NCT Wish debuted just over two years ago but have already beaten many of their 2023-24 peers to the punch when it comes to releasing a full album. SM Entertainment is usually pretty generous with their full albums, and I wonder if that’s because the agency’s genesis came at a time when full albums were the norm in idol promotions. Wish teased this release with their hip-hop meets bossa nova Sticky last week and are now back with (literal) title track Ode To Love.
SM Entertainment lost a lot when producer/creative genius Yoo Young-Jin parted ways with the agency. The biggest of those losses may have been his rich way of layering vocals. SM vocals always sounded expensive and expansive. The lack of this texture has been one of my challenges with post-Youngjin NCT releases. The thickness of the arrangement just isn’t there, too often feeling tinny and small instead. For me, Wish’s production often gets bogged down in this — as if their vocals are run through some weird compression. This mars Ode To Love as well, though its instrumental counters with a more satisfying fullness.
This song is framed around a sample from 90s band The Cranberries. SM has been very successful with 90s samples before, but this one feels tacked on and obvious. It’s an easy, familiar hook and sticks out like a sore thumb within the track’s soft UK garage sound. In this muted era of K-pop, I supposed you’d call Ode To Love a dance song, but it’s too reserved to ignite many sparks. It’s for bobbing along in your car rather than letting it all out on the dancefloor — music to hold close during monotony and hum absentmindedly as you go about your day. In that regard, Ode To Love is serviceable. However, at its best K-pop is far more than serviceable.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
Grade: C+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I enjoyed this song, and the rest of the album as well.
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feel the beat and everglow are much better, no idea why sticky was chosen over those two tracks as the pre-release
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I liked this, the chorus is incredible
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i kind of liked the song when i saw their performance a few days ago. the chorus caught me off guard with how much i like it 😁 but the instrumental can’t quite keep up with the energy the topline wants to give so it ends up feeling a bit boring after a few listens. i agree with the vocals bit. to me it sounds so shrill. it’s my main issue with their songs sadly, no matter how much i like it 😩 i’d rate it 7.5
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ALSO,, off-topic but i have to bring up shift key being in the credits of TWO tws songs in their upcoming mini. i’m so excited to hear what the title will sound like since he gave us overthinking last time and i love a good club beat 💗
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The vocals sound great to me, and the instrumental and verses sound incredible. I was really pumped when I first started this, but I think the “doo doo” stuff is too cutesy and bland and lets the song down. I’ll probably grow to love it though, cuz it reminds me of how I felt with “When I’m With You”, which I also wrote off as merely pleasant at first. 8.25
Also, this is a MAJOR album of the year contender! 🥳 I’m curious to know if you liked any of the tracks. I think Everglow is my favorite track so far.
Who else is coming around on STICKY?
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Omg you beat me to it! 😆 I was just about to comment “is it too soon to say AOTY?”
Yeah I still don’t love the Cranberries part either but it’s grown on me a bit since I first heard it in the teaser
It’s so hard to choose a favorite track; it’ll probably take me like a week to know for sure. I love the tempo changes in Crush, the chorus of Don’t Say You Love Me, the raps in Street (2AM), the instrumental of Everglow, and I’m not usually much of a ballad person but the vocals in Voyage are sooooooo pretty. I wonder if Nick will do a buried treasure, and if so, which one it will be. 🤔
(Oh and as for Sticky, truthfully I loved it from day one but didn’t out myself bc I didn’t want people to judge me 😭 😂)
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They’re all so good! ⭐
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“This song is framed around a sample from 90s band The Cranberries. SM has been very successful with 90s samples before, but this one feels tacked on and obvious.”
THIS IS MY GRIPE ON THE SONG. The du ru du hook is borderline annoying, shows lazy songwriting and childish and it jumps out so obviously making this song feel sloppy rather than what I would consider as a decent SM song. The chorus before the hook is excellent probably one of the best WISH choruses out there but really, BoA made this group and even SM A&R can’t replicate the artistic vision she had. Anyway, I think this is a grower, but for now I will stick with an 8 on this one.
Steady has recently grown on me but out of the gate Ode to Love performs a bit better which is great I suppose. In any case, I better not be hearing Sticky 2.0 in the next comeback… SM still didn’t get the memo that the neosound is DEAD.
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I like it; it’s an 8 for me. Except for the DuDuruDu part, it sounds like something you would find in The Story of Light albums; I can even picture how amazing SHINee would sound on this.
My favorites from the:
* 2.0 (again, very SHINee & criminal that’s under 3 minutes)
* Feel the Beat (sounds like it could’ve been on DREAM’s BTTF album)
* Everglow
* Don’t say you love (strangely gives TWS vibes)
I would’ve loved it if they had kept this energy for every track on the album, but it was generally good.
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I agree on 2.0; I love it but its short length makes it feel half baked and more like an intro. 😭 Some songs feel complete at 2 minutes and 50 seconds, but this one was just getting started. I wish they added a prechorus
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I think I like it. I’m not sure how I feel about the Cranberry sample yet. You bring a good point about their vocals. I actually like some voices a lot, but others sound a little off to me. For now, I’ll say 8
The album, at first listen, sounds very good. I added this song, Crush, Glow Up, Everglow, Don’t Say You Love Me, and Voyager to the playlist. Only time will tell how many will stay.
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