Treasure pre-released their single Last Night in December. It was a sturdy rock-influenced anthem that fit them well. That song re-emerges as part of their new album Pleasure, which sees the guys tackling a variety of light pop sounds. Title track Yellow takes a more laidback approach in the vein of past YG Entertainment highlights like iKON’s Love Scenario.
Given the right song, this can be a very effective sound for a boy group. However, Yellow doesn’t do much for me. Its sing-song chorus has a nostalgic first-gen feel, though K-pop’s first-gen acts would have bolstered it with ridiculous techno or faux-reggae. Instead, we get plinky plonky percussion that doesn’t really commit to anything. The song revs up during its final moments, unveiling a more robust arrangement that should have been used throughout the entire track. I appreciate the sweet unpretentiousness of Yellow, but it needs at least one interesting musical quirk to contrast its simplicity.
Taking all of Yellow‘s elements into account, the song feels like a sigh rather than an exclamation. For as infrequently as Treasure comes back, they really need to hit it out of the park each and every time. Yellow has great potential as a b-side but I don’t see it matching quality with the group’s best singles.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Ooh, this is pretty cute! It perfectly encaptures the mid-tempo side of the YG sound and also reminds me of Baemon’s “Really Like You” (again, it’s the classic YG mid-tempo heh-heh). Not something I’d seek often, but it’s decent.
8 (8, 8, 8, 8) for me
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I enjoy enough of Treasure’s singles to be excited whenever they make a comeback. I think this is pleasant enough to add to that consistency, but agreed that it’s far from their best.
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This sounds like a fan song or something to clap along to at a concert. It could also have worked as a theme song to Shining Solo (I forget what they actually used in the intro). The whole album is very pleasant but Saruru stands out more to me as a shiny happy Treasure song.
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“first-gen acts would have bolstered it with ridiculous techno or faux-reggae”. Yes, I hear it too. If this were say 2010, Super Junior would have released this song with that added faux-quasi-reggae beat. As is here, the production just lacks that quirky punch and plays it too safe. There is no character.
Semi-related, as example and reference, in a quiet comment thread:
This SuJu video from 2010 is fun, its one of the “who’s missing today” classics of SuJu lore. Kyuhyun does not appear in the dance because he was in a musical or something, so they cleverly squeezed in him for a moment of morning quick shots with the group, and no one is the wiser, until I just pointed it out to you just now. Can you imagine if someone were missing in the dance today, the keyboard warriors would be going nuts. Anyway, his short lines at 3:25 are why I became a Kyuhyun bias.
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It’s cute. It’s good. Would i save it to my playlist? Maybe no
8/10
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I LOVE TREASURE THEY CAN SLAY EVERY CONCEPT I LOVE EVERY SONG OF THIS ALBUM! saruru, whatever whenever, last night and ofcourse Yellow is amazing i love the mv of Yellow is really interesting,relatable,creative storyline, its like watching a K drama.The Lyrics are so sweet.it really gives me PLEASURE treasure is so creative ! they can make their own song and could slay while performing,Visuals are out of this world man!the rap was so creative and catchy,the choreo is also so beautiful.they are so hardworking, for me its 10!!!!!!!!!!
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i’ve liked basically everything they have done since debut and this is no exception. I loved everything about it, especially the little details, the vocals and even the raps. Last Night is right down my alley, but these type of songs, when well executed, are irresistible to me. I’d give it an 8.25/10
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