I watched last summer’s survival series Makemate (and even featured one of their songs on the blog), but it left such little impression that I struggle to recall many details about it. Its debuting group NouerA is here to fix that, arriving with a whopper of an electro-funk track that definitely leaves its mark.
K-pop’s older generation of producers just hit different. N.I.N (New Is Now) is an e.one production — specifically e.one’s Jung Ho Hyun who is responsible for great work from GFriend, April and Wanna One (among many others). The song does a nice job melding the old with the new, though when it does falter its thanks to those pesky “new” musical touches. Apart from a clunky, momentum-killing dance break and a few unnecessary slowdowns, N.I.N is a thrilling debut. The song is at its best when leaning into its showstopping energy. I love the multi-part chorus, festooned with dynamic synth and brassy flourishes. The second verse is also a major highlight, adding handclaps and a perky synthline to the mix.
Most refreshingly, N.I.N sounds like K-pop — or at least, the K-pop that first brought me into the fandom. It’s hard to imagine this specific sound being pitched in many other music markets. The track doesn’t feel focus-grouped to appeal to as many international fans as possible and that allows it to retain a sense of individuality. I hope NouerA continue to stake their claim on this 2nd/3rd-gen style because there’s a massive hole in the market they’re clearly capable of filling.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I love this! You can never go wrong with an electro-funk production and this song proves it (and the song also manages to inject a Bhangra-esque riff in the second verse which did caught me off-guard!) I do wish we got a fully fleshed-out chorus, but the spoken, half-catchphrase, half-melody chorus also works well. My issue with the song is that the dance break should have been stronger, cause it basically kills the momentum. But overall, it’s a solid debut and hey, we got a third 9+ rating in barely a week (and that too, a debut!)
8.75 (8, 9, 9, 9) for me.
LikeLike
(9,9,9,9) = 9
The dance break is fine for shows and live performances but should have been cut from the studio version, or altered at least, because the other slowdowns worked for me, just not that one.
The album is super solid as well! I’ll be watching these guys for sure.
LikeLike
Hooray, another hot one.
And it sounds like actual kpop, not like warmed over recycled songs. At once 1st gen (a la TVXQ “Rising Sun”-style sloooow doooowwwn in the dance break), 2nd gen (Super Junior-style horns a la “Black Suit”), and 3rd gen (I’m hearing early Seventeen-style flair).
So many good moments. That shift at 0:50 is everything.
Another good thing is that we seem to be leaving the TLA Three Letter Acronym boy band era and back into the cryptic elision of words that shouldn’t go together but they try anyway.
LikeLike
A deserved 9! But please can they come out with a version without the dance break (just why e.one why). Everything else is perfect for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
the b side bring the crunk is really good too
LikeLike
im so obsessed with bring the crunk, its the hidden title track for me!!
LikeLike
I am absolutely obsessed with it too! it’s my favourite track on the album. Although, I do think new is now has more of that debut title energy/grandeur (minus that dance break lol).
LikeLike
please check out the b sides too!
LikeLike
my SOTY.
9.25 (9, 9, 9, 10) for me
LikeLike
you should give the whole minialbum a shot! the bsides are even better imo (not including mu, the only bad song on the album…), bring the crunk is the star of the album for me!!
LikeLike
one thing i wanna note about the album is that is actually feels themed all throughout, with a “story”, if that makes sense. the production remains consistent, whereas in many kpop albums the songs feel disjointed as they try to tackle different genres.
the only stinker is still mu, but i can hide the song on spotify anyways lol
LikeLike
I actually think MU is pretty good, which might be surprising given the way I usually feel about shouty boy group fare. In this case, the energy feels more like “let’s get ’em!” than “aren’t we so badass?” and I like the rock instrumental.
LikeLike
ahh thats indeed surprising to hear haha! for me the rest of the song quite solid with some good moments (particularly the bridge), but the chorus just has one of those hooks that i can’t get into no matter what 😅 im happy to hear that you like the album in its entirety!!
LikeLike
I agree with this too… MU gives me so much raw energy
LikeLike
Oh, I’m already there 😉
https://x.com/nickajames/status/1894786708086177825
LikeLike
Oh yeah, it just gets better with every listen.
LikeLike
A debut rated 9??? I thought we left that in 2024. This song’s definitely a winner.
LikeLike
It kinda reminds me of SHINee’s Five album, with the electro-funky energy, with songs like ABOAB (I just remember how much I love that album!) It’s also sort of like a more electronic (and 5th gen) take on TVXQ’s Spellbound. Less sultry and more energetic.
LikeLike
Talking about TVXQ and the dance break in question, I think this song would’ve been a 10 with a rock-inspired dance break like this one
LikeLike
I think I got into K-pop during a weird transition period, when the 2-gen groups and stars were becoming inactive or straight up disbanding. Then, the 3rd generation acts started to take a more “Westernized” approach. However, it does remind me of GFRIEND and older SEVENTEEN and Shinee songs.
I can’t say I love it, I don’t have the nostalgia attached to this type of songs to make it stand out for me. It just reminds me of my last year of high-school in 2016, when I was exploring songs by 3rd generation groups who used to have this style before it “died.” However, I do understand the appeal and why it would be a highlight for many K-pop listeners, it’s just maybe not for me.
LikeLike
The flow of this song reminds me of MaMa Beat by LC9, which, naturally, is an old song. I think this might be my number one song this year, for the moment, at least. My rating is the same
LikeLike
Oh that’s how you do a beat change!
Hoping this surge in bg excellence we’ve been getting this month continues throughout the year.
LikeLike
This is fun, bouncing along quite nicely. I don’t think I’m as enthusiastic about it as everyone else seems to be. This doesn’t resonate with me enough to make me excited. I did check out the album… but not my thing I guess.
LikeLike
Wow the production is INSANE. How it locks with what the vocals do… I love it love it love it. Also the tempo change in the bridge. Maybe NMIXX should really study this one to get some inspiration on how to do some crazy dynamic changes effectively? As much as they keep trying with their Mixx pop songs, they always sounded just weird and overdone to me!
LikeLike