A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve.
I’ll confess that I haven’t given BABYMONSTER’s albums much of a chance. Most of their songs have been promoted with music videos and few of them have appealed to me, so there’s not a lot drawing me in. However, new b-side Psycho captured me with its sound, drawing upon several elements of past K-pop generations.
After an unpromising intro, the song jolts into a big electropop banger. I love how it interpolates the iconic strings from the Psycho movie to give the track spooky energy. But most of all, I’m charmed by its big, crunchy synths. It’s so nice to hear this sense of propulsion in a K-pop era that doesn’t usually appreciate it. Psycho is at its best when thumping with full power. A second verse breakdown is unfortunate, but the song quickly rights itself and keeps chugging along toward a fun finale. When it comes to YG song structures, climactic switch-ups have become so predictable. However, this one works. It feels natural and exciting. I think we need a Halloween-themed music video before the month ends!
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
that outro sounded like TOMBOY for a second
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Hooks an 8? The song is almost completely just “nananana” “pspspsycho”
They are literally repeating a word in almost every verse or a sound. Idk man, your ratings for some things have gone off the rails recently.
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he rates the song less on the words and focuses more on the melody, groove, strong production etc. the song itself has a very nice progression and a bumpin beat, so the 8’s are perfectly reasonable
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mmm nope. He has taken into account lyricsm almost evey time EVEN if the melody is catchy. Thats almost his entire point on hooks.
“nice progression and a bumpin beat” has absolutely nothing to do with the hooks rating.
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I’ve assumed that not only Nick but many frequenters on this blog do not understand Korean so it makes more sense for him (and by extension, us) to focus more on the melody than anything else.
Besides, pop music doesn’t have to be innovative in its lyricism all of the time. ‘Drop’ choruses don’t usually have song writing and they can be either terrible or great because of that (I’m thinking about very nice or hit by Seventeen as great examples.)
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*Do not understand Korean at least at a literary level to take into account lyricism
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Oh well I agree on that matter, but most of the song and the hooks are english.
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honestly you are right about him taking into account for lyrics
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wait since when?? I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nick mention lyrics. I think hooks is how hooky the melody is.
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thats almost always a selling point/turning point of a song’s rating in this blog.
If the lyrics are trash/lazy he will very much point it out lol
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Ummmmm….no.
This site is definitely not about the lyrics. There’s not even a category for it. The “Hook” category is just how catchy that one part of the song is and that’s it.
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absolutely luuuv this song
kinda reminds me of a mix between 2NE1 and Red Velvet
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somehow you gave love dive an 8.5…
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it was the initial rating. the song has grown on him and made it into his top 40 of that year
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what is the new rating
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And honestly that’s the issue with rating a song after just 1 or 2 listens. Sometimes you need to sit with a song for a while. Take a walk. Go for a run. Workout. Drive around. It can easily become better or worse.
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I don’t think he rates the song after just 1 or 2 listens. he has said that he listens to songs multiple times before writing their respective reviews.
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Reviews come out the same day songs are released. Putting it on repeat a few times in a row doesn’t really count imo. Sometimes it takes me weeks of hearing a song to really appreciate it (or hate it)
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yeah, they are posted hours after…
that’s exactly why he posts the songs that grew/didn’t grow on him every month.
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Cool. I don’t follow the entire sight that closely so didn’t know.
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Listening to this makes me miss Purple Kiss (who aren’t technically disbanded just yet). They had such good creepy concepts it’s a shame they seem to have never really quite found their niche.
This is a fun song with a lot going on, but the prevalence of random words like hashtag or tic tac toe in kpop songs always throws me off, especially when it’s otherwise doing a good job establishing a mood
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This is my favorite b-side on the album as well!
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this is my first comment on this blog
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I won’t lie I loved this whole album of theirs.
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This is probably my least favorite song. Supa Dupa Luv is probably my favorite followed by We Go Up. Both are just nostalgic sounding.
Psycho isn’t bad, just not my thing. I get tired of it pretty quick as it feels a little repetitive.
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I’m new here, what does the bias rating actually mean
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Hi and welcome!
A song’s ‘hook’ is essentially the part that makes it catchy. For example, Magnetic’s would be the “you, you, you, you” bit, for Love Dive it’s the “narci. sis. tic. my god i. love. it.” bit, etc.
Production is… production. How well a song is made, how properly the instrumental (regardless of if its good or not) matches up with the song, how are the vocals layered, what is “going on”.
Longevity is a bit trickier. It essentially is a rating for how likely it is for the song to grow on the blog’s writer.
And bias is bias. How much the blog writer likes the group based on that song.
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Not my thing, but enjoyable. I’m a little surprised to see it in BT section, but some songs just hit the right notes for us, and it’s a matter of taste in the end.
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