1. WANNABE [TITLE]

Every now and again, a song comes along that feels like a legit... exeperience, if you know what I mean. It's not just a song - it's something that's so well put together and enrapturing that it really takes you by surprise. So you end up listening to it a few more times than you intended.

...and then it's on repeat for a solid month before you even realise it.

Welp, I'm absolutely delighted to say that "Wannabe" is that song for ITZY, and it's easily their best title track to date. By a fucking mile.

That music box in the beginning is coy and innocent, yet an interesting sign of what's to come. Those sirens and alarm bells tell you that yes, this song will indeed follow that same confident concept ITZY are known for thus far - and then the bassline hits. Combined with Ryujin's downright nasty vocal delivery in that opening, it's a slap to the face that tells you to sit up and pay attention. She's never shown us such a nasal vocal delivery before, but HOLY SHIT does it suit her. It's easily my favourite part of this entire song, and by that point, you're not even 30 seconds in.

And yet, there's no shortage of more traditional pop elements here, too; sure, the trap snares are prevalent throughout, but those huge synths and naturalistic guitar lines in the verses add a nice bit of flair here and there. It never feels inobtrusive or annoying, though, which is a landmark achievement for ITZY's music as far as I'm concerned. On top of all this great production, the drum beat never lets up, and - to my absolute surprise - the dance break and rap section are cohesive! And actually fit with the rest of the song! AND ISN'T COMPLETELY ATONAL! 

SOMEONE CRACK OPEN THE CHAMPAGNE, ITZY'S PRODUCERS ACTUALLY LEARNED WHAT A STRUCTURE IS.


Giving ITZY a more well-composed, consistent melodic base for one of their title tracks was a fantastic decision, because it ended up giving us "Wannabe". I still cannot believe Galactika produced both this and "DALLA DALLA (달라달라)", because even though they share a sound and tone, they couldn't be any further apart in terms of quality. 

This is the potential ITZY have had since day one finally being realised and used to its full extent. THIS is the 4th gen monster rookie that everyone's been talking about since they debuted, and if ITZY keep releasing title tracks like this, I'll happily watch them dominate and continue to represent K-Pop going forward. "Wannabe" is fucking fantastic, and I hope it's the start of a trend for ITZY in terms of their sound.

2. TING TING TING (WITH OLIVER HELDENS)

...holy shit, we're only on the second song...

I don't say that because of exasperation or frustration as I was probably expecting to. No, that's a statement of complete and utter DISBELIEF.

If there's one music genre I particularly love, it's EDM. My Spotify is mostly K-Pop and Monstercat, ranging from stuff like Tokyo Machine, Kubbi (even if he's more bitpop/chiptune than pure EDM), Steven Walking, Tristam, and even more genre-bending stuff like RIOT and Dance with the Dead. It's always been one of my favourite genres; I grew up with it, I'd be shocked if it wasn't. And yet, I'd never heard of Oliver Heldens before this. Upon looking him up a bit, he was apparently under Spinnin' Records for a while (another huge EDM label, for the uninitiated) before catching the eye of Tiësto and eventually making his own label. I've never heard any of his own music, but he's done a bunch of remixes of more mainstream songs as well.

I can say one thing though - I'll certainly be paying more attention to him after this, because WOWWWWWW.

The way I'm trying not to freak out over this song right now is... more than I can handle. Whoever thought it was a good idea to give ITZY a full-on EDM banger DESERVES A FUCKING MEDAL. Sure, this sounded good in the teasers, but the sheer momentum this song has is something else. The bouncy, spaced-out synth melody in the background is basically the song's foundation, but with how versatile the girls' performances and the main melody are, that's all it needs.

The shouted vocals in the background give it this raucous, unstoppable energy that's just fucking infectious, and it immediately allows "TING TING TING" to fall into a more melody-driven side of EDM. And I am all over that. If the full-on fadeout at the end of the song doesn't convince you of that, I don't know what will. Hell, even the little vocal decorations in the choruses are amazing! This is a song that's brimming with life and energy from start to finish.

I knew ITZY had potential with their B-sides up to this point, but this was... ridiculously good. Almost too good. This is handily one of my favourites of the year so far, and you can definitely expect to see it pop up again if we get through the raging dumpster fire that is 2020. "TING TING TING" is fucking incredible.

And if you want to know what I look like dancing to it at 2am? Here ya go.

@ITZYofficial x @OliverHeldens 'TING TING TING' out tomorrow! 🔥🎶 pic.twitter.com/hPWWZIYttM

— Team Heldens (@team_heldens) March 8, 2020

This little guy is my spirit animal.

3. THAT'S A NO NO

It's at this point in the album that MIDZYs will definitely start to recognize more of the elements being introduced here - we're 3 tracks deep, and ITZY are starting to experiment with their sound yet again. That's par for the course for them by this point, considering how their title tracks and previous material have sounded in general.

Let me get my one gripe with this song out of the way - the buzzy bassline over the opening rap section is... quite frankly, not good. It doesn't match with anything that's going on. If you're going to have a strong bassline, at least have it be in the same key as the rest of the song, jeez. Thankfully, the rap itself is brilliant, with Yuna's presence being particularly commanding and Ryujin in particular sounding godlike. (This is definitely her era, in case you can't tell. And I mean that in terms of both performance and visuals; she knocked it out of the damn park.) 

Past the arguably bumpy start, "THAT'S A NO NO" is largely led by a tribally-influenced mix of pulsating synths, snappy rhythms and LOTS of extra vocal adlibs. The pounding drums and chanting in the choruses really drive this home, but it's mixed up and played with in a way that doesn't make the more modern, poppy sections sound out of place. The melody here is damn great, too, with the pre- and post-choruses being brilliantly catchy. The first time I heard Yeji and Lia's post-chorus with the higher-pitched vocals, my jaw dropped. Now, to be fair, it was already on the floor from "TING TING TING", but still. My point stands.

While it's definitely the most experimental cut thus far, "THAT'S A NO NO" does just enough for me to stand on its own two feet. I would argue there's another song on this album that does this style better, but we'll get to that later. This has definitely been one of the more popular B-sides from IT'z ME so far - at least from what I've seen - and I can definitely see why. It's a lot of fun!

4. NOBODY LIKE YOU

With there being 7 songs this time around, I was left with the question of whether or not ITZY would try to tackle something slower. Pretty much every song of theirs thus far has been upbeat, in-your-face and energetic, so the thought of them doing something more relaxing or sentimental wasn't one that came easy. However, I definitely wasn't giving the girls enough credit on that part!

"NOBODY LIKE YOU" is, by all means, the "slower" song on this album. I say "slower" in air quotes because it's by no means a piano ballad. It falls way more into power ballad territory, with a great guitar line that provides a real sense of electricity. At no point do these girls switch off when it comes to their performance, and they really do lift this song up and make it something pretty special. I honestly really prefer the more emotional yet intense take on a ballad, and it's something more groups should definitely try. But if there was any group to tackle a slower song in this way, it was ITZY, and it's basically a perfect fit for their style! The handclaps and harmonies during Ryujin's mini rap section really seal the deal in terms of the sound here.

I'll admit I don't have as much to say about "NOBODY LIKE YOU" as everything else here, since it hasn't proved to be quite as addictive or earworm-y as the other songs so far. That doesn't mean it's not good, though, and if you're not a fan of stereotypical ballads, you should give this a try! They wouldn't be something I'm overly into, but I still found "NOBODY LIKE YOU" really enjoyable for what it is. It's definitely something lighter and less intense than what we've had so far, but in a really warm, fuzzy way. It's a really nice cut that works well at this point on the mini album!

5. YOU MAKE ME

After about 3 and a half minutes of a more heartfelt break, we're right back into ITZY's bold and brash style with "YOU MAKE ME". If you've liked their title tracks or sound to date, this will be immediately up your alley - this is definitely something that fits ITZY's concept thus far!

That's mainly due to the production; it's very spacey and a little empty, especially in the choruses, which may turn some people away. But in the end, I think "YOU MAKE ME" is going for more of a powerful, trap-fuelled love song than that of an overly busy title track. It certainly delivers on that premise, too, and the girls' confident yet spunky delivery really hit home. In my opinion, this is Yeji's best vocal performance on the album - she gets her time to shine and it's very well deserved! She's got pipes, but just doesn't get to show them off that much.

I will admit, though, that "YOU MAKE ME" is probably my least favourite song on the album. I can't quite put my finger on why, either - there are just one or two things that feel a little... off. I feel like Chaeryoung is struggling a little bit to hit those belts in the pre-chorus, and I feel bad, since that's not really something she can help. She's got an established vocal range that's seems to be a bit lower than most (which I relate to as an alto), and it feels like she's straining a bit with her delivery here. 😟

On top of that, the song definitely goes places I didn't expect it to, and I don't really know if that's a good thing. As I said before, the production in the chourses tends to feel a bit empty, and the bassline and choppy vocal sample can only do so much. It feels like it stunts the song's development, and by the end, I feel like we haven't really gone anywhere. The introduction promises something big and full of bombast, but what we get is a fairly rote trap song with some fun chromatic scales and good vocals.

Sure, this has potential, and if you're a fan of ITZY's previous discography, I can see you loving this. It's just not for me, especially in comparison with the other songs here. It's equal parts good and equal parts meh, and they kinda just cancel each other out to give a song that I ultimately forgot about. Definitely give "YOU MAKE ME" a try if it sounds like something you're interested in, though.

6. I DON'T WANNA DANCE

Remember how I said earlier that there was a song that did "THAT'S A NO NO"'s concept even better? This is that song.

Right off the bat, SHIN RYUJIN. She needs to chill. Her rap here is fast, it's lilting, and it sets the tone perfectly for what's to come. But if you thought that was bouncy, try those pre-choruses - they feel like the musical equivalent of a space hopper. Not even joking. It sounds like the production and songwriting teams really fell in love with chromatic scales here, because they're used brilliantly and give this song one hell of a buildup! The rising energy and venom in the vocal delivery is just the cherry on top - Yeji sounds like she is ready to walk all over me. And I'd let her.

The choruses, too, are the definition of explosive - if Lia's playful English adlibs weren't enough at the beginning, those twinkling synths and accented drum beats should give you an idea of just how much energy this song has going for it. The verses are fairly minimalistic in comparison, but unlike something like "YOU MAKE ME", they're far more effective, since the main melody and rhythmic cadence are so. Fucking. CATCHY. It's more of a sing-song than a melody, but my god, will it get stuck in your head. 

Everything combines together to make one big, fizzy fusion of pop and moombahton, and it's brilliant. If we didn't have "TING TING TING" here, it'd be my favourite song on this album. I feel like this has really been glossed over and slept on by a lot of people, and it really doesn't deserve it! "I DON'T WANNA DANCE" is too much fun to go unnoticed. Listen to this if you need something to cheer you up - I promise it'll do the trick. It sure as hell does for me, anyway.

7. 24HRS

Before I even begin to think about talking about the song itself, we NEED to have a look at the production credits on this song.

Penomeco is a very well-known hip hop and R&B artist within Korea - and rightfully so, he's very talented. So that's pretty damn big. Lola Blanc, if you don't know her, has done everything from writing for Britney Spears to appearing on American Horror Story - the girl is INSANELY talented.

But the main shocker here - and the best surprise of this album, in my opinion - is that this song was also composed and arranged by SOPHIE.

SOPHIE. 

If you're not familiar with her, she's one of the most promising LGBTQ+ artists in years, in my opinion. She's not a very public figure, but I've absolutely adored anything she's released - the bulk of which, aside from her own music, includes a LOT of work with Charli XCX. Hell, she's even worked with Lady Gaga. She has such a different take on pop that's not afraid to push boundaries, and I absolutely love it. (She's also Scottish, so I'm naturally biased since I'm half Scottish myself. Whatcha gonna do.)

So to see her listed as a producer for an ITZY song, along with Penomeco and Lola? I was intrigued, excited and admittedly a little nervous.

Those nerves went out the window the minute that bassline slapped me into the ground and called me its bitch.

My sole complaint with "24HRS" is that it's too damn short. You know when you want more of a song that it's good. And holy shit, "24HRS" is gooooood. I was a sucker for Red Velvet's "Sassy Me" back when RBB came out, and I didn't think I'd ever find a song that matched its vibe. But then, by some miracle, "24HRS" came along, and I'd argue it's even better. 

In case you haven't figured it out by now, this song is absolutely filthy. I was honestly shocked it was coming from a group of girls as young as ITZY, cause JEEZ. As mentioned, the bassline is otherworldly here. You NEED a good pair of headphones to really enjoy this song, because the gritty bassline and distorted, scratchy vocals backing up the girls in the verses deserve to be appreciated. This is shout rapping done right.

All "24HRS" needs is a simple little synth melody and some powerful, POWERFUL bass to become an absolute banger. Like I said, I desperately wish there was more of it, because it's tied with "TING TING TING" as my favourite song here. To be fair, it makes great sense as an outro, because it certainly got me wanting to listen to the entire album again, but I definitely didn't expect to be blown away as much as I was. This was fucking fantastic.


And that, thankfully, is a statement I'd apply to IT'z ME as an album. This was the bar I wanted ITZY to set for themselves, and jeez, they set the bar HIGH. They're going to have a hard time topping this project going forward, because this is one of my favourite albums of the year so far. It's got absolutely everything I love in music, and if this is the concept ITZY is going to have into the future, I will be there supporting them as hard as I can. I can only hope that's the case...



COVER IMAGE CREDITS:
ITZY PNG by woochans on deviantArt
ITZY IT'z ME PNG assets by woochans on deviantArt
Black brick wallpaper by WallpaperSafari