Last year, WHIB surprised in a delightful way with the bright funk energy of Rush Of Joy, instantly putting them on my radar. For new single Bang Out, it seems they got that “joy” stuff out of their system and are now back to typical boy group posturing.

Groups like this are what I consider “K-pop’s working class.” Rather than develop their own sound and artistic vision, they flit between trends and styles depending on who their agency purchases material from. Unless every song is a 9+ rated masterpiece, this constant shift makes it very hard to feel any attachment to a group. Rush Of Joy probably could have been performed equally well by anyone, and the same can be said about Bang Out. The difference is, this song is far less enjoyable and quite irritating at times.

We open with a familiar shout-rap assault that feels like a dozen gnats buzzing around your ears. If I could somehow pull shout rap and sing talk from K-pop’s lexicon, we’d all be in a better place. Nearly all of Bang Out follows this approach. Even when the guys are singing, the lines are clipped and flattened of any notable curves. It’s not rhythmic enough to be effective rap and not anthemic enough to match the rock-meets-hip-hop instrumental. Instead, Bang Out sounds like an annoying hissy fit. Apparently, the rush of joy is over and we’ve hit the sugar crash.

Grade: C-