KiiiKiii’s debut year had a somewhat confused sonic landscape, pivoting between quirky sub-genres and meme culture to broad pop brushstrokes that felt more generic. Judging by pre-release Delulu and new title track 404 (New Era), they seem to have regained their focus in 2026 by pivoting toward the dancefloor.
404 (New Era) arrives bolstered by a tried-and-true production team. The guys from LDN Noise worked on the song, and they’re responsible for some of K-pop’s greatest mid-2010s dance hits. Their 90s-influenced club sound is in full effect here, giving the girls a strutting beat to vogue over. Everything about the track leans into nostalgia. However, as important as the beat is, when you think of those great LDN Noise songs of past eras (View, 4 Walls, Lucky One, Dumb Dumb) you also instantly hear their great choruses. This — predictably — is where 404 (New Era) struggles.
As far as spoken word centerpieces go, this one is certainly on the stronger side. The hook here is delivered with charisma and a rhythm befitting the song’s energetic production. But minus an airy pre-chorus, the track is almost entirely spoken. In an alternate K-pop landscape where this wasn’t the go-to for so many girl groups, the approach would probably be quite charming. But in a post-Whiplash world, I long for the type of melody that makes music timeless. Because of its approach, I fear 404 (New Era) will act as fast fashion — enjoyable in the moment but becoming more threadbare with time.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
Grade: B-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I’m a gay 17 year old so this is my shit😜
9/10🙂↕️🙂↕️
LikeLike
A song full of recycled ideas that wear out within 2 minutes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Peak comedy is reading the two comments back to back 🤌
Anyways, the song is serviceable, but it doesn’t do much to knock you out. I think a rating of 8 is fairly accurate. (though I’m still confused as to why Not Cute Anymore grew so much on you? It’s still so one note and flat for me, even after so many listens 😭)
LikeLiked by 2 people
🎉 🪩 404 all the girlies to the floor 💃 ✨
And so the saga of talking over a club beat continues into 2026.
I’ll take what I can get, though. It has a bridge! Yay!
LikeLike
Mostly sounds good, but I don’t think they have the nice low vocal tones to keep up with the beat during the “talk singing” verses. It just sounds like a child *trying* to imitate a low voice so it comes off a little jarring. Deep and low vocals like from Azealia Banks or Rochelle Jordan would’ve been PERFECT. This song could’ve just gone to someone else, or just come up with a new composition that doesn’t force them to song this way. The creative director probably just liked the sample but didn’t care if it suited their voices. Sad but not surprising in kpop.
LikeLiked by 2 people
the aesthetics are there but I just don’t get what Starshit is trying to achieve with this group.
I do hope we get a WJSN comeback for their 10th anniversary to make up for it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me seeing Starshit announce a full album comeback for one of their artists for February but its for IVE and not for WJSN 😭 the closer we approach that 10th anniversary date and we hear nothing the more nervous I get that we’re not getting anything
LikeLike
I mean, I’d just go ahead and prepare yourself for disappointment now 🫤
LikeLike
I’ll hold out the tiniest sliver of hope 🥲
LikeLike
I like how much energy this track has. However, it’s not something I’d want to replay.
As for the album, I really liked “UNDERDOGS” — it felt creative and well thought out. But aside from that, none of the other songs really stood out to me.
I’m hoping they can bounce back with their next release.
LikeLiked by 1 person