Prior to their official debut in March of 2018, Stray Kids released an EP titled Mixtape, largely compiling the songs featured on their pre-debut reality series. Nearly seven years later, they’re back with their first actual mixtape — though the definition of “mixtape” is pretty darn loose when it comes to K-pop. The project’s “single,” if you want to call it that, releases alongside a big budget music video and more bombast than most acts receive for full-fledged comebacks.
I’ve been off the Stray Kids train for awhile now despite loving their music in the past, so I want to preface my thoughts by giving Walkin On Water a big compliment. While I’ve felt the group’s recent title tracks have begun to refurbish the same old tricks from their past work, Water feels genuinely fresh. It’s still a very hip-hop forward track, but its old school breakbeats and playful percussion imbue it with a stronger funk backbone than expected. Song structure and delivery aside, the instrumental is downright fascinating in places. There’s so much going on at once, from rugged bass to bright synth lines to resonant drums. It’s a robust mix, dramatic and theatrical yet somehow loose and groovy at the same time. This blend becomes more captivating the closer you listen.
Of course, this interesting production makes me long for an equally interesting song. Without its dynamic instrumental, Walkin On Water is passable but too reliant on chants and predictable sing-song hooks. Lyrics are also an issue. Too many lame water references make it feel like the track doesn’t have anything substantive or new to say. And at just under two and a half minutes, there’s not enough time for Water to develop its many ideas. A few excellent melodic flourishes and builds would have gone a long way toward making this the absolute banger it could have easily been.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
Grade: C+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I love the instrumental here. I also though the hyunjin and han parts were very good
9/10 (8, 10, 8, 10) for me
(also cant wait for people to rally up and claim skz plagiarized bts because the “crashing waves” part sounded EXTREMLEY similar to V’s verse in “Jump)
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THEY DID.They interpolated it
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Doesn’t interpolation require permission tho??
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Pretty sure yes, although I don’t think you can copyright a “flow”
It seems to me that V’s part and SKZ’s part sound similar, although I have heard a similar flow in H.O.T’s “Warriors Of Descendants”
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Pretty sure yes, although I don’t think you can copyright a “flow”
It seems to me that V’s part and SKZ’s part sound similar, although I have heard a similar flow in H.O.T’s “Warriors Of Descendants”
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people were already saying this just based on the previews lol we’ve got a big storm coming
even the Apple Music notes mention the similarity to bts jump, but then adds that that song was also influenced by kriss kross “jump,” an actual old school hip hop song. So they’re both drawing from the same sound palette
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the actual melodies don’t sound alike it’s just one phrase (out of 4 phrases) that’s similar. extremely similar is a huge stretch imo
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😐…
What can I say? I’m sorry… I know that many admire them and that this opinion may be unpopular, but for me, Stray Kids are on the same level as BLACKPINK, (G)I-dle, Ateez and other groups whose productions seem to rely excessively on musical tropes
The combination of lyrical, structural and instrumental style that captivated me before doesn’t have the same impact today. Although the production is technically good, it lacks depth in its execution. I recognize the group’s talent and uniqueness, but their current music sounds more like a showcase of skills than genuine artistic expression
The hip-hop elements here are technically competent, but they don’t surprise or transcend expectations
Rating: 7.5 (7, 8, 8, 7)
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I cant be the only who thought that song was just straight up shit. What even was the chorus. The production wasnt even that good to save the song from being mid.
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understandable. For me I like the song a lot, especially the instrumental. But I can kinda get your side, since I don’t think this song (or hip hop) is meant for everyone
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I mean hip-hop isnt my favourite genre but I genuinely like good hip-hop in kpop and this one just was way too messy and boring at the same time for me?
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I didn’t really find it messy, but that’s just my music taste I guess
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you and me both hoyad
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yup fully agree. This song was their most mediocre one yet. I was cringing so hard. The faux east London ‘wottah wottah’ pronunciation of water. Rhyming with Harry Potter. The song has no meaning. Using crip walk to look cool? These guys creative output is suffering, especially with their title tracks. Felix’s parts are becoming so predictable and gimmicky too. Its such a shame. This is the same group that put out meaningful, clever songs like Levanter. Came back to add, what on earth happened to Changbin’s lyricism this time?
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excuse you but thats how they say water in Australia, where the Producer is from. Also, its just an interpretation of crip walking, choreographed with their member Lee Know who is a professionally studied dancer.
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Mmh. To me I don’t actually see anything wrong with the song… Reading through the lyrics…it feels like they mean what they wrote… It’s just like when writing a poem or a parable… You put your words shuffled kind of… If you keen enough that song has got a message regarding Skz… It’s a certain kind of a style of writing a song…. To many it may sound meaningless but if you read it as a whole and think of it or analyse it…it makes much sense than you’d think…
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wow, this was fast!
the production was a good kind of messy; i think the standout parts of the instrumental was primarily in the verses, not the chorus. the chorus blended into the rest of the song and neither the instrumental or the verses stood out.
and the english… god, you guys have TWO native english speakers and SEVERAL fluent people in the group, and one of those native speakers is IN THE PRODUCTION GROUP. and you came up with, uh, “i’m walking on water, you can call me harry potter”?? this + giant’s (i’m sorry but fym run run run before we come come come??? are you the giant from jack in the beanstalk) mid post-chorus has me choking
thank god the second verse + its raps are so nice bc otherwise i’d personally be throwing multiple hands, not all of them my own
bounce back was really good, praying for an mv for that, but it might not be likely.
i’ll give this an 8 (7/8/8/10)
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anyone else feel like this is s-class’s slightly less cooler younger sibling who’s into hip-hop and has to pretend to be cool because, unlike their older sibling, they actually aren’t really and need to go back to their dc comics and harry potter books
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have to agree with you re: the English lyrics. Sometimes I find myself hoping they don’t sound as corny in Korean because for all I know it could be just as bad lmao
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your argument makes no sense bc what about someone’s fluency would make them stop someone else from writing “you can call me harry potter” makes total grammatical and contextual sense. it being cringe, well skz’s lyrics, including their korean lyrics, are “cringe” at times. they’ve laughed about it themselves. its a feature not a bug.
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“i’m so skibidi” also makes grammatical and contextual sense in 2024. it does not, however, make for a good lyric, now would it.
as for the cringe aspect, there’s a difference between tongue-in-cheek cringe and just… literal cringe. skz-related examples of the former being maniac going “if you think i’m pure & innocent, you’re wrong” while hip-thrusting, thunderous having “man, i’m not sorry (pun with sori/소리), i’m dirty”, and so much more.
and frankly, their solo songs + bounce back + U prove they CAN write proper english lyrics that rhyme. why they decided not to do this for walkin on water, i can only imagine.
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yea again that’s not a fluency issue. thats you thinking something is cringe and them not.
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hip-hop, as well as punk, never cared for conventional lyrics, especially in the beginning years, which Walking On Water is reminiscenting
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I loved this!
With Stray Kids I stand on the same ground as I do with groups like BLACKPINK. I’m not usually a fan of their main singles and would go to their albums or EPs to find tracks that I like better. I’ve felt that way with SKZ since “LALALA.” I thought “Chk Chk Chk Boom” and “Mountains” were a step in the right direction. Now, this new single feels fresh and like one of their best since “5-Star.”
I really do think this type of sound fits them well. While it preserves elements like chanting and shouting words, it feels so good to hear them sing a pre-chorus and a chorus with actual words and catchy melodies.
I’m here for this, not gonna lie this is an 8.7 to me.
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I love stray kids so damn much. I fell in love with gods menu/back door era, and loved all their previous music at that point. They were the first group I really really strongly biased. Their title tracks have been falling deeper and deeper into feeling trashy to me but chk chk boom was a genuine light, it felt like we were returning to songs I liked. After the release of this I can’t help but feel like I’ve broken up with stray kids. This whole album just feels like a shell of their former selves, influenced by the acts they influenced, the boy groups that drowned 4th gen into the kick it/god’s menu cheap copies. I can easily see this song being released by dxmon, all hours, or any number of those 4th gen bgs with really similar sounds of noisy edm with nothing to really bring to the table. I am really disappointed, this is likely their worst release yet, dashing any of the hope that chk chk boom and its bsides brought to the table. My favorite teacher always graded students based on their growth, even if it wasn’t absolutely where they needed to be. In the spirit of that, based on the trend of stray kids I can only say that the TT and whole album falls somewhere around a 2-4 for me, lower for the tt. I once loved you stray kids.
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Right, I forgot to mention it in my own comment but Chk Chk Boom felt actually fresh and a step in the right direction to change things up after a repetitive LALALALA. This is straight up walking backwards, throwing a bit of everything from 2020 and 2021 as a very boring callback.
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I have the exact same thoughts! They were the first kpop group I listened to, and going through their discography I really loved all the songs. But as I got closer to their recent songs, I stoped liking them as much. I think Maniac was the last comeback from them that I really liked, and even then it wasn’t as good as the older discography. I could also usually turn to their b-sides when the tt weren’t doing it for me, but those also fell off for me after Maniac. I really loved their more edm focused stuff, like Miroh and most of their first albums. (Idk if edm is the right genre for that, since genres generally confuse me, but whatever they doing in the beginning) But now, the tt just fall flat every comeback, and there are no good b-sides to turn to. I’m still going to play tf out of their older stuff, but that excitement for their new stuff isn’t there anymore. Looks like I’ll have to find a new boy group with a sound I like, but kpop groups don’t really focus on edm, so I don’t really know where to start.
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Ugh.
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wow, this one is really not for me. I only hope it grows on me with time and/or the choreo/staging for it is engaging, because otherwise I will be at their concert next year in pain when they perform this… smiling through it all
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SKZ now have more TTs that are downright bad than actually bangers.
Take me back to Miroh.
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Man, I really wish they would go back to that style! It was so good. I guess all good things come to pass. : /
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Mmhhh. There’s some good ones among the b-sides, but have to say the title track is really disappointing to me. The instrumental is interesting but the song itself, it doesn’t even have a proper chorus, where is it? 🙂 And yes they interpolated “Jump” by BTS, which is one of their most iconic verses, so I’m not sure how well that’s going to go down.
I rate Stray Kids as the best boy group after BTS, together (maybe) with NCT Dream, but overall I agree with other comments that it seems lately they have given up a little, their music isn’t as good as the music that made them famous. This is just a mixtape though, we’ll see what they do next.
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It’s fine, I just wish it was longer.
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Stray Kids are clearly backtracking from their pots and pans genre and structure for a clean, sleek route with surface-level everything. It’s pure alt rock with a pinch of hip-hop and it’s so safe and boring, and the cringe lyrics don’t add any flavor to it. Bounce Back is the same, but way better and more interesting.
The highlights are the solo songs, especially Youth, Hallucination and Ultra.
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This song was their most mediocre one yet. I was cringing so hard. The faux east London ‘wottah wottah’ pronunciation of water. Rhyming with Harry Potter. The song has no meaning. Using crip walk to look cool? These guys creative output is suffering, especially with their title tracks. Felix’s parts are becoming so predictable and gimmicky too. Its such a shame. This is the same group that put out meaningful, clever songs like Levanter. Came back to add, what on earth happened to Changbin’s lyricism this time?
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In relation to the mixtape, my favorite solo is Bang Chan’s Railway.
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so, do I like the song, no. But do I hear the old stray kids coming back yeah, the lyrics are terrible, but I don’t know how to describe it, but their closer, the lyrics though are painfully bad, I’m not sure what they were doing
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Alright, this is probably pointless to say days after my original comment but listening to the solos at 3am hit different, for better or for worse.
Railway – (7.25/10 ; 7, 7, 7, 8)
This exists just for them to have a “sexy” solo on the album and I’m glad that at least the obsessive fangirls are drooling over the metaphors in this that came straight from tumblr, because I’m not.
unfair – (7/10 ; 6, 6/7, 7, 8)
Felix. I am talking to you very gently when I say this. You spent months proving yourself as a bilingual. Are you resorting to making us think you have forgotten english in order to solidify your status as a korean singer. at least deep end had a good production. But for the love of god pair your good voice with good lyrics.
Hallucination – (8/10 ; 8, 7, 8, 9)
It’s… fine. This exists. Feels better with the m/v playing because you get a hint of the song’s meaning– listening to it on spotify had me zoned out because that alluring prechorus was followed up by the most skeletal chorus I’ve seen on a skz solo song till now. It’ll enjoy some short-lived infamy for yet another maknae going down the sexy route or whatever. On another note, I.N’s vocal tone has visibly improved while the inflections have stayed the same. Funny.
Youth – (9/10 ; 9, 8, 9, 10)
This kinda sounds like a low quality predebut BOYNEXTDOOR song to me, IDK. I don’t remember much of the first verse, and I remember enjoying the chorus on first listen (BET BET BET BET ON WHATCHU WANT), but when it reached the part in the second verse where it goes “feeling like I’m superman” I had to do an abrupt double take because that SINGLE lyric is literally 80% of the entire reason of my pure love for this song now. I really do feel the youth (I am a literal adult with an infant). The way the ending just fades away is irritating, especially considering it’s with the same rhythm and instrumental the chorus had throughout the entire song. Come on, main dancer, if you’re going to give us a dance track, go all out!
So Good – (6.25/10 ; 4, 6, 7, 8)
“You’re being too harsh” no, I’m furious. The teasers made me think this was going to be something like Back Door (Hyunjin’s Version). Instead I get what would be a (G)I-DLE b-side in 2019. Outro’s kind of a vibe while cycling (which was my first encounter with this song in its entirety), I’ll give them that. Hyunjin’s killer trait is that he can really sell any song no matter the quality, so the majority of attention around this track will likely be whenever his m/v comes out and his dancing is in the spotlight. I view this as Stray Kids’ GGUM- that solo song by their popular member that was primarily made for performances. Which is fine. I respect both GGUM and So Good for what they are, just don’t expect me to put them on playlists.
ULTRA – (8/10 ; 7, 8, 7, 9)
The production and overall energy is… really giving GIANT, and I disliked that song as soon as the chorus hit. The intro is so incredible that I ended up replaying it several times just to hear that and then immediately proceeded to skip the song after it ended, which… speaks a lot about how the song progresses. It has a lot of tricks up its sleeve and you can really see the potential for it being an amazing hype track, but the “dark” pronunciation of “ultra” followed by the drop chorus really keeps it from reaching a good peak. Also, it’s much too short.
Hold my hand – (8.5/10 ; 8, 9, 8, 9)
Hanpop strikes again, huh? I’m always afraid of having to give a negative opinion on these because of how rabid hanners can be, but thankfully, Han’s solos are usually great. While shorter than his previous songs, Hold my hand is no exception. It’s not quite as iconic as Alien, perhaps, but better in terms of quality. Maybe it would have been MAJORLY improved by a softer and longer bridge, perhaps with a Red Velvet-esque high note?
As we are – (9/10 ; 9, 8, 8, 10)
He wants to join Day6 so bad 💀💀 Seungmin wins through pure reason of being the only one with a solo with an actual length, beating even b-side Bounce Back with a runtime of 3 minutes and 33 seconds (over 3 and a half minutes!). But seriously, the guitar really ties everything in together, I think. The little “Hey!” before the last chorus, after it leads into that beautiful note and then a strumming guitar…
Sorry to anyone who had to read my useless ramblings, lol.
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