I love when a group surprises me, and last year NEXZ made it onto my personal bias list with the brilliant Beat-Boxer. This year, their even-better Mmchk solidified that status and had me looking forward to anything the guys released next. New single Saucin’ was premiered last week at KCON LA and draws heavy inspiration from Dutch Europop band Vengaboys. Given K-pop’s heavy, unending obsession with Y2K sounds, I’m surprised this particular sub-genre hasn’t been explored much before.
Saucin’ isn’t as fully-formed or thrilling as NEXZ’s past few Korean comebacks, but it remembers one very important tenet: K-pop should be fun! This is a party track through and through and often flirts with becoming unforgiveably obnoxious. This description pretty much sums up 90s Eurodance as a whole, which just happens to be a genre I love. There are a few moments (the “wheels on the bus” interpolation) where I fear Saucin’ will tip right over the line and lose me, but overall I think we’re safe.
The trouble with novelty songs is longevity. I have no idea how Saucin’ will fare in the long run. I doubt I’ll be reaching for it over Beat-Boxer or Mmchk in a year’s time. But as a vehicle for NEXZ’s colorful performance style, it’s guaranteed to steal attention and that’s likely what it was designed for. If anything, I’d love to hear them incorporate more Euro-synth inspiration into their work, as it’s a welcome salve from the dull, self-serious nature of trap beats.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8 |
Grade: B-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
God I love that Vengaboys-ass synth. More groups need to ape it.
This song is kinda nothing without it for me though.
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Oh man, big dumb goofy and a helluva lot of fun.
I say yes from me. Sure, yes, get your drinks, get your saucy saucy.
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Silly, but fun. Here’s the thing, they seem to embrace the silliness and have fun with it. I love it. Spent the whole song smiling and even laughing. I got scared with that “wheels on the bus” thing…it was totally unnecessary, it adds nothing to the song, ugh, but it’s ok because I think it’s too short to ruin it. We’ll see. For now an 8.5
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I’m sorry but this just makes me think of the Six Flags commercial that uses the Vengaboys song.
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1. Loco
Final Rating: 7.25 ( 7, 7, 7, 8)
Analysis: This isn’t a bad track, though it leans a bit into standard modern boy group production styles. I really like the playful silliness infused throughout the song, though! The languid delivery and the voice repeating “loco” were genuinely fun touches. Of course, like many modern releases, the song simply needed a bit more runtime to reach its full potential.
2. Saucin’
Final Rating: 8.25 (8, 8, 8, 9)
Analysis: This has a fun, video game-esque vibe that fits their natural charms and performance style exceptionally well. It carries a similar energy to LE SSERAFIM’s “Spaghetti,” but with a clearer focus and much less forced weirdness. I love the guitar accents sprinkled throughout the track—it feels like a fun, goofy style of club music.
That being said, the bridge beat sounds a bit too much like “pots and pans” in a slightly ear-grating way. Thankfully, it was short-lived! Overall, I’m just really glad they are embracing these fun, goofy concepts. It makes for such a refreshing breath of fresh air during a relatively quiet year for K-pop.
3. Appetite
Final Rating: 8.25 (8, 8, 8, 9)
Analysis: Their sing-talk choruses are so catchy—they really know what they are doing. It feels like they took modern musical trends and used them to their own advantage to craft something distinctly their own. Musically, this sounds like a more electronic, EDM-leaning version of “MMCHK.”
4. Upgrade
Final Rating: 8
Analysis: This offers a solid old-school hip-hop groove that manages to avoid feeling boring. One fun idea they could have tried was ramping up the BPM about halfway through the track to mirror the idea of the listener and NEXZ “upgrading”—transitioning from old-school hip-hop straight into a big EDM banger! They hint at that approach slightly in this track, but it unfortunately only lasted for about 15 seconds.
5. 20 Now
Final Rating: 8.75 ( 8, 9, 9, 9)
Analysis: This features a sleek vocal delivery and a lovely atmospheric feel. I could easily picture groups like RIIZE or ZB1 singing something like this, and it fits NEXZ wonderfully as well. It allows them to showcase their charms in a playful, encouraging way. I especially love how the bridge turns up the energy and pushes the momentum forward.
Notice how this is the longest song on the EP! It is further proof that songs need to be developed and drawn out properly, which usually means running longer than 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
6. Aliens
Final Rating: 8.25 (Breakdown: 8, 8, 8, 9)
Analysis: A space theme? If that happens to be a hint at their next comeback concept, I would love to see it! This track delivers an anthemic rock stomp that serves as a really nice closer to the EP.
Final Thoughts and Album Rating:
Overall Album Rating: Low 8 (8.125)
Conclusion: I discovered this group a couple of months ago through “MMCHK,” and I’ve been loving their fun, energetic style ever since. It is so nice to see boy groups pulling off the “pots and pans” production style correctly. My main wish is simply that the tracks were a bit longer, as demonstrated by how brilliantly “20 Now” was able to shine with proper breathing room.
I definitely sense a bit of classic TEEN TOP energy in them; if they can continue to hone that identity without leaning too heavily on fleeting trends, they could genuinely give us a phenomenal modern take on that style. Stay strong, NEXZ!
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Joost Klein’s impact
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