Since their debut in late 2022, &TEAM have developed a strong Japanese discography. All of those singles have also been recorded and performed in Korean, making it feel like they’ve already made a K-pop debut. But with the release of their first original Korean album, the guys have officially branched out to a new market. Title track Back To Life arrives a day ahead of the album and sees the group working with a familiar cadre of composers.
&TEAM have several distinct iterations in their music. I tend to prefer their anthemic rock sound and/or their light, funky dance tracks. However, I’m not surprised they’ve gone back to their angstier roots for their Korean debut. For whatever reason, angst and darkness seem to appeal more to international audiences. I guess the moping around is just seen as “cooler” even if the music itself is rarely as enjoyable. Thankfully, Back To Life updates the sound of tracks like Under The Skin and Scar To Scar with cinematic scale that feels more epic. The production is fuller and the chorus pulses with more energy.
While the verses are catchy, they’re almost too repetitive to work. At a certain point, the melodic looping becomes monotonous and this isn’t helped by the production’s heavy use of vocal effects. Maybe some unexpected spikes in the instrumental would help these segments shine. Instead, much of the song’s drama comes during the ascending hook at Back To Life‘s center. This makes me long for an equally dynamic bridge. Back To Life is over three minutes long, but it’s still just a verse/pre-chorus/chorus/verse/pre-chorus/chorus structure, making the track feel a bit incomplete even if these individual segments are longer than expected. Overall, I think this is very solid but far from the group’s best work.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
You know they are trying very hard to rescue the song when they have to bring in the vigorous arm movements, complete with the wind machine set to high.
In theory a monotone or duotone in a verse could build tension that the chorus resolves, but the two notes they dance on with the supporting instrumental just ain’t doing it.
8.25 is generous for me – I would give it mid 7’s.
I am old enough to have heard the original Bring Me Back To Life the first time around. no vigorous arm movements required. This song was everywhere for a long while.
https://youtu.be/JixFMKqQU5w
LikeLike
There needs to be more variation for this to have impact… both verses sound the same and none of the 3 choruses introduce anything new
By the end of the first prechorus you’ve basically heard the whole song–which is alright just not very substantial
LikeLike
This feels like a moodier and murkier extension of Go in Blind but without the soaring prechorus that basically saved that song for me. Something like that would have worked well for the bridge here. I actually loved the instrumental in the teaser and wished they had opened the song with that instead of putting vocals over it. For a so-called debut I’d have trouble distinguishing the individual members in the MV and their vocal tones amid all that processing.
LikeLike
Oh geez. Beautiful Strangers and Bad Desire felt more listenable than this.
Its just too repetitive. The verses and the prechorus melodies are SUPER monotonous. There is just no variation in them.
LikeLike
the music video was sick on the other hand.
LikeLike
I consider myself a fan of &Team. I’d say I have roughly 90% of their discography in my Playlist. This song falls in that other 10%. It’s actually a little bit annoying. I’m glad it’s just a prerelease and hope the Title and Album are better🤞🏻
LikeLike
I hate to break it to you but this is the title track.
LikeLike
really?!?!?😓
oh well, hoping for amazing bsides I guess
LikeLike
I didn’t like one single song! What happened?!? They don’t even sound like themselves😞
LikeLike
I kept waiting for some kind of switch-up in the second verse/a dramatic bridge, but unfortunately this kept the strange energy throughout, and the background instrumentals seeming muted (in the usual HYBE way) didn’t do that any favors. This is one of the very few songs where I feel a momentum-shifting rap breakdown in the second verse would have really helped to set it apart! The first half is very strong but I just wish it wasn’t so monotone throughout. The Scar to Scar comparison is interesting because I feel that song does a better job of keeping things varied throughout (or maybe it’s just that I feel the chorus bursts out more strongly there).
LikeLike
i do actually enjoy the chorus, but i do agree with the fact that more variation could definitely help. i’ve said this time and time again on this site but i really want a bridge. the members are so talented and i want to hear even more from them in a bridge so bad. however, this is one of my top title tracks for them, and i can’t wait to see what their bsides are like!
this is probably an 8.5 for me. (8, 8, 9, 9)
LikeLike
the moment the chorus hit I knew I would like this. To me it’s the prechorus (or are they verses? I thought all the talky bits were the verses) rather than the chorus that sounds too repetitive, with the same insistent rhythm each iteration, but then the chorus breaks out of that. Also, the main vocal sounds kind of nasally and strident – not something I’ve ever noticed with them before, so I don’t know what that’s about. But on the whole I like the song. The chorus makes everything I’m iffy about in the song better.
LikeLike