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❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
a fuckin mess, these boys deserve better material
LikeLiked by 1 person
im not even sure what I’m listening too…. disappointing
LikeLike
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.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m listening for the vocals when Jaehee is singing 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
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
LikeLiked by 2 people
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
LikeLiked by 1 person
this is so bad and i think you’re being lenient on this song ngl
LikeLike
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.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well I guess we’re fucked😞
And nct wish was doing so well too😫😫😫
LikeLiked by 2 people
I thought of that comparison as well, but I think that BBB is a far stronger song.
LikeLiked by 2 people
SO much stronger!
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is just my personal view. But I did not like BBB and hate it because of how its obviously a pretentious SM maximalist song that tries to be so SMP without it having the novel elements an SMP song usually has, it just as theatricality but devoid of any quirk. Anyway, that’s just me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
i love BBB because its catchy and i’m easy to please but i think you’re spot on with that description. alot of sm releases recently have felt either overly corporate, rushed, or just take themselves too seriously. on that note i’m a little worried about wish’s future which sucks bc they’re one of my favorite groups rn, would love to see them go down the songbird route again, or something like their poppop bsides
LikeLiked by 1 person
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.
LikeLiked by 1 person
To me, it is the bossa nova version of “Sticker”, following the contemporary trend of finding a word and sticking it everywhere, hoping it sticks. Like a drop song but without the drop.
I don’t think it is that bad as a pre-release, but I think it would have been better as a kitsch song in the middle of a performance set. Super Junior would have known more how to sell this song, … though Super Junior would not have picked this song in the first place.
LikeLiked by 4 people
I liked the bossa nova going on and I was willing to look past the verses although I wasn’t a fan of the execution . I felt like the verses needed a bit of personality and playfullness in them but I would like to highlight that the second verse was better . Not a fan of the chorus , it felt like the producers were trying to force the neo sound on this song than integrating it . Maybe it will get better in time or when I listen to it within the album but for now that chorus that prevents me from enjoying the song because its a section I just cannot ignore or skip. I would like to add their voices sounded much clearer in this song , I always seemed to have an issue with their vocal processing/production but this time I enjoyed the members vocals and I hope that will be consistent throughout the album .
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nooooooo. I lost them. I legit liked their music for most part, but this is awful.
LikeLike
My goodness it’s not that bad. I’m not a big fan of any NCT variety, but this sounds cheerful and fun. Don’t think it will go on my playlist but it didn’t peel off my ears the way Sticker did.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I listened to the snippets of the other songs on the album (they’re still keeping the TT a secret for now) and I definitely think this is the weakest song.
LikeLiked by 1 person