KickFlip have developed a pattern of dropping a pre-release before each new album. These are often more sentimental rock tracks before the title track hits us with a bombastic burst of fun. They’ve also been uniformly excellent. From Band-Aid to Twenty, their pre-releases have almost done more to make me a fan than their heavily promoted material has. This is all to say, new track Puzzle Piece (미완성) has a lot to live up to.
KickFlip are near the point in their career where the industry expects their music to “mature” — a tricky pivot for most boy groups that often results in darker, moodier and less-enjoyable material. However, KickFlip have already done a nice job laying the groundwork and I predict that any perceived “maturation” will only see them going deeper into their rock influences. Such is the case with Puzzle Piece, which expands their sound palette by taking a more muted approach. Longtime readers of this blog will know that I rarely used the word “muted” in a complimentary way and that still stands with Puzzle Piece. The song works because it retains the group’s focus on melody and strong performance, but it definitely doesn’t hit me right out of the gate the way their past work has.
Instead, this track feels like it will grow more addictive with time and in the context of a (hopefully) strong album. It relies heavily on mood and atmosphere, deploying vocal effects to further soften the texture. Fortunately, this aesthetic is anchored by a strong series of melodies at the song’s core. I especially enjoy the staccato rhythm that gives the pre-chorus a stabbing, urgent quality. This helps cut through the overly intangible production that characterizes the rest of Puzzle Piece. I’ll be curious to see how this one ages.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B
This kinda reminds me of that post Malone circles song, I like this ☺️
8/10❤️
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I’m glad it’s in-line with what their sound has been the last year. It definitely sounds like a song that works better in the context of a full album. Not a fan of the vocal effects, they’ve used it sparingly so far but I’m just so wary they’ll go the way of TXT or Enhypen with that stuff.
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If I were to rate their pre comeback releases, I’d say:
Twenty – not impressed at first, but this was a big riser
Puzzle Piece – liked at first listen, very listenable, I don’t mind the use of autotune on the prechorus, I love the chorus, post chorus and ending
BandAid – not impressed and never grew on me.
Their TTs have been amazing imo. Looking forward to this one🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
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This is nice but it’s no Twenty (what is?).
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A good song for album pre-release. It is not as memorable as their past pre-releases for sure, but still a solid track nevertheless. I can only hope that the whole album could surprise us in a good way later.
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Sounds alright on first listen. Hard to say where it’ll end up, cuz there are some odd elements I’m not sure really work. Would prefer as a b-side, but I guess they had to release something softer eventually.
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The thing for me on slowdowns is that usually it is necessary to maintain health in a group’s musical direction. What KickFlip does here is a break from their usual pop punk rock fare which is founded on a strong sentimentality and this underlying lyric of lost in their age. I think KickFlip succeeds in maintaining their identity while not succumbing to the usual trope of doing mediocre lounge music or worse go full noise hip-hop. Puzzle Piece reminds me of a simpler time in K-pop I missed (2017-2019), where basic stuff is well executed and even if this blog doesn’t appreciate that, I confide in the fact that the music is actually timeless and listenable because for all we know the pandemic is getting worser (2020-2023) with how bad the industry is reducing things to their most selling factor: trendslop.
Puzzle Piece is just a well written mid-tempo song about growing pains, and I appreciate the track’s succinctness and honesty even if we could do a bridge justice here. I am optimistic the sounds they choose to put here are progressive for their identity and only solidifies they are a one of a kind pop punk in this era of replaceable talent and factory noise slop. 9/10.
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Band-Aid/MFLS shot KickFlip up to one of my favorite K-pop groups, and Twenty/Eye-Poppin’ only intensified that, so at first I was a little sad that this song didn’t have that same level of energy. That said, I realize they can’t always do upbeat pop rock and expect to hit it out of the park each time.
I definitely heard the similarities Enhypen in the excessive vocal processing, which was a shame — their vocals would’ve suited the track nicely, made it feel more honest, so why go out of your way to make it artificial? — and wanted to dismiss it as midtempo slop. But maybe it’s the production? It feels detailed and high-quality and has more going on than just being some chords and a beat to sing over, which makes listening to it with full attention still somehow worth it. Maybe it’s their young career, too — at this point, their image is youth and brightness and all that, and in that context this slower, more emotional turn feels more like a new yet natural development than a concept change out of left field. I get the feeling that this song has a lot of replay power.
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“KickFlip are near the point in their career where the industry expects their music to “mature””
It’s crazy how it’s not even been 2 years since their debut and they’re already expected to change their sound.
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Jesus christ this song was lackluster.
How is this a JYP group??
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