Although I ought to know higher by now, I’m nonetheless shocked at how effectively BABYMONSTER’s Sheesh has completed on the charts — particularly given its lukewarm-to-awful reception in lots of vital circles. It is a good reminder of the sway YG Leisure nonetheless holds over followers, together with the broader undeniable fact that disgruntled web chatter is never emblematic of the broader, offline world. With that mentioned, I’m nonetheless not a Sheesh fan — besides perhaps as a nasty meme.

The group is following Sheesh‘s success with a particular efficiency video for Like That, the second Ok-pop monitor up to now two months composed by singer-songwriter Charlie Puth. Even a number of years in the past, I’d have by no means imagined devoting house to Puth’s output on this weblog, however right here we’re. His ethereal, groove-oriented fashion is an odd match for Ok-pop’s extra maximalist presentation, however “subdued” is well-liked in the mean time so Like That matches the traits. Its guitar-and-whistle beat is sparse however funky, permitting the ladies’ vocals loads of house to breathe. That’s greater than you possibly can say about noisy tracks like Batter Up and Sheesh, and can possible please followers searching for an association that bucks conventional YG tropes.

Like so many singles of the second, Like That strongly recollects sounds well-liked within the early 2000’s. I used to be particularly reminded of The Neptunes’ manufacturing on Justin Timberlake’s Like I Love You, although this monitor is much much less partaking or combative. As an alternative, Like That is content material to stay mildly groovy all through. Its instrumental retains an arm’s distance, by no means yanking you in with palpable drive. That method is left to BABYMONSTER themselves, and so they steer Like That with a transparent — but oddly reserved — confidence. This description really matches the track as an entire. There are various scrumptious elements concerned, however the total product is a bit undercooked.

Grade: C+