HYBE’s new Japanese boy group aoen has had an absolutely fine debut year, but so far none of their music has pointed toward a distinct direction for the guys. Both The Blue Sun and Seishun Incredibles felt generic in their own way, with more interesting material slotted in as b-sides. Fortunately, their team has decided to promote one of these b-sides with a music video.
MXMM might just be aoen’s best song yet. It splits the difference between several iterations of their sound, starting youthful and bright before moving into more jagged textures. This is most obvious during the song’s two-part chorus, which smartly contrasts an aggressive electronic hook with a sense of melodic lift. It can be difficult to strike this balance in a single song without sounding Frankensteined together, but all of MXMM‘s pieces make sense. It helps that the instrumental never loses its throughline. Even when twisting and turning, there’s a clear push toward MXMM‘s finale.
More importantly, MXMM gives aoen several directions to explore. Anthemic schoolboy melodies make sense for them, but I’m even more intrigued by the edgier (not shouty) drop at the song’s core. There’s a huge hole in the market for this sound minus the incessant posturing that usually comes along with it.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
