Since their debut last year, Kiss of Life have quickly — and fairly organically — exploded onto the scene as one of K-pop’s freshest and most vibrant fifth generation groups. With tracks like “Sticky,” “Midas Touch,” and “Shhh” already under their belt, the quartet have made a name for themselves for their on-trend, Y2K-inspired sound and standout spunky musical identity.
Those early successes have led the group here, to their latest release, “R.E.M.” As the pre-release of their next album, Lose Yourself, “R.E.M” poses as both an attempted successor to summer smash “Sticky” and a marker of a new era for the group, who have only released two mini albums and a smattering of popular singles since their introduction.
While “R.E.M” has all the workings of a solid ‘90s R&B-inspired ballad, including an easygoing melody and sturdy, impressive vocals from all four members, it does not live up to the dynamic energy and sound that have come to define Kiss of Life thus far. It is pleasant and dreamy, but that dreaminess unravels almost to the point of the slumber that the track’s own lyrics allude to. “R.E.M”’s heavily processed vocals also do it zero favors, instead stripping a perfectly enjoyable melody of its and the very group’s unique character and timbre.
Similarly, the MV is enchanting and idyllic, but hardly to the point of awe or differentiation. Each scene is coated in a foggy glow that on one hand, neatly spells out the song’s references to “R.E.M.” sleep and being in a dreamlike state, and on the other hand, offers the same level of overprocessing as the track’s vocals. Such semblance of visual perfection threatens to wash each scene of any blemishes and quirks to the point of blandness. The MV is generally pretty, thanks to shots of blue skies, warm glimmers of light, and cookie-cutter references to ‘90s-era nostalgia — boomboxes, flannels, and retro foam headphones included — but hardly offers any eye-catching substance beyond that.
Other visual elements, namely the MV’s CGI, do offer some level of storytelling and intrigue to an otherwise narrative-less video. For example, the hyper-realistic CGI moon that appears throughout the MV represents one of the two souls that join per the chorus’s lyric, “We will come together when twin souls reunite.” This becomes clear when in the MV’s climax, the music pauses and Haneul places paper glasses over her eyes so she can watch an eclipse of the moon and sun over one another, symbolic of the “twin souls” in the lyrics. Meanwhile, other computer-generated visuals, like the CGI dogs that surround Kiss of Life at the very end of the MV, feel slightly out of place in its otherwise aesthetically-pleasing scenery.
For new groups, it can be difficult to maintain hit after hit, let alone hit the ground running with several. But Kiss of Life have defied most of these odds, even if the next track amongst their line of substantial successes misses the mark. While only a pre-release single, “R.E.M” disappoints not due to lack of skill or mesmerizing aesthetics and visuals. Instead, the track and its MV suffer by succumbing to a “trend” that many girl group songs, and even K-pop songs in general, have fallen victim to as of late: over-processed and overly perfect vocals, production, and visuals that encourage Kiss of Life to blend in with the crowd, rather than stand out as and build upon the charming and fresh identity they’ve so far created for themselves.
