Since releasing the very good Love Attack in 2024, RESCENE have become a paragon of the trendy “subdued” girl group sound. I’m not sure why their producers decided not to return to Attack‘s upbeat appeal, and for me their musical trajectory has really stalled. New single Runaway doesn’t do much to change that track, though it offers a bit more pep in its step.
I have a difficult time connecting with this kind of song because it all feels so frictionless. The vocals are soft and whispery to the point of having no presence whatsoever. The instrumental takes a similarly soft approach, dialing back every element to its smoothest possible presentation. Runaway builds toward a few nice peaks where some personality pokes through, but it really needs a more dynamic vocal arrangement. There’s nothing here to distinguish the song from a thousand other girl groups.
If simply placed within this realm of subdued girl group pop, Runaway fairs better by comparison. I like the melodies and the track moves with a stealthy bit of drama. However, I can’t help but imagine a totally different production where the instrumentation truly supported the heft of the chorus with more daring percussion and maybe even a strong synth or guitar line. The song and group deserve producers willing to take the gloves off and throw caution to the wind.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
Grade: C+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I mean, it’s fine. The first 20 seconds or so seem promising, but all that gets lost as the song progresses. There are parts that sound to me like NewJeans interprets and interpolates Taylor Swift “Cruel Summer”.
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their last few releases have been so disappointing.. idk what their company is doing. love attack is one of their biggest songs so far BECAUSE of that bombastic chorus, glow up had a bouncy feel to it so i’ll excuse it… bloom felt like a slight return to form though but i feel they’re taking their music down a more somber route when all we need is loud in your face elatedness.
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With more ambition, I could see this more as an ARTMS track, funny enough.
As is, the vocal melodies are the highlight, but it also leans more into easy listening than what I typically prefer. Blasted producers shooting for background vibes again.
Rating is 9,7,8,7 = 7.75
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I love it, Rescene continues to release my favorite gg music of the 2020s! The instrumental is exquisite and I am in love with tone of the primary guitar lick. I agree this is more subdued than something like Love Attack, but that doesn’t make it automatically worse to me. I think this is the proper way to do subdued pop music–melodic, lots of moving parts in the vocal line and instrumental, all growing gradually until they explode in the final chorus. This is more along the lines of Pinball, which I happen to think is one of the best kpop (or pop in general??) songs of the 2020s, so I’m bound to like it lol
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