Earlier this year, Trendz’s Go Up single-handedly vaulted them to a new level in my mind. It’s one of my favorite songs of 2024 and offered a new glimpse of the musical heights this rookie group could scale. However, most of Go Up‘s success can be attributed to producer/composer Brave Brothers. Grade “A” Brave Sound tracks just hit differently. And when a song is fantastic because of its producer’s sound rather than the group themselves, that leaves plenty of uncertainty for future releases.

New single Glow continues Go Up‘s good vibes, but in a far more generic way. It’s the umpteenth faux disco/funk/roller-rink pop track we’ve heard over the past few years and doesn’t bring new ideas or idiosyncratic perspective to the form. Like its many peers, Glow is sonically satisfying. It’s hard to imagine a song this buoyant not being satisfying. The performance and production are solid and the melodies are catchy — if predictable.

The problem here is not with the song itself but the overstock of these songs in the K-pop market. It’s been four years since BTS unleashed their Dynamite and boy groups are still riding that wave. Glow shimmers and sparkles (I like the strings!), but feels too sanitized to act as an authentic disco retread. Where’s the sense of revelry? Danger? Grit? I’ll almost certainly be bopping to this in my car, but secretly hoping that Go Up‘s anthemic hooks and thrilling guitar come on shuffle next.

Grade: B