With QWER’s TBH still riding high on digital charts, the group is back with a new album. This was preceded by the comedic Fake Idol, which featured (G)I-DLE’s Soyeon in its video. This time around, she’s active behind the scenes, co-writing/producing new single My Name Is Malguem (내 이름 맑음).

QWER’s Manito mini album showcased more musical diversity than you might expect from a band, and My Name Is Malguem dips into some of this variety. It feels much more pop-informed than you might think. Given a different instrumental, this could easily have been performed by a traditional song-and-dance idol group. And funny enough, I think I would have preferred that. The melodies seem ripe for a Lovelyz/GFriend style surge of symphonic heft. Instead, the production mostly fades into the background, supporting the track but never laying out its own vision.

Korean tastes are unpredictable, and this might well go on to become another heat-seeking missile up the charts, but after a few listens My Name Is Malguem doesn’t feel as sticky as TBH. In its current iteration, it sounds like a very solid drama OST, pleasant but lacking bite or a unique calling card.

Grade: C