ATEEZ have commanded a large fanbase for years now, but this year they find themselves with an equally large public hit on their hands. I still don’t get how Bad turned into the sensation it did (the song just does nothing for me), but the group is now in a unique position to build upon that chart success with music that pulls casual fans deeper into their world. Ahead of a new album next month, pre-release Drip arrives as the first step toward that goal.
When a group scores a big hit, they tend to try to replicate that same sensation in an even bigger and bolder way. That means doubling down on the qualities that made a song successful, which can result in extremely great or extremely bad material depending on the quality of that first hit. With Drip, ATEEZ have clearly learned that simple, monotonous hooks connect with the audience. Replace “bad, bad, bad” with “drip, bricks, whip” (one of those rhymes is not like the other) and you’ve got the basic idea. There’s a bit more going on here when it comes to flow, but the end product is more tiresome than exciting.
Going back even further, Drip actually reminds me of their 2024 single Ice On My Teeth. That song had more interesting production to cover for its predictably braggadocious lyrics. With Drip, everything — from the instrumental to the resolution of each line — ends in the same place. It’s like kicking a can down the road. Something is moving, but nothing is moving with any purpose or destination.
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 6 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.25 |
Grade: D
If you told 2020 me that they would resort to low-effort slop like this, I would have called a psychiatrist on you.
Rating’s the same
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10/10 comment, and honestly, I think this group unfortunately holds the honor of having the biggest drop off in music quality as far as I know. And that’s saying a lot. Part of it is also due to the chances of getting another Answer or Wonderland getting lower by the day.
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this song is the perfect melatonin for me bcuz it puts me to sleep from how fucking boring it is
https://i.imgur.com/WigM3v7.gif
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fuck you wordpress why didnt u embed the gif
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This is the perfect example of a supertardom as mentioned earlier this week.
A bit monotonous, this song. Flatline for the whole runtime.
Rating somewhere in the 6s.
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Yup. Definitely a 6. It’s not bad but it’s nothing unique or innovative especially as someone older than their demographic fandom, I’ve heard this type of beat 10 years ago.
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Well… it’s better than Bad!
Not that it even matters much since that was already such a low bar to begin with.
Same rating as Nick and I should also ask you, how close is Answer to becoming a legendary song up there with Wave and Wonderland?
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Haven’t listened to it yet (will watch with some friends), but man I just feel sad. These guys have made some of my favorite tracks but these recent releases feel less and less ambitious. Sure, it might become an ear worm with time, like how BAD did, but I miss when I fell in love with a song almost instantly.
On another note, the concept photos preceding BAD make me question if the behind the scenes team is in a identity crisis. We had one set that was vampiric, In Your Fantasy themed. Another that was cyberpunk esque, reminiscent of The World era. And lastly the Latin concept. I kept wondering throughout, where are we going? And when Golden Hour 5 released, the album was completely torn between Latin and Synthwave. The direction feels so erratic. I’d simply rather listen to Latin artists straight from the culture (Tainy, Benito, Rauw, Rosalia, Plan B are my favorites).
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