Ever since their debut, MEOVV have been a frustrating prospect. They have all the talent and charisma to be on top of the K-pop game, but are often sabotaged by so-so material. Come to think of it, this has been a pattern with every artist from The Black Label. Helmed by the sometimes-great Teddy Park, their musical output tends to be undercooked and overly trendy.

Like any trend, the “speaking about how cool we are over a club beat” approach has worn out its welcome in K-pop. The difference here is I never appreciated this trend in the first place, which makes material like Go Hard more insufferable. This song ties a spoken word hook to a verse that is completely the opposite. The track opens almost as a ballad, delivered in that familiar, affected BLACKPINK style. The contrast is interesting, but neither extreme within the song works very well. One part feels a bit pedestrian. The other feels close to irritating.

Much better is Go Hard‘s bridge, which imagines how the track might sound if its energetic production had been paired with a more fleshed out melodic anchor. To its credit, Go Hard attempts to do more with its choice of trends than many of these songs do. It’s only a few steps away from being great, but those steps are important ones and Go Hard‘s lack of development ultimately makes it more frustrating than thrilling.

Grade: C