Review

Song Review: ITZY – Rock & Roll

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I’m always a bit skeptical about songs called “Rock & Roll” that aren’t from actual rock bands, but if anyone’s got the attitude to drive this style it’s ITZY. They made their name on a brash energy that felt punky even as it was carefully designed by a corporation to appear so.

Japanese single Rock & Roll is not even close to “rock,” despite the girls repeatedly telling us that they’re “so rock and roll.” The song doesn’t even try to embrace this genre, and that’s probably to its benefit. Instead, Rock & Roll is an upbeat dance track peppered by the occasional edgy breakdown. The melodies are lighter than expected, especially the effusive chorus. My brain can’t quite parse what ITZY are saying with how they’re saying it, making me wish the song had an entirely different concept. But from someone who now loves a track called “Head Shoulders Knees Toes,” I can clearly get over cringy lyrics if the sound itself is enticing.

Rock & Roll is enticing, if a bit generic. I wish the song pushed itself further in any direction. As it stands, Rock & Roll doesn’t commit to much of anything, satisfied to stand as enjoyable fluff rather than cause the kind of ruckus we know ITZY are capable of. Within their discography, this is clearly mid-tier — sanitized enough to please just about everyone but lacking the sucker punch that could truly knock out the group’s biggest admirers.

Hooks 8
 Production 8
 Longevity 8
 Bias 7
 RATING 7.75

Grade: C+

8 thoughts on “Song Review: ITZY – Rock & Roll”

  2. Yanno, you can easily swap in the phrase “head shoulders knees and toes” for “we’re so rock and roll”. It just about works, or well enough for what passes for lyrics these days. It would be a vast improvement to whatever they are warbling about that they think they are but they are not.

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  4. Crown on my head is still my go-to Itzy Rock n Roll track. Also, I may be wrong but isn’t it an “n” instead of an “&”? I looked it up an AI told me “Both “rock ‘n’ roll” and “rock and roll” are acceptable spellings, with “rock ‘n’ roll” being the most common and often considered the most appropriate due to its colloquial feel matching the music’s spirit, while “rock and roll” is a bit more formal.”

    Back on topic, I’d give this an 8, 8, 7, 9 = 8 … my bias pulling some weight because I like Itzy to get it out of 7’s

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