AB6IX are back today with their third full-length album. This comes during the year of their contract renewal. It will be interesting to see what they decide to do. After a strong commercial start, the group has occupied a mid-to-low tier space that sees them consistently releasing music but rarely making any waves. New single Bottoms Up will likely share the same fate.
This song is perfectly pleasant, which longtime readers know is often a backhanded compliment on this blog. When you amass a music library as large as mine over decades of being a fan, there tends to be no room for “pleasant” anymore. Bottoms Up‘s unobtrusive mid-tempo sound aims for sing-alongs, but the song has such an innocuousness to it that I doubt it’ll inspire much participation. The production ramps up nicely during the climax with added guitar, making me wonder how the entire thing might have sounded if given a more unique flair from the start.
As it stands, Bottoms Up comes across as a nice album track. AB6IX have traversed a variety of genres throughout their career, making it a little disappointed that we’ve ended up at safe, milquetoast radio fodder like this. If they stick around post-contract renewal, it’ll be interesting to see if that spurs on a more idiosyncratic sound.
Hooks
7
Production
8
Longevity
8
Bias
7
RATING
7.5
Grade: C
Tags: ab6ix, k-pop, kpop, rating 7, review. Bookmark the permalink.