In each their solo endeavors and their staff work, from20 and Hey Gloom have bounded from power to power this yr. Their Approach Higher company is aptly named, because it’s turn out to be the go-to place for top of the range Korean dance music. The 2 traverse genres however tie every part along with an inviting vitality and an ear for an indelible hook. New single Blue is a good way to punctuate their 2024 work.

The 2 beforehand collaborated on the uplifting Your Love again in July. Blue is equally sentimental, although it attracts its power from skittering drum and bass reasonably than straight up home music. DnB has turn out to be a preferred touchstone in Okay-pop this yr, however is usually used as a uninteresting underpinning for uninspired melodies. Blue does some attention-grabbing issues with the style, using dynamic percussion to rework temper and momentum. Every refrain sounds as if it’s being ripped right into a wormhole and this sense of motion is sort of efficient.

Talking of motion, my favourite second in Blue occurs proper as the primary refrain swoops into the second verse. That is the purpose the place the vocal baton is handed from from20 to Hey Gloom and the transition is simply beautiful. I are usually additional choosy about second verses as a result of I consider they are often the most effective a part of a track if delivered nicely. It’s the place momentum lives or dies in a track, and Blue guides us ahead with type. As common, I simply want the observe was longer. There’s a lot extra that would have been performed with an additional minute and it will have been nice to listen to from20 and Hey Gloom sing collectively on the finale. Nonetheless, that is one other large hit from the Approach Higher staff.

Grade: B