Collaborations between K-pop acts and western artists are nothing new, but occasionally a track will be released and I’ll have no idea who the western artist is. American duo Joan are new to me, and I’d consider myself very in-the-know when it comes to global pop music. This makes me wonder how exactly EPEX’s agency sought them out. Most of these collaborations feel pretty random, but this one especially so.
When it comes to pop music, some songs paint with ambition while others seem intent on being yet another pleasant two-and-a-half minutes of filler. I’ve never understood the purpose behind the latter beyond the fact that streaming now rewards quick, unobtrusive shots of pleasantness. But if you’re going to go to the trouble of flying all the way across the world and filming a music video, why not opt for a song more daring or memorable?
So Nice is… sort of nice. There’s nothing “so” about this. The vocals are nice. The bouncy instrumental is nice. The melodies are nice. Unfortunately, “nice” rarely stands the test of time or even reappears on a year-end countdown. Play this if you’re looking for a brief diversion that might get your head nodding. But even then, there are far more dynamic songs that’ll have a similar effect.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Nick, I know the song Riize released today was a ‘track video’ so you might not write about it. What are you thoughts? Personally, I loved it! I feel Riize are absolutely at their best when they take notes from SM’s bg work from 2nd & 3rd gen. I can’t wait to hear the full song. It wouldn’t be out of place in an album like Power or Countdown. Definitely a step up from the previous release.
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You’re correct that I don’t feel like I can write about it yet since it’s not the full song, but it sounds promising. On first listen I’m not quite sure about the melodies (what else is new?), but I’m definitely excited about the 2nd-gen performance style.
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what do you think of babymonster new ost ‘ghost’ for a j-drama?? https://open.spotify.com/track/37qlRGMmN1tStZS0elymXg?si=GAHnU8VbSf2IFSlLsgUX2A&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Aghost%2Bbaby
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I actually knew of joan because they fit into the ethereal, vibey sort of alt pop that I am heavily biased towards, so their music ends up getting recommended to me on Spotify a lot. I never would have expected a kpop group to collaborate with them! The song’s pleasant and cute – very much aligned with the music that I’ve heard from joan, and so I like that. To me, not being very familiar with EPEX, it comes across as them featuring on a joan track.
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I listen to joan (even been to their concert) but this is the first time I’ve heard of EPEX. It’s fascinating that joan didn’t just write and gift the song to the group but decided to do a collaboration. Never thought my indie pop and kpop worlds would cross paths. joan’s recent material has tended towards mid/slow-tempo synth pop, but I think Nick would have a more favorable opinion towards their older, faster songs like “drive all night” and “come over”
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