Given Mystic Story’s track record, their first boy group ARrC’s material hasn’t been as quirky as I would have thought. So far, their sound hinges largely on old-school hip-hop, which isn’t a unique touchstone when it comes to K-pop’s boy bands. New single Awesome continues this trend with a few early 00s influences thrown in for good measure.
In a post-trap world, the quality most of these songs are missing is a sense of fullness. When I think back to the 90s and early 00s hip-hop I loved, I imagine car-thumping beats with a robust lower end. These songs moved your body from the inside out and the rappers rarely needed to shout to make their mark. Like so many idol hip-hop tracks, Awesome feels overly tinny and targeted to the mid-range. And rather than focus on engaging flow and clever interaction, the song’s hook takes the easy route and opts for repetition.
To be honest, I find most of Awesome quite cloying. Rather than feel fresh and exciting, much of the song comes across as whiny. The chorus is especially insufferable, relying on vocal affectations to buoy an otherwise threadbare hook. This is a shame, because there are moments where the production wants to embrace a funkier, old-school vibe that could work wonders with a better topline.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
another unpopular opinion here. this is really better than what NCT 127’s musical direction has been up to since Kick It. This is the NCT sound I wished NCT did when that sound was commodified. The use of ‘awesome’ as a rhyme works for me. It also has some interesting flows and sectional themes. Thankfully they still keep it rythmic which makes me admire the hip-hop they make. It might still be derivative of what NCT sounds at the core, but ARrC has been selling their music with soul that I can cleary identify. They have a sound that I think is really the trademark of any artist under Mystic Story.
For me, Billlie and ARrC’s music is clearly forward thinking. Something not a lot can boast. 8/10.
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With more snotty swagger, this could have been a Block B song b-side from way back when. But its missing that part, that attitude. Remember that Block B were survivors on their own indie label, they had suffered some scars and didn’t hold back rebelling against the system, the unfairness of it all when it came to performance.
These kids here, I wish them the best, but they don’t quite have It.
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It’s not my favorite song, and I wish it had like.. any melody at all, but the rapping is pretty good.
Mostly I’m just happy to see Andy in the music video. I loved him on Project 7 and I was happy to see that he joined ARrC during their last comeback, and then so disappointed to see that it was a rushed job so he wasn’t even in the music video that was his debut… I found that to be such a strange decision from management.
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