Ahead of his new album, iKON’s Jay (aka: Jinhwan) pre-released We Can’t Explain last week. That song didn’t do much for me, but title track Obey promised edgier sounds.

Obey certainly has some ideas, but the way they’re executed isn’t very satisfying. The track starts promisingly enough, establishing a moody build toward an anticipated payoff. Instead, we lurch into a spoken word chorus and further fracture momentum from there. This could work with a stronger and more cohesive instrumental, but I’m not a fan of the central drop and there aren’t enough highlights surrounding it to pull me in (though the guitar-fueled climax comes close).

Grade: C-