FNC Entertainment is one of the few large agencies continually debuting new bands. They’ve make it their specialty ever since the days of FTIsland and CNBlue, and with the major success of acts like DAY6 there’s clearly still a market for this sound. New K-band AxMxP (pronounced “A.M.P” and standing for “Amplify Music Power”) makes their debut today with a full-length album to showcase their various skills. From what I’ve read more than one title track is scheduled, but we kick off the journey with the energetic I Did It.
Interestingly, this song sounds less like a band and more like an idol group. In fact, it’s not even clear the guys play instruments until the chorus comes in during the music video. I’m of two minds about this. It’s refreshing to hear a different approach from a band, but the rapped verses don’t do much for me. They’re underlined by trap percussion and come across like any other generic boy band of the past few years. The chorus is much better as the full brunt of the band comes in and we move into a catchy chanted chorus.
The glam rock strut during this segment works very well and I would have loved hearing it color the rest of the track. This might be a controversial opinion, but there’s absolutely no reason a rock band needs to use sampled trap beats. Your drummer is right there and more than capable of crafting an engaging rhythm. I Did It‘s saving grace is its bombastic energy. There’s a palpable sense of swagger to the track and this makes it hard not to be won over by the time I Did It has ended. It may be a Frankenstein mess in places, but some of those places are quite thrilling.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Thank you for the pronunciation guide. I would have called it Axe Mix Pah. Or perhaps AhMeehPah to use a breathy version of X. Somewhere “ExAxMPle” also showed up, which is perhaps superior.
Someone somewhere made a choice to for them to release as a debut this weird production hybrid between contemporary boy group and actual boy band, and it only half works. I looked up a few “stage clips” for them which work a heck of a lot better – see this same exact song below but make it full band, and its more authentic, hits harder. Young guys too, 15-20 years old or so, so they have time to develop into that sound, not whatever this “As Produced” sound is released today.
Two technical deductions: Minus for the “Look at me look at me lyrics. Minus for the curse of the rap triplets. I give it a flat 8.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPILt8w44PU
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I just want to say I like that one of the members is named Joshua C. Berryman, which sounds like a made up name
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I really like the sound they are going for. Not something anyone else seems to be doing atm. I watched some live stages and the frontman (who seems to rap and sing equally) is great. Charismatic and high energy. They are all super cute boys and those ten songs on the album are all super catchy so I think they might do quite well.
Most of them were in a Kdrama (yep it was about a band) a few months ago.
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I like their music. I’ve been watching them on the flood of K-pop music shows across Korea, and they’re refreshingly different! While so many K-pop groups seem to do the exact same thing, these boys are real musicians. They’ll only get better at playing, producing, and writing their own music. Their sound is a breath of fresh air — a true focus on music, not just dance.
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