I vastly underrated NMIXX’s January title track Dash, which quickly grew on me and just kept growing over the course of the year. When given great material, this group has unlimited potential. However, JYP Entertainment seems intent on throwing the musical encyclopedia at them, trying every angle they can to see what sticks. Pre-release SICKUHH dabbled in hard-hitting hip-hop with special guest Kid Milli while title track See That? (별별별) mixes several genres into its overstuffed frame.
More than anything, See That? takes influence from 90’s hip-hop. Its familiar bass recalls H.O.T’s Warrior’s Descendent, which in turn reflected the general vibe of its era. But apart from that retro influence, See That‘s structure and execution is mired in more modern K-pop tropes. Mainly, it struggles to find hooks that break free from its domineering production. Despite being a vocally-gifted group, NMIXX yet again spend the bulk of the track sing-talking. Very little of the songwriting feels committal or even memorable. The buoyant bridge is an exception, but carves out too little space within the track to amount to much.
On the plus side, there are many interesting things happening within the production. The beat is dense and exciting, especially during verse two where guitar and synth battle it out for supremacy, even introducing a bit of country flair to the mix. But without an effective top line, See You‘s strengths get drowned out and we’re left with yet another K-pop track that flexes attitude over killer melodies and focused arrangements.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Agree with the rating, I feel like this overall album just felt short. Interesting production all around but unmemorable tracks. The lack of hooks was apparent, I would say Beat Beat and Love is Lonely (especially the synth chorus) are definitely the standouts. Overall, this was a weaker project than their last.
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DASH remains their best.
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Undoubtedly. In my personal top 10 of the year so far and my favorite from them
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same!
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Once again, the song that knocked me out is nestled at the album’s poignant finale – Love is Lonely. While the title track this time echoes the charm of Dash, it lacks the impressive individuality that Dash embraced.
Overall, Stick Out delivers lighter material than Break, so it falls under expectations.
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I might be the odd one out but I surprisingly enjoyed this~
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I think it’s one of those songs that you need to sit with for a while because It does get better, I feel like at first I thought it was kinda irritating but now it actually has some flair and attitude to it😊
8/10😍
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When are we getting something in the vein of love me like this? Sold the most, charted well and was a clear critic favourite.
Why are we only getting hip hop tracks without vocals? They can sing not rap.
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I was so excited to see what was next after DASH. This is quite the let down. It’s not as big a disappointment as NCT Dream’s Smoothie, but it’s close and where my mind immediately went. At least this song doesn’t give me a headache.
Mid/High 6
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It’s not bad, definitely a mid to high 7 for me. I just feel that this lacked a conclusion. The part that I think is the bridge (wooah-oo-wooah) was what I thought the chorus was going to (and should) be. I would have made that the first part of the chorus, keep the second part but with more chords to build the conclusion up. It has good parts it’s just not arranged the best. I will say, of what we saw in the choreography, that definitely beats DASH in my opinion.
As for the EP, I agree with the comments that the first one was the stronger one. Sickuhh does not feel right to listen to. RLSBWG had the potential to carry some brat vibes as a dance track and what we have is fun but it’s too short. Beat Beat is good, but it works great slowing it by 10%. The closing half of the record is stronger than it’s starting half by quite a bit.
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Anand I should clarify, overall I think DASH beats out See That but I really like the choreography to See That. That’s what I meant in the first paragraph.
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Hm, I found it okay
7.75 (7, 8, 8, 8) for me
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I have to agree with the rating. While this isn’t their strongest title track, this EP isn’t all mid. I really liked Beat beat!
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what a wasted beat
7.5/10 for me
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I’d just like them to get back to Paxxword musically. DASH was a blast, but JYP should never repeat this style with this group.
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EDIT: By “this style” I meant See That?
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If I could I’d delete my comment. I think after a few lessons this song is as fun as DASH and the performance is a lot of fun. 8.5/10.
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I don’t know why, but Paxxword to me is reminiscent of Loona’s earlier work. I think NMIXX will kill it synth wave adjacent tracks, and with some of those more underused genres like future bass and dream pop, and they can absolutely excel in dance pop ala SNSD ‘Genie’. They don’t need to be abrasive to stand out, and I think JYP should realize that.
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Oops, I meant to post this as a reply to the comment above 😭
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Paxxword actually reminds me of Little Mix’s first album “Wings”. The majority of expergo actually feels like that for me.
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Ha, good to know. I’m not too familiar with Western groups so I can only draw comparisons with what I’m familiar with. It actually mostly reminded me specifically of Red Velvet’s earlier a Capella adjacent tracks like Sunny After, Stupid Cupid, etc.
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Huh. I actually liked this one a lot. An easy 8.5 for me.
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there are a lot of areas of k-pop that irritate the hell out of me: way too many fledgling, inexperienced, low-on-cash management agencies popping up and still managing to get their hands and corrupt intentions on good k-pop talent and eventually ruin their lives and choke the hope out of these groups fans before they eventually disband and are never heard from again; mini-albums; single-albums; Animee-made groups that sometimes produce better songs for cartoon images than for a real group; fledgling agencies mismanaging talented artists and groups (and abusing them); long hiatus’ from our favorite groups, and those that have managed to debut with a ‘punch’ and then, for whatever reason fade away into the k-dungeon of ‘what could have been;’ lazy production and promotion, and more….
but, what i can’t stand even more than the above, is something that Nick said in this review about ‘a group being vocally-gifted, but not playing to that strength’….that really burns me up because i personally love groups with great vocals, especially power vocals, and almost nothing irritates me more is when a group has that vocal ability and it is not utilized!….groups like Spica, EXO, Purple Kiss, Red Velvet know this and we always get great vocals from them….
i really NMIXX and i agree that they have the talent and vocals to do some great things in k-pop….i just hope their JYP allows them to take that step and stake out their claim in this oversaturated k-pop industry….
-KP
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seeing you now rate “dash” an 8.75, i guess we can have it tie with “one and only” and “future perfect” as the highest risers on this blog
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Well, if we put Nick’s “Revisiting the lowest rated songs” post into consideration, Miss $’ Don’t Speak Without Soul would prolly be the biggest riser (3.75 to mid-7s which I assume is a 7.5), with the most of the songs there too rising quite high by 2 or 3
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I think … I think its actually pretty good. Its the kinder gentler OO. The one that makes sense.
If I have a quibble, its with the “twinkle twinkle little star” in the chorus. Getting that out up front.
The vocals do take a back seat on the surface but there are subtle moments throughout which aren’t as easy as they seem. Its more about what you are not hearing, what a disaster some other lesser vocal groups would have made. Let’s start with the intro at about 0:14 “Can You Feel some thing” G4-D5-G4-D5-G4. Its just whipped out with ease down-UP-down-UP-down. Lesser groups would go all shrill on the upper note.
Then it drops into a lower section verse, below middle C. Usually in kpop, female voices go all heavy Lana Del Rey. Some groups don’t even go below middle C. Below middle C is not that low. NMixx here proves it. Incidentally, its the same G-D intervals as that opening line just down an octave so its a nice parallel construction.
Then there are a ton of semitone rising lines and descending lines. Too many to list. Some sound close to also halving the semitone intervals without sliding. Other producers would make a big deal out of those lines – there is a song every couple months in boy kpop with prominent descending by half notes. Here, just another little touch on the song.
Overall, I think the song is like fine craftsmanship, that is quietly perfect. It doesn’t shout. It just does it.
Yeah, I like it.
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Agreed! Once again I find myself coming back to a JYP release a day later to find that, yes, the song actually was good after all. Why does this happen with every NMIXX and ITZY release?
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Liked it a lot more than the genre and sing talk may imply. The production is strong, and I like their vocals a lot, when they shine through.
The rest of the mini is decent. While Sickuhh might not be for me, I’ll still enjoy it occasionally, I think. Red light is better than I expected at first, it’s definitely repetitive, but it’s still a fun listen. Beat Beat is as good as I expected. Moving On has a fun rock band vibe, also liking that one.
Lastly, Love is Lonely is by far the strongest song for me on the album. The melodies, the vocals, the harmonies, such a beautiful song. I’ve been already looping it and am excited to see how long it holds up. For now, I’m pretty optimistic that it’ll remain a stand-out for me this year. Maybe it’ll also get a buried treasure review, I’d certainly appreciate that. 👀
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Seven is overwhelming for me. too high. The song has so many yummy elements, but when combined, it’s like a flavor that flows nowhere and leaves nothing on your tongue. Where’s the impact of the song? What drives me to engage with it? I don’t dislike it, but I can’t recall what I listened to. It’s not potent enough to be served. Not memorable.
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This song can be a bit surprising at first, but it quickly becomes addictive. NMIXX embodies “Mix Pop,” so it’s hard to compare their new releases with their older songs since each album or EP delivers something completely fresh and different.
Not everyone is ready for change or the diverse elements that Mix Pop brings, as there’s a lot to take in. But overall, I’d give it an 8.5/10.
Give it a few more listens!
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“NMIXX yet again spend the bulk of the track sing-talking”
According to the youtube channgel ReacttotheK, “NMIXX sings at a very high level that they make it look too easy”
I think I’ll take the actual musicians take on singing on this one rather than non-chalantly waving one of the most vocally talented groups as merely “sing-talking”
Mind you NMIXX was invited on Tiny Desk Korea where they had to perform 4 songs in one take, with no MR, no AR, no lipsyncing, no post-production processing and you to demote their craft as mere “sing-talking” is quite actually offensive. Even one of the comments above this one appreciates the vocal intricacies NMIXX pours into their music.
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