I’m at least two years if not more too late to the Twice hype train. I feel as if I owe someone an apology for this fact because this kind of sugary sweet pop music sounds like it was tailor made for me. The comparison that imminently came to mind was 2016 Little Mix: overstuffed and glossy pop hooks, relentlessly kinetic production that soars to the stars, and all underscored by infectious performances that might come across as a little juvenile if it wasn’t for the maturity that’s just between the lines in the writing.
Armed with its punchy beat and blurry synths, ‘I GOT YOU’ is the perfect strident, colourful stage setter, establishing the theme of moving forward in healthy relationships, with ‘ONE SPARK’ building on it, highlighting the importance of working through the pain as well as the joy with this person. Again: healthy, mature, grounded, but nonetheless insanely catchy – seriously, that fluttery keyboard line on ‘RUSH’ will get stuck in your head and never leave.
At its absolute best you get a song like ‘NEW NEW’, a terrific love song framed through the mature lens of being entranced by all the new things this person is making them feel. I was won over the moment those careening walls of synth erupt forth on the hook. These songs might not be aiming for anything beyond low stakes escapism, but by going for straightforward, uncomplicated sensuality, the group meet those stakes effortlessly. And, let’s be real, streamlined, well constructed pop should not be excluded from the conversation when it comes to great music.
I will say that, while I like this sound, it can skirt the line of being sickly sweet after a while. Thank goodness this is a six song EP and not a longer album, as I can guarantee it would not have worked as well for me. But, as it is, coming in at a lean seventeen minutes and landing this many euphoric bangers that seem to aim straight for my joy receptors, how could I say no. What can I say? Sometimes it’s complicated, sometimes it’s not.