Girl group MEOVV made their debut on Teddy’s The Black Label back in September with the disjointed Meow. That song seemed to come and go without much fanfare, but the girls have made a quick follow-up with new single Toxic. Co-written by YG Entertainment mainstays Teddy, Kush and 24, the song fits neatly within a given sonic trope — but not the one you might expect.
This is not the “look at me, I’m so cool” bop acts like BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER have made their names on. Instead, Toxic takes a softer approach, much more comparable to songs like Stay or even Rosé’s On The Ground. Toxic is much more sparse than either of those tracks, pulsing along a delicate beat that constantly sounds as if it will build into something bigger. This provides a welcome sense of tension, but the lack of a resolution gives the song a slightly hollow feeling after it’s finished.
Performed entirely in English, Toxic fits perfectly within the subdued “diary pop” that gained prominence in international markets just before and after the pandemic. This sub-genre does absolutely nothing for me because it’s not what I turn to pop music for, but that’s a personal preference. Purely as a song, Toxic is affecting but dull. It stays hushed for too long, unable to provide the sonic or emotional contrast that would make it memorable. The girls sound great (especially during the chorus), but for a song like this to capture me the melodies have to be absolutely incredible.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I find the production really dull, but the vocal performances are good. Wish the song intensified further from second verse, like, something like Taeyeon’s Time Lapse (maybe make the bridge’s intsrumental the second verse’s)
7.25 (8, 6, 8, 7) for me.
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better than their debut, but still leaves a lot to be desired
7/10 for me (7, 7, 7, 7)
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It’s too empty for me, though they do indeed sound good.
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When I hear a song like this, I have no idea how these girls are ever going to sing this live. There is hardly any clue for the first whole minute or more about what key is it in. Just tapping and a very low almost inaudible bass.
OK sure, Freddie Mercury could sing the better part of a song with nothing but boom boom clap, but he was Freddie Mercury.
For the song itself, it s a new flavor of the contemporary self-confessional mellow moody thing, but in the end it also just tastes like “fruit” – My kids with mystery skittles or fruity chewy, mystery blue drink = “i dunno it just tastes like fruit to me”.
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I generally agree. I found the track pretty engaging and while I expected it to explode part of me was telling myself that I’m just projecting my musical sensibilities on the song. Then the production builds and becomes relatively full…. Just to end…. Because of course. I can’t say I’m surprised because this has happened so much this year that this should just be my expectation now. Could’ve been good but it’s just okay. It’s better than meow but that goes without saying
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This sounds a lot like a specific subset of music my older daughter listens to – the stuff that bores me so much it makes me irritable.
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i like that it focuses on their vocals. it reminds me a lot of flume’s “never be like you”. it does sound like they got inspiration from it
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comeback
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Very meh for me. The other song from teh album (Body) is also not it. The B- label doesn’t seem to know what to do with Meovv and which direction to go. Three songs in and we’re still clueless as to where this will go. Say what you want about BabyMonster, but we all knew from the first second of Batter Up where this is going. They positioned themselves with only one song and each memeber left a mark. You knew who they were after one video; the two crazy rappers, the one who can sing, the one with the lower voice. With Meovv I don’t know any of these girls except for Ella, because she has been showed down our throat on all media as the next IT girl. They all sound the same and not in a good way.
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That’s so true, I do not like Babymonster’s music that much but I knew exactly what they are going for from the moment Batter Up released.
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Eh… the vocal performance reminds me a little of Billie Eilish. The sound itself is pretty boring, but it could actually be worse
By the way, The Black Label, why have a Korean group if they are going to sing in English?
7.5 for me too
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This sounds like a Selena Gomez reject.
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