Whenever an act releases a digital single with little lead-up time and no official comeback attached, I always assume one of two things. Either the song is too good and has too much chart potential to wait for an accompanying album, or it’s just a stop gap to get something new into the market between bigger-budget comebacks. Listening to TXT’s new Love Language, I’m convinced it belongs in the latter group.
This is definitely not the kind of career-defining hit guaranteed to conquer charts for months. In fact, its Bieber-circa-2015 tropical sound is quite a throwback that doesn’t echo many current global trends. I happen to be a fan of this sound and never begrudge a song for digging back in pop music’s past… as long as it does something fun with the artifacts it unearths. But here’s where Love Language gets in trouble and veers dangerously close to “stop gap” territory. It sets its ambitions too low. From melody to production, its reheating of old trends drains most of what made those trends so enjoyable.
My favorite part of the track (the tropical synth loop echoing each chorus) only reminds me how mighty What Do You Mean and Sorry were as avatars for this sonic texture. Love Language just doesn’t have the hooks needed to make it a vital retread. It’s nice to hear the members sing with some verve — especially as the production softens to allow room for them to belt it out during the pre-choruses and bridge — but everything else is incredibly slight, like the type of music you’d hear playing in the background at a pool or lounge. Its summer vibes are pleasant enough, but vibes alone don’t make a standout single.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
HYBE has terrorized us with incomplete-sounding songs in the last few years that I gagged when it kept going after the second chorus. it’s also very refreshing to hear them sing more Korean in a single. I just hope HYBE doesn’t go back to making bridgeless songs again after this
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I like it. It’s fun and cute. Might bump it a few more times
8 (8, 8, 8, 8) for me
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The kind of tropical shithouse mediocrity that consigned the genre to memory hole status once it finally stopped being so ubiquitous in kpop and everyone scrambled to remember the few songs that weren’t it that was released around that time.
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Mmmhhh I’m so on the fence with this one; I think it’s a good song… but to me it’s not single material (especially considering how big TXT are as a artists). Will I listen to it again? Not sure….with this kind of “flat” vibe either you have some ridiculously good hook, or I generally lose interest… we’ll see, maybe it will grow on me, I give it the benefit of the doubt 🙂
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This is the kind of song that is written with the head not the heart. It’s talking a lot about love, but is anyone feeling any love? Any like? Any thing? Usually this would be a bside filler.
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All filler, no killer
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As someone who’s made a pointed decision to not listen to Beiber – and that Yummy song only validated that decision – it does feel fresh to me. As far as a digital single goes it’s groovy and I wager will find itself on many a summer playlist. Everyone sounds wonderful on it and I think the fun charisma exuded by the members will carry it well as a release overall.
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a lot of songs this week feel like kpop from the 2010s. I say that as a descriptor, the quality of most of these recently released tracks haven’t been overly good or bad
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This is cute. Not great but cute.
This is one of those releases where I like every other factor, the MV, the idols, costumes, choreography etc, over the song which isn’t how to do it.
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I def like the package more than the actual song
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I’m hoping this will appear on the next entry in the Star Chapter series. Anyway, the song’s fine.
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It didn’t appear on the The Star Chapter: Together.
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It’s cute and easy on the ears but it feels like a warm-up before the big event.
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soo I’m a MOA, and honestly it’s just TXT who’s making this song more better. I’m sure that Bighit knows that TXT isn’t like a small or rookie group, they’re pretty big. Honestly, giving them this song is just not the best, their discography is amazing and I’m not disappointed in them at all, but I’m just disappointed at their pd’s. I hope they get to work on better albums this year, like temptation, chaos chapter.. etc. overall I’d give it a 7, completely biased.
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Im a MOA too and I have had the same exact gripe as you. Since Temptatioon, it seems like their management just does not know what to do with this group’s music. They were this close with Sanctuary but of course it had to be ruined by the short runtime. Also, it seems like the production quality has gone downhill, it might be time for Slow Rabbit to take a break and come back with some more inspiration because its becoming very rough. Or even, just find a new k-pop producer
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