When this LIGHTSUM comeback was first announced, my immediate thought was: “didn’t they disband?” Obviously, I was getting them confused with another group (probably Cherry Bullet), but it says something when a K-pop obsessive like me can’t even remember the status of LIGHTSUM. The group just hasn’t released much material and their long hiatuses make building momentum a losing game.

However, I’ll always root for the underdog and would love to see LIGHTSUM break through with something fresh and exciting. Instead, new single Pose! tethers itself to 2024’s most insidious girl group trend. Its muted sound palette takes us to the club in the least ambitious way possible. When a thumping house beat enters the mix, it only sticks around for a few seconds before the instrumental reverts back to a dull pulse. Rather than let any one musical element stand as the song’s calling card, Pose! simply blends everything into a generic mush.

With production this subdued, Pose! needs a killer melody to compensate. Sadly, the hooks are as flat and uninteresting as the instrumental. The chorus floats by without delivering a memorable centerpiece. Even after several listens, I can’t remember much about the song. The girls give a solid performance, but there’s nothing here we couldn’t get from any other group. This particular K-pop sound has to fall out of favor eventually, right? As far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better.

Grade: C-