It’s been eight years since WM Entertainment debuted its latest group, and a full decade since their last girl group. Thus far, it’s been quality over quantity for this agency. B1A4, Oh My Girl and ONF all have discographies that are pretty bulletproof. Now, it’s time for another act to join this impressive roster. Enter USPEER and their debut single Zoom.
K-pop’s girl groups are currently suffering from a sound effects syndrome. So many songs are built around onomatopoeia these days. By its very nature, this approach is hard for me to get my arms around. Not only does it tend to tip over into nursery rhyme territory, but sound effects themselves are more rhythmic than melodic. It’s difficult to forge the kind of robust melodies I enjoy around words like “zoom,” “beep,” or “tick tack.” USPEER attempt to work around this by stretching “zoom” into an undulating centerpiece, pulling on the word with relish. I appreciate the effort, but the resulting hook is more obnoxious than thrilling.
I hear great potential in many of Zoom‘s vocals, but the song is too fragmented to make much use of the talent. The rugged production recalls NCT while the pick-and-mix structure never lets one idea rest long enough to flourish. Apart from a few spikes of melodic drama, most of the track trades in the kind of scrappy sing-talk that usually fails to make a lasting impact. In a sea of bland, it’s nice to hear so many ideas stuffed into a single song. The problem is, very few of those ideas are ones I’m interesting in hearing again. Hopefully Zoom is a case of growing pains and the girls will find their footing during their first comeback.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Oof, I can sense a lot of potential in the song like the pre-chorus giving good dance-pop, a promising chant-filled bridge and the little shot of melody in between the onomatopoeia-filled chorus (at 0:57, 1:54, 2:43), but sadly they are buried by the bratty sing-talk and uninspired production. Hopefully the next comeback is a complete 180°
7.25 (7, 8, 7, 7) for me.
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My issue with this very promising band is the AESPA template, from video, production to music. It sounds like a mix between GIRLS and Armageddon. But at least it’s very polished and feels like there is a lot of potential.
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I expected the MonoTree writing credits to get a mention from you, Nick! Interesting to see them on this track and on its b-side.
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Gosh, it stuffs so many sounds into it and yet wears out all those by about the two minute mark. The only idea formed well is the zoo-oo-oo-oo-oom.
I was going through my downloads for this year, which is a short list compared to prior years, and almost to a one the songs were all songs that can be sung along to. How do I sing along to a series of sound effects hitting all the buttons on the synth in sequence? How do I sing along with a pick a mix of the KSHMR sample files?
Anyway, the name also reminded me of CharliXCX “Vroom vroom”. Bonkers but good. … Imma gonna listen to that song now and sing along.
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It could grow on me if I can get over the multiple zoom~~~’s. The second verse, in a subtle way, takes me out of the experience a little. It’s not very focused. A bunch of great ideas and potential, but definitely my least favorite of the WM debut songs
WM was acquired by RBW right? If so, I’m not gonna hold my breath that their discography will have the trajectory of their seniors, but I am curious where they go next
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This is just intolerable to me…. The zoo-oo-oom is too much.
These kids are very cute, anyway. I’m hopeful for their careers since Oh My Girl and ONF have had pretty incredible longevity. Oh My Girl having been one of the first kpop groups I ever loved in 2015 along with Gfriend, and later BTS….
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Look it works… but how many zoom, vroom and rum-pum-pum can we take before they decide it’s dated. It’s been ten years since Blackpink used these gimmicky choruses, personally I’m fed up with it.
Aespa also has two different songs going “zoom zoom zoom” … I wish we moved to more fresh concepts.
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are you planning on reviewing stayc’s new japanese release? i really like it (no bias at all, as i am a swith…) but i think it’s a nice sort of gpt-ish sound for them! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcLXuUpZ-bs&ab_channel=STAYCJapanOfficial
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I actually quite like the fast paced distorted synth at the core of the instrumental but there’s just so much else coming and going on top of it.
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I kind of dig it, actually.
Will be looking out for the next release.
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Isn’t this song really good?
The zoom is a bit grating, but man, everything else is hitting!
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