Some songs are instant hits while others take time to fully reveal their charms. Neither approach is better than the other as long as a song enjoys longevity, but the latter category is more difficult to write about on this blog. For whatever reason, almost all of NMIXX’s songs have been slow-burn successes rather than instant hits for me, which means initial ratings are usually lower than they should be. I tried to keep this in mind when listening to new single Heavy Serenade, imagining how I might feel about the track in a month’s time.
Following last year’s Blue Valentine was always going to be a tall order, especially when that track went on to become such a huge hit. In several ways, Heavy Serenade attempts to replicate that sound, employing a tempo-and-energy shifting arrangement that moves from moody and dark to bombastic and cathartic. The percussion is especially dynamic throughout, adding a rock drive but fracturing the instrumental into jagged pieces. There are some great moments of stabbing drum hits that really accentuate Heavy Serenade‘s drama.
However, what ultimately made Blue Valentine such a sleeper hit was the compelling chorus at its core. While its verses experimented with form, the hook went straight for the pop jugular. As far as I can tell after a few listens, Heavy Serenade isn’t able to do this with the same panache. Its chorus is too fitful, moving from a soaring refrain to a spell-it-out “L-O-V-E” climax. This second segment just doesn’t work for me, making it unclear whether the song will flourish or flounder with time. I’m not feeling too optimistic.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
Grade: C+
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Well, it’s no Blue Valentine, but it’s still good, it just lacks the punch that song had. But who knows, it may grow on me :p
8 (8, 8, 8, 8) for me
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i really dislike the post-chorus. Its like we go from something insanely dramatic and emotional to childish spelling out words.
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This is honestly an instant 10 for me and probably my favorite song of the year so far.
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No nmixx! don’t end sombr like that 😋
Pinky up and cortis found cowering in the corner😍
9/10❤️❤️
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No nmixx! don’t end sombr like that 😋
Pinky up and cortis found cowering in the corner😍
9/10❤️❤️
(meant to put this as an actual comment not a reply😭)
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This feels more like replication of roller coaster or party o’clock to me than blue valentine.
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like the song a lot in production and melody. However the English lyrics is in dire need of a rewrite for grammar, phonetically also awkward in certain parts like “can you give me a hug”
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HEAVY SERENADE:
They took the most GP friendly track for the TT once again, after going for a more experimental teaser track. My first thought was how much it sounded like “Cosmic” by Red Velvet. Epic, spacey, a little nostalgic/sad, and mostly sung. Then there’s a definite heaviness and antagonistic feel to Jiwoo’s 2nd verse rap that introduces an interesting new feeling. The head voice and falsetto switches are nice, as well as the bridge to chorus vocal highlight. The production is solid throughout. “L O V E right, L O V E right” is super catchy, as well as the chant backing vocal (“I don’t doubt it!”), but I agree that it feels a bit too light and poppy for the melancholic feel of the track itself. This may also extend to the lyrics, which I haven’t had the time to delve into a lot yet. Compared to Cosmic, Red Velvet has the better track, but I don’t think it make this a bad song, it just makes me remember how great a song Cosmic truly was. My rating is still pretty high, which I’m sure surprises none of the regular readers of this blog.
Rating is 9,8,9,10 = 9
Album Review to follow as I have the time.
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CRESCENDO:
I won’t rehash the novel I wrote on the main review page, but I will say this is the best song on the album. Rating now is 10,10,10,10 = 10. I stand by my wish list in the song review, but I don’t need a perfect song to award it a 10.
IDESERVEIT:
I really was grooving with the first verse and pre-chorus, but then they employ the industry overused anti-drop for the spell it out chorus, sticking to percussion and a buried bassline and something else small in the back of the mix. The chorus isn’t interesting enough for this kind of stripped back production, and I’m not a fan of the modulation of their vocals there. I do, however, enjoy the bass and percussion in the chorus, but it is kind of a catch-22 as I’m not sure it would work with a better vocal hook. The 2nd verse and bridge add some new ideas that once again expand the depth of the song. My frustrations with the chorus aside, I still find a lot to like and I’m holding out that the repetition will eventually win me over more.
Rating 7,8,8,9 = 8
DIFFERENT GIRL:
I like the wind up feel of the intro. The chorus is a nice little melody, but maybe a little brief? The little secondary vocal melody that accompanies it is a pretty, little run. The little background silly vocals I’m pretty neutral on, I don’t think they add or subtract much. I do think removing them would expose the shallowness of the instrumental in those sections. The literal bubble sounds are nice in the chorus segments, but the percussion is not my speed. This and IDESERVEIT are low points for me in their discography.
Rating 9,7,7,9 = 8
SUPERIOR:
This feels like a setup track or a live concert opener. The marching beat gets you hyped and the focus is completely on vocal flex. Makes sense they performed it early at the gaming convention. Where High Horse was a masterpiece to me because of the interesting levels and flow between sections, this song is more one dimensional.
Rating 9,8,7,10 = 8.5
LOUD:
The weirdness of the beginning to the absolute cuteness of the 1st verse is such a nice little moment, but whenever I specifically notice the stuttering vocal like effect it can grate on me a little, which is a bummer because I love most everything else about this song. It’s like the feeling of screaming joyfully into a pillow after a first date that went well. The digitized smoothness to the raw vocal is a nice little touch for chorus pt1.
Rating 10,8,9,10 = 9.25
Album Review: Rating = 8.75
I like this album, but out of their body of work, I think this may be my least favorite, and the only one below a 9. Crescendo, Heavy Serenade, and Loud carry the album. The other 3 are still enjoyable, but are gonna be near the bottom of a complete discography ranking for me. Also, here’s the track order I prefer:
Superior > Loud > Heavy Serenade > Different Girl > IDESERVEIT > Crescendo
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Good effort overall, but I’m still a bit disappointed with this one. I had really high expectations, and honestly I feel the same about most of the album. Probably around a 6 or 7/10 for me.
I do LOVE that they explore and experiment beyond the usual pop formula, and hope they keep doing that. But sometimes it feels like the music gets too focused on “trying to be different” and loses some musicality in the process.
A lot of parts feel super muddy because there’s just too much happening at the same time. You can hear it especially in the spoken/rap post-chorus part here, or in the Crescendo bridge. (Not really a new issue either for me, I felt the same thing with “Spinnin’ On It”)
There are polyrhythms, countermelodies, effects, detuning, and a bunch of other layers all stacked together, and after a certain point the harmonic and melodic ideas just get buried, especially when most of the melodic content are the girls voices only.
Music is kind of like speech to me. It needs pauses, silence, room to breathe. Otherwise it starts to feel like trying to listen to someone talk in a crowded bar.
The songs on Blue Valentine were better at giving melodies space while still keeping a sense of structure. But to be fair, when you try to go beyond the standard pop song formula, there’s a really thin line between “just enough” and “too much”
Still, I’m really enjoying the identity NMIXX is building, and the vocals were pretty solid overall!
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Heavy Serenade is NMIXX’s version of BlackHole. It’s epic and playful if a little crowded musically. I like it but it’s not my favorite NMIXX release. On the other hand the EP is excellent (as always) and LOUD is a banger.
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… …. is this the pre-release? Tell me its the pre-release.
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I could hear the Party O’clock in this song but keeping up with the structure and maybe vibes that Blue Valentine had . I am not really a fan of Blue Valentine especially with the pop-rock element dominating the chorus . It was already a sound that I was growing tired of because that was the popular sound with GP and I can tell that is the strategy they were going for , both sound wise and structure of the song . It honestly didn’t do much for me . Even the bits that I liked lasted like 5 seconds , compared to Blue Valentine’s pre-chorus and ending chorus , there was nothing that got my attention . This carried on into the album , there isn’t a song that stood out to me other than Crescendo , which was dissapointing . I hope that changes with a couple of listens, even then I acknowledged that it wasn’t for me . The album definitely left me feeling heavy for sure , but I wish it was a pleasant heavy and not a unsatisfied one .
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I think this song definitely takes a few listens to grow on you! i loved it so much more after two more listens – hope it will be listed as a riser for may 🙂
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This is so my taste tbh so i like it a lot! it’s my favorite title track from them so far
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