Yesterday, WayV told us to “go higher” and now Super Junior-D&E are back with a similar message. The timing is pure coincidence, but it always amuses me when these things happen. Since establishing their own label, the duo have taken even greater control of their music. Judging by Go High‘s approach, that may not be a good thing.

D&E’s music has often had a humorous edge, tracing all the way back to their early-2010’s work. The EDM trends of that era leant themselves to these concepts, finding the balance between quirky fun and annoying repetition. Go High tilts all the way toward the latter, offering a meme-worthy hook that’s ear-catching but utterly obnoxious. In other words, once I catch this earworm, I immediately want to cut it into pieces and scatter the remains around the globe so there’s no chance of it re-forming. Too graphic?

On top of its headache-inducing chorus, the song itself just isn’t fun. The rapped verses aim for “hard hitting” rather than witty and this results in a posture that feels inauthentic. The production fails to find a unique perspective, simply bopping along a series of familiar drum samples without injecting a riff or melody that might act as the song’s calling card. Go High‘s robust finale comes closest to capitalizing on the duo’s potential, but by this point it’s too little, too late.

Grade: D