NCT Wish are set to release their first full album in a week’s time, and like so many idol groups they’re teasing it with a pre-release. I’ve had a love or hate relationship with Wish’s music so far, with many of their tracks (and the execution of those tracks) leaving me cold. Sticky is certainly on the weaker side of that spectrum, recalling many of the NCT brand’s worst instincts.

Sticky is a wonky mid-tempo, driven by plonky percussion and chanted hooks. If this recipe sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve heard it a million times already. Call this the more subdued version of NCT Dream’s Hot Sauce and you wouldn’t be far off. The instrumental has a loungey appeal, but negates that cool calmness with overly busy percussion and brash hooks that never amount to much beyond the grown-up version of playground taunts.

As usual with songs like this, the rap and vocal blend together into one monotonous stew, neither element successfully breaking out as a highlight of its own. These melodies aren’t particularly melodious, choosing instead to employ the kind of range-limiting sing-talk we’ve heard so often over the past few years. At this point, I don’t really know what to write about this kind of song that I haven’t written so many times before. I don’t enjoy listening to it and there’s nothing in Sticky that makes me reconsider that opinion. Hopefully the title track’s stronger.

Grade: D