Like so many other groups of their era, the members of BAE173 have tried to gain traction by participating on survival series. Most notably, that resulted in member Minwook re-debuting as the leader of Close Your Eyes, taking him away from the group. Now, the rest of BAE173 are back with a pre-release for their upcoming full album.

This project seems like an all-or-nothing appeal, as the guys have also teased a cover of T-ara’s 왜 이러니 in addition to whatever the eventual title track may be. Meanwhile, One Day (단 하루 하루만 내 여자친구가 돼줄래) casts the guys in a much jauntier light. From its long Korean title to the soft visual palette, it would be easy to see this as a response to TWS’s success, but the song actually reminds me more of the bubbly wave of girl group songs that were popular around 2016.

The sound is pure bubblegum, anchored by robust percussion that feels like new jack swing as seen through a carnival lens. We’ve even got the great punch of electric guitar that used to reliably close out songs of this genre. This should appeal to me in a big way, but there are a few things tempering my excitement for One Day. The mixing is quite muddy, flattening the effect of the guys’ vocals. Some of the melodies also veer a bit too close to nursery rhyme style for me. However, I appreciate the nod to K-pop’s history and the fact that this sounds like nothing a western artist would ever release. In the end, that’s enough to pull it over the line even if I think the track could be much more effective.

Grade: B-