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.
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.5 |
Grade: D
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Sigh…
They are my boy group ult so I was hopping for some non cultastic music but alas they must deliver on the nct in their name😢😞
6.5/10❤️
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a fuckin mess, these boys deserve better material
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im not even sure what I’m listening too…. disappointing
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first nct wish song i’ve listened to, so i had zero expectations. something tickles my mind about an nctfication of bossa nova music though. maybe a more vocally stronger group would’ve elevated this… but are you listening to nct wish for the vocals? not really.
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I’m listening for the vocals when Jaehee is singing 😉
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Weaving in the lounge segments works surprisingly well. It’s quirky fun. Not sure how that hook will stick with me going forward, but for now I think it’s charming! 7.5
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when i heard about this, people were talking about how neo it is. me personally, i never cared for nct wish because i did not like their cute concept – so i’ll admit i got kinda excited when i heard people saying this. after listening to it, im disappoint d. i dont hear an ounce of neo on this, besides the instrumental here and there. the mv is the only thing that “looks neo” but to me it just looks like they dont know what to do with this song
halfway through and i completely forgot what that 1:30 seconds sounded like. 5.75 for me
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this is so bad and i think you’re being lenient on this song ngl
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This is the first NCT WISH production that BoA was not involved anymore as she left SM. It is very noteworthy that BoA produced the WISH sound which I thought was SM’s return to form in finding a novel sound in K-Pop albeit still holding to that neo branding. The 5th gen boy groups these days are all releasing what I consider as post-neosound with the collapse of pots and pans in favor for more melodic, tonal and coherent tracks. Sticky actually reminds me of EXO in 2017-19 where subtlely SM was trying to skew EXO neo in ways you can only feel retrospectively, as for the song well — its actually ok definitely better than RIIZE’s Bag Bad Back by a MILE. The tone of this feels more old neosound (2016-2018) rather than the obnoxious version.
If this is the pre-release I wonder how the actual single would be. I do hope SM won’t try to lean more to the neosound because they won’t definitely benefit from it. TBF there are still worse NCT WISH songs than this and since debut they have been my favorite SM act. 7.75/10.
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Well I guess we’re fucked😞
And nct wish was doing so well too😫😫😫
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I thought of that comparison as well, but I think that BBB is a far stronger song.
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For all those interested/curious about how the album will sound, you should listen to the shorts that Wish just posted on their YouTube channel to tease their album tracks. “Don’t Say You Love Me,” “2.0,” and “Everglow” are my favorites that I’m most excited for based on the snippets so far. “2.0” was teased a lot in their comeback trailer as well, so I wonder if it might become a follow up single or promoted track. As far as I know they haven’t teased their TT yet.
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