“Hit me like a shot in the heart.”
Few groups can boast the influence and versatility of (G)I-DLE. Since their debut in 2018, they’ve carved a unique niche for themselves, with a lot of their music being self-produced. Group leader and main rapper Soyeon writes and produces most of their songs, a rarity in the kpop industry. Apart from that, the members are known for having distinctly unique vocals and a strong on-stage presence. Consisting of members Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua, the quintet gear up for their debut English language EP, HEAT.
It’s worth mentioning that despite their propensity for self-made tracks, the members don’t have production or writing credits on this EP, likely due to it being a special collaboration with Asian-focused powerhouse 88rising. The production and writing of the EP is helmed by many big names in the industry, including Lindgren (TWICE, BTS), Ryan Tedder, and Jon Bellion. Pre-release single “I DO” did well to instil confidence in this approach, with its effectively melancholic synth-pop composition pulling at many heartstrings, including my own. With its full-singing approach, the members all had a chance to showcase their vocal prowesses with their wistful vocal melodies. Although a simple track in structure, the execution of the track is excellent.
Unfortunately, that momentum gets crippled with title track “What I Want”. The maximalist production of Lindgren is very much present, with bass-heavy deep house beats punctuating the verses. Where the style has worked for other groups before, the composition here feels rather uninspired. The track falls victim to the recent trend of a minimalist, talk-sing chorus that feels rather anticlimactic. Lyrically, it sounds very cliché as well, with a lot of materialistic metaphors that are largely unoriginal.
“Eyes Roll” manages to take the EP back up for a moment, with an earworm of a bassline being the backbone of the track. The track takes some Latin pop cues on the chorus that make it a lot more interesting. Although it’s mostly more pop clichés lyrically, it’s at least more enjoyable than the title track. Following track “Flip It” takes it again into a downward spiral, falling back on a safety net with a massive hole in it. The tired, overdone trap rap sound makes the members’ performances sound bland, which is an unintentionally impressive feat given how skilled of a rapper Soyeon is. There isn’t much of substance on this track, being stuffed with vapid “girlboss” lines which make the track cringeworthy despite its mercifully short runtime.
Bringing back the melancholic themes of “I DO”, EP closer “Tall Trees” gives the members a chance to properly shine with their singing. The vocal synergy, particularly between Yuqi and Minnie, are a highlight to the song. It’s really a shame that the track’s runtime is much too short, as this is a sound I was hoping the EP would hone in more on.
(G)I-DLE’s first English offering leaves much to be desired. I struggle to understand why it was delayed by a whole month, only for this to be the result. Much of the aforementioned versatility of the members isn’t present on this release, with their voices mostly being buried under a layer of tired pop tropes. It feels like an industry release, rather than a (G)I-DLE one. Lyrically, the EP doesn’t incorporate much of what the group stands for, instead defaulting to lazy writing. Soyeon’s signature production style is sorely absent on this EP, and the compositions of most of the tracks feel soulless. Even with so many big names behind the production team, it really feels like (G)I-DLE were just thrown a bunch of leftover beats. As strong as the members’ vocal abilities are, they aren’t done any justice by this collaboration.
Between their two comebacks this year, I feel ends up being the superior release with its meaningful messages and character. It is quite disappointing, seeing how well “I DO” was executed, that most of the EP suffers from a lack of ambition. HEAT as a whole fails to bring much of any fire, and I think (G)I-DLE is much better off producing their own music moving forward.
5/10
HEAT is out today via 88rising and Cube Entertainment. Order the EP here.