J-pop promotion schedules can be a bit weird, especially when compared to K-pop’s tightly-wound logistics. &TEAM’s new single doesn’t officially come out until next week (at which point the full music video will be unveiled), but they’ve pre-released it alongside a performance video today. Since the full audio is out, this seems as good a time as any to write about the song.
&TEAM have slowly crept up to being one of my current favorite acts on the strength of their increasingly great singles run. I love them best when performing upbeat, anthemic material (b-side Big Suki is a major jam in case you missed it), but they debuted with a darker, rock-meets-rap sound. Go In Blind is a throwback to that aesthetic, removing buoyancy for grittier textures. Unsurprisingly, I like this less than joy bombs like Aoarashi or pounding rock tracks like Yukiakari, but the song has its charms.
Opening with a catchy guitar riff, Go In Blind moves into a stuttering verse underlined by trap percussion. Things improve as we hit the melodic pre-chorus. This is the song’s most memorable moment and is over way too soon. In contrast, the chorus feels too restrained for its own good. The instrumental beefs up, but the melodies lack the usual spark I associate with &TEAM’s music. The bombast of the arrangement pulls this over the line, but if you’re going to go with a more brittle arrangement, you need the kind of killer hooks that fueled their early-2025 highlight Deer Hunter.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
what do you think of this? https://youtu.be/sgbMlA2_L-w?si=dEwxpmoQGgq8DfHu
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I like the energy. We’ll see how the full song goes…
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If I were to fix one thing, it would be the volume of the vocal. It is so heavily EQ’d that all passion has been sucked out of it. The verses should be softer so that the chorus can be louder. Some notes should be clipped short so others could be longer.
“It’s a cold vicious world
No time to stop
Yeah, this is war
Raise your voice”
Its a desperate song, but sounds basic rainy day clouds not hurricane force. Tension is set at mid, when it should be set at 10.
Think of how Dreamcatcher “Scream” is produced, its all tension, high and low, deep dark, short sharp shock then deceptive legato.
Maybe when these boys sing it live live, what the song could be will come out. I still like it, will take it anyway, just need to play in on 11 in the car.
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The one flaw in &TEAM’s otherwise excellent discography for me is their darker, rock-inflected songs like War Cry and Scar to Scar. This one is better than both of them due to the prechorus but I wish they could figure out how to make it sound as good as their other material.
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