cancelled. And considering how good their music is, I wish they’d gotten a bit more clout at some point during their running time—or at least a contract extension.
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Pure electro-funk bliss the likes of which we simply don’t get enough of these days. It’s awesome.
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This is 10 from me. Great hook, great production, and I think this will last long. I hope this song reach as many people as possible.
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Oh, this *rocks*. I’m obsessed with the instrumental, especially the way it sort of steps on the gas for a second during the “what you wanna do” part, it’s absolutely blissful. Talk about going out at the top of your game.
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