SM Entertainment has been on a roll lately with their boy group albums, though they’ve also struggled to pick the best songs to promote as title tracks. I’m hoping that might be the case with WayV as well, especially since their albums tend to hold many buried treasures. New title Big Bands is bolstered by an interesting concept but the final product fails to ignite sparks.
I love a big band influence in K-pop (or in this case, C-pop) tracks. SM has a storied history of injecting these elements into brilliant pieces from the likes of TVXQ and SHINee. That’s an intimidating lineage to live up to, and unfortunately Big Bands bunts when it should be aiming for a home run. Yes, the flourishes of brass are a cool touch, especially when they fully take charge for funky breakdowns. But apart from that gimmick, the song is essentially another braggadocious, trap-infused hip-hop track. There is no Sherlock bombast or Spellbound grace. The hooks are pretty flat and very repetitive, squandering potential to go bolder.
To be fair, Big Bands is simply not that kind of song and it’s unfair to grade it on criteria it’s not even attempting, but even as a swaggering hype track the energy feels oddly inert. The production would greatly improve with a heavier In Da Club style thump, adding gravity to the jazzy ornamentation. As it stands, the instrumental feels at odds with itself, at once grand and chintzy. And sadly, the song itself is not interesting enough to compensate for these dull textures.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
The releases from them as of late don’t feel inspired. Can we get another Love Talk? Moonwalk? Why does it feel like they’re getting musical leftovers that weren’t good enough to make the cut for the other units?
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Yeah, unfortunately the whole album feels like leftovers to me.
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I wonder if WayV moved from neo center to prism center (probably in 2024) is the cause because up until On My Youth in 2023 i think their music still sounds like usual WayV but since Give Me That in 2024 until now their music feel kinda changed
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It would be nice if they used actual big band brass in a song about big bands, not the canned samples and synths like they use here.
… …. … drives me up a wall. There are a zillion real musicians in Seoul waiting for the gig.
2:20 sings “Hit … that … drum …. roll” and there is hardly a drum roll.
Nil pois from me. No peas.
Here HERE is brass with drum rolls in spades. (about 2:13 starts the percussion show piece.)
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The soundscaping in this one is immense. 4:52 The first time we heard the flag spinning as a sound as part of the band with those shiny crinkly lame’ flags. Everyone gasped how the flags sound was part of the program, augmented with a gentle whoosh on one of the synths at the front – I often talk about how the accompaniment can support a vocal, here it is supporting the sound of the flags.
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I actually like it quite a lot even though it’s kind of diffuse, and Ice Tea is a fun song from the album. Just wish they would have leaned into the horn groove.
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A rare miss from Wayv
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