Over the past seven months, I’ve grown to love Close Your Eyes for their distinct sound and fantastic creative direction. This year’s male rookie groups have done a great job carving out their own niche in the market and although Close Your Eyes have played within different genres their vocal color and quirkiness has made them instantly identifiable. That signature sound gets a huge test with pre-release SOB, which sounds like nothing they’ve ever recorded before.
SOB is a collaboration with Kazakh DJ/producer Imanbek and sees the group targeting an edgy dance sound. Their discography is in need of more fast-paced material, though I was weary of yet another “talking over club beats” track in a market already overstuffed with them. As teasers began to materialize, I hoped the song’s catchy chanted hook would be buttressed by more melodic verses. Unfortunately, the chorus is by far SOB‘s strongest moment. Not only are the verses unmemorable (and lyrically cringy), but they sacrifice the group’s unique vocal tone by slathering it in ugly effects.
Sigh. I really wanted to love this, and maybe time will be kind to it. But at just over two minutes in length, there’s not even much song here to evaluate. Compare this to work like All My Poetry or Paint Candy and SOB feels like a small, unconvincing lark. I love that they’re attempting dance music and hopefully they’ll be more successful with the genre on other album tracks. This one’s a bit of a head-scratcher.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
The beat’s lowkey cunty, but I also don’t see it enjoy a strong longevity. Wish they injected the melodic flair that made their previous singles such hits into this track as well.
7.75 (8, 8, 7, 8) for me.
LikeLike
great instrumental and I love the chorus, but those verses are tough to get through. thank God this is just the pre-release.
LikeLike
This is not for me but I appreciate their attempt to explore a different sound, and this feels like a safe choice for a prerelease that’s destined to be forgotten in a few weeks. From the highlight medley it seems like the rest of the album is sort of a clubby beat with an R&B flair so much more promising.
LikeLike
I was just about to write a lament on another song posting today about how songs these days have no point of view, how they are about not much at all. Just a few days ago, as I was searching for “bullhorns in rock” (for Yuta’s NCT solo), and found lots. I mean I lived through the 80’s the first time, so I already knew a few go to’s. One example was U2 Bono ft Kendrick Lamar, through a bullhorn “Blessed are the Bullies, for one day they will have to stand up to themselves”.
Here, today, I thought we might have heard a song with a point of view. For the non-native English speakers SOB is the usual abbreviation for Son of a Bitch. Oh, Kpop, using that, what?!*. The refrain “You don’t wanna be like me, S O B”. But nothing else in the song has any edge. The point begins and ends with that one line. The rap is basic rap flow triplets. onetwothree forfivesix SEVN including on the first line which says “theylovethe waythatI RAP”. Idontlove thewayyou rap.
Its an easy pass for me.
*Noting TO1 “Son of a Beast” from a few years ago always made me laugh when its chorus came around. The rest of that song was also mid, but at least a few times every minute I got a good chuckle. https://youtu.be/xUOOL9l6Dqc
LikeLike
as someone who had no love for all my poetry and snowy summer when they came out and has actively grown to dislike it because i can see the even more boring ripoffs coming in the horizon i definitely prefer this brand of boring boypop song because at least the chorus actually wants you to listen to it instead of the insomnia inducing dreck before it.
LikeLike
Well I’ve got ice on my ice now, so I’m set.
LikeLike
ngl, I was disappointed. But apparantly only a pre-release phew. Lets hope for some of the magic in the tt and album (will it be an album?)
LikeLike