After debuting with a slightly bratty sound, Baby DONT Cry have made a seemingly permanent transition into glossy pop music. Though their recent pre-release Shapeshifter didn’t do much for me, there’s no denying that its an earworm. The chorus is still stuck in my head. Next up is title track Bittersweet, which adheres to a similarly lightweight pop palette.
This sound is fairly innocuous and unmabitious, but it’s pleasant to the ear. The group’s clear, youthful vocals fit the style well even if the performances do little to distinguish Bittersweet from any other current girl group track. The missing piece here is a “wow factor.” Its as if the dial for the whole song is set at a “7” when it could have been cranked up to “10.” We need some memorable synth line or percussion that hits with more character. As is, the song has been shaved of all edges and comes across as frictionless. And without any structural momentum, Bittersweet (pleasantly) treads water without even attempting to swim.
Writing about “pleasant” songs like this is actually kind of difficult, and it feels like that’s all I’ve been doing for the past few months. There’s nothing about Bittersweet that’s poorly produced or performed. It ticks all the “basic pop song” boxes and I suppose if you’d never heard a pop song before it might have a more exciting effect. Unfortunately, I’ve heard many thousands of pop songs in my life and there’s not much about Bittersweet that stands out within that pantheon.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
Grade: C+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Bittersweet felt like the perfect way to compliment I Don’t Care from them. They both have this innate sadness that’s found in them except the latter proves the more positive anthemic sadness whilst the previous one has an acceptance of it. It reminds me a bit of H1-KEY’s Rose Blossom.
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3:20 song, full-throated actual chorus, electric guitar riff—I thought we were gunning for an 8.5 here!
I like this one a lot. Jumping the octave into the chorus gives it so much oomph, and that guitar riff underneath is like another hook.
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i’m kinda liking mama i’m alright. it’s not without its flaws but i like the energy. i’ll probably drop it after a few days
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I like the song but REALLY like the music video, the aesthetic is strong. It’s a mix of Hearts2Hearts (the Chase vibes) and ILLIT in its cute but sophisticated look.
my one issue is the over-the-top autotune! Listening to the EP I fear tt et don’t have strong vocals
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*they!
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To me, Baby Dont Cry are still growing as vocalists. It was more apparent on “I DONT CARE” than here, but I think their vocals still hold them back. Hopefully they’ll continue to grow as singers.
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The album is a great outing for them, though their closing track is a bit of a bore, which sometimes happens if they go full sappy.
Album rating would be 8,8,8,8 = 8
Song rating is 8,8,8,9 = 8.25
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I am just happy that for once we have a full song that sounds like a song. Sung verses, sung choruses, actual identifiable melodies in an identifiable key, normal instrumentals, minimal posturing and boasting. I know, old fashioned amirite. Some people might gravitate to this song just because of all these, to which I say yes. It plays within those lines, but it does it okay, or okay enough.
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