ITZY released a strong single this spring with Girls Will Be Girls, but that album’s club-heavy b-sides pointed toward an even more promising avenue for the girls. Their charismatic performance style feels perfectly suited to the kind of talk-heavy dance music that’s currently in vogue and I’m surprised they didn’t release that kind of title track this time around.
Instead, the group opted for the (insert sighing emoji) Dem Jointz produced Tunnel Vision. Dem Jointz’s beats have been everywhere this year and as someone who doesn’t enjoy his production style it’s become a bit frustrating. He does his thing again here, overstuffing the track with tinny percussion and favoring a fitful approach that minimizes the opportunity for Tunnel Vision to build momentum. To its credit, the song isn’t actively annoying and this style works pretty well for ITZY, but very little of it feels fresh or exciting.
While I appreciate the lower end of this instrumental, its thudding nature doesn’t clear the way for dynamic melody. Because of this, Tunnel Vision is fashioned together by shards of sing-talk. Its chorus strains to be anthemic but the hook is too anemic to soar in any way that might be triumphant. Instead, the tight layering of ITZY’s vocals attempts to convince us that the song is bigger than it actually is. Ultimately, the sound is too predictable and cynical to come close to the group’s best work.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
