ATEEZ have saved a comparatively constant fashion between their Korean and Japanese work, even when collaborating with J-pop act BE:FIRST for a few songs. New single Birthday doesn’t upend this sample, holding their core manufacturing crew and riffing off components just like their previous few albums.

The issue, after all, is that I didn’t notably care for his or her previous few albums. Birthday will probably enchantment to anybody who loved songs like Work and Hush Hush, because it retains a equally sparse hip-hop sound. We get a Jongho energy notice right here and there, however that is rather more of a rap showcase than the theatrical, larger-than-life Okay-pop of the group’s previous. And as a rap showcase, the tune does little to tell apart itself. ATEEZ’s charisma is on show as common, however memorable highlights are few and much between throughout Birthday‘s predictable verses.

Often, the monitor performs round with tempo and power shifts, inflicting its second verse to really feel off-balance. This disorientation is intentional and works for that function, however the transitions may very well be rather more participating. An excessive amount of of Birthday feels phoned-in — an afterthought of a b-side repurposed for single promotion. No matter your response to this particular sound, it’s clear the group have way more profitable iterations of it inside their discography.

Grade: C-