So far of their profession, Odd Youth have favored chirpy sing-talk and zealous chants. For sure, this isn’t a mixture that tends to enchantment to me, however they’re now over a yr into promotions and it’s time to maneuver issues in a barely extra streamlined route. Babyface does simply that, sustaining their youthful power however reigning in among the music’s extra cloying parts.

Babyface is a refined, satisfying pop observe. It lacks the distinctive musical perspective to face out amongst its friends and nonetheless depends an excessive amount of on talk-style vocal execution for my style, but it surely seems like we’ve lastly moved previous Kidz Bop into the true world. There’s a brightness and power to this observe that’s refreshing and matches the group fairly properly. Regardless of their younger age, the vocal performances have an interesting sense of maturity (no less than when the ladies are allowed to sing).

With that stated, I don’t see Babyface sticking round for the long term. It’s simply not catchy sufficient to seize the ear when stacked towards stronger materials. As a substitute, I view it as a palette cleansor for the group — a clean slate of kinds to construct upon for the subsequent arc of their profession. There’s lots to work with right here if their producers are keen to decide to this vivid pop sound sooner or later.

Grade: C+