ARTMS have spent the past two months unveiling track after track from their debut album. To fully enjoy these pre-releases, it’s often felt like a doctorate in post-LOONA lore has been necessary. Most relied more on worldbuilding than nuts-and-bolts, satisfying song construction. But with Virtual Angel, ARTMS may finally have opened their world to the uninitiated. After all, title tracks are meant to capture the widest possible audience, right?
By all accounts, Virtual Angel succeeds at this aim. It’s nothing revolutionary or even gripping, but its pleasant synthwave breeze makes for a satisfying treat. The word “aesthetic” is often incorrectly used as an adjective, but it certainly describes what’s going on here. Alongside a distractingly edited music video (seriously, that thing is hard to watch!), the song wrings more from its airy texture and bubbly synths than the melody or performance. As with so many current K-pop tracks, I crave a gutsier performance. Don’t whisper-sing… put your whole soul into it!
More contrast throughout the track would have helped to highlight its strengths. The wispy post-chorus vocal is gorgeous, but could have become a total showstopper after a bolder chorus whose arrangement didn’t feel so empty. When you’re serving a steady stream of air, you risk vaporization. Virtual Angel is grounded by a few great melodies and elevated by its artistic approach. It’s definitely the best thing ARTMS have released so far, but could have been a true stunner with a more dynamic identity.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Ooh, I like this! It’s beautiful and I like the airy hooks. The music video is a pain in the ass to go through though (esp the chorus). 😭
A straight 8 for me. Might age well for me
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I was so excited when the song was building up and then the chorus came and 😐 if the production was just a bit stronger (UP THAT BASS PLEASE) we’d have a song of the year but unfortunately… 😔
Still good tho
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they need flash warning on MV, my eyes are bleeding.
but overall great song 8-8.5 for me
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I got a flash warning at the start… Does it only appear if there are subtitles on? Because if so that’s a wild choice.
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they added it after backlash from fans so they could only add it in the subtitles
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5 for me because its the most forgettable nothing of a song i’ve heard all year. honestly every song from them just keeps getting worse and worse.
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I didn’t expect a new post so late lol. I think I like this song, however I’m encountering a problem I haven’t had in a while. I can’t help but hear “neon Genesis” by ado in my head and I keep comparing the two songs. So, my opinion is lower than it probably should be. I’ll have to give it time
Music video is cool however, it definitely needs a warning for people with Epilepsy. The fast editing is a little annoying for me but not as frustrating as it was with pink venom since it’s constantly switching between two scenarios rather than a different shot every time
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Nah, Pink Venom wasn’t that bad, at least it focused on a particular set while changing the frames (?) or scenes. This one is quite annoying cause you can hardly focus on anything since it switches way too much and really quickly (even quicker than Pink Venom) between different scenes (the choreo, the solo shots of the members and the other scene with the other girls) so you don’t know what to focus on.
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agree to disagree
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great song! I agree that this is their best song by far.
that music video was straight up unwatchable, jesus. whoever edited that was psychotic.
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MV singlehandedly worsened my already-worse chronic headache
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one good interpretation of the pre releases I’ve seen is that it represents all 5 artms members “coming together” sonically, and actually this is disregarding lore – the order of the pre releases represent the order in which they’re revealed, Flower Rhythm representing Heejin as it is an extended version of her solo album intro, Candy Crush sampling Haseul’s Plastic Candy and finally Air interpolating (? is that the right word) Air Force One for Odd Eye Circle, which, all together, I personally thought the idea was cool but when one focuses on the songs themselves they do not quite hit the mark….I did find that I liked them a lot when listening to the album, IDK in the context of the album I just, “got it” I guess.
The album is really solid honestly it seems like there was more effort put into it than tripleS’ debut… like it was tailor made for orbits who were there for pre debut til 2019 Butterfly era, its very reminiscent of Loona’s and OEC’s sparkly space fairy-like sound from back then (best way I could describe it) before Jaden left and there was a huge A&R and management change resulting in LOONA completely loosing their music identity. I’m veryyyy happy with it honestly I’d say Sparkle or Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy is a buried treasure contender?
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I think this is decent and it’s an 8.25 as well from me. The MV is so painful to watch. It seems like they tried but overdid it. I didn’t have any expectations after those pre-releases but suprisingly the song isn’t bad. I like how the song is smooth, there aren’t any harsh pauses it just flows.
(By The Way, I never noticed how beautiful Haseul’s voice is)
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Song is meh for me.
Video. So the problem is that there is no constant in all the clips so the sys does not fully comprehend before the next flashes. Our eye do have a reaction time, and this is faster than that. And it isn’t artful or tasteful either. It just blinking for the sake of blinking rather than telling a story or doing something neato visually.
Back in my mis-spent youth, this video was in heavy rotation on MTV. The fixed background really helps. The fixed foreground singer also really helps. The song is about as corny as it gets, but hey it looks like they are having fun with it, tonight.
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the _eye_’s reaction time.
I googled it, the eye’s reaction time is about 180-200 milliseconds.
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To everyone saying the MV needs a flash warning: It has one! But for some reason I will never understand it only shows up at the start if you have subtitles on.
Anyways yeah the MV rapidly cutting definitely hurt my eyes a bit. I look forward to seeing live performances of this, where it’s just them dancing, which will be much easier on my eyes. There was one point where it felt like they were doing something cool with the cutting, where one of the girls was rising higher in the air between every rapid cut. That was the video highlight for me. That and the girls looking gorgeous. But enough about the video. The song is nice! It feels like something I’d put on in the background while drawing, or onto a playlist right next to Cool With You and Magnetic. I like it. It doesn’t surpass Air Force One for me yet, but we’ll see if it grows on me. The girls all sound great, and I’m once again reminded that I’m so happy this group exists. (And they’re actually getting paid this time!)
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didnt have subs on first watch. I was in pain and I was warned ahead of time too by my friend
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UPDATE! They posted a new video today that doesn’t hurt nearly as much. Hilariously, they called it “Human Eye ver.” So watch that one if you’re sensitive/don’t feel like hurting your brain. Stay safe out here y’all ❤️
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the song is a literal banger best stuff i’ve heard from modhaus
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I love!! One of my fave releases of the year tbh, along with Love or Die. Songs that are nostalgic like this are my favorite. It kinda reminds me of After We Ride by Brave Girls, in terms of wispy nostalgia, but that one was more nostalgic and this one is more wispy. Also reminds me of NUMB by Youha – just compare the first few seconds of both. NUMB is just the angsty, pop rock version of this song. I do agree that the hooks could be slightly stronger, though – that would instantly raise it to a much higher level. The MV took me by surprise as well – definitely lots of lore to it.
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tune into the human eye version y’all
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I like this video better than the original, because it’s easier on the eyes.
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I get the concept of the original MV but the human eye version is just superior because you can appreciate the story and production more. I’d rate this version 8.75, as an Orbit I’d honestly say this is the best Loona and post-Loona title track and I’m glad they’re not having anymore of those badass song concept.
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lol they saw the comments
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