Everglow had a turbulent 2025, leaving their longtime agency Yuehua and joining upstart CHXXTA Company (whose name looks like a censored curse word). This move was applauded by many, as Yuehua’s track record with the group was spotty at best. Transitions like this can lead to renewed creative freedom or — at the very least — a reinvention of sorts. Given that context, it’s upsetting that new single Code does nothing but copy existing trends.

Sometimes I forget that Everglow have a few fantastic singles under their belt. Their discography has been so hit and miss that highlights like La Di Da and Pirate threaten to get buried. Of the misses, Code must be high on that list. This song is a real headache. It gleefully adopts the “charismatic talking over a club beat” approach that’s plaguing K-pop right now, but doesn’t even bother to make that talking palatable. It’s a mess of bratty affectations, made even worse by ugly vocal effects that make Everglow sound more like AI than human idols.

This is the kind of song that thinks “drop it like it’s hot” is still a cool phrase, which would be fine if its sound was actually fun. It really feels like the producers took every overused sample they could find and threw it into a blender without considering structure or execution. If nothing else, this will serve as a sad time capsule for this particular micro-era in K-pop.

Grade: F