Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Fromis 9 are the group that’s been born out of the Mnet survival show ‘Idol School‘, and while “Glass Shoes” left such an impression on me that I didn’t even dedicate an article to it, “To Heart” is hopefully the direction they’ll end up heading down.
Their name is almost crafted as if intended to piss off people with OCD like me, but “To Heart” was enough of a fun experience that they inspired me to give my thoughts on it. The foundation of the song is a foot-tapping beat, and the entire atmosphere the instrumental develops is light and fun throughout, which works perfectly with the group’s delivery. Strings and a guitar are included late to make sure it doesn’t get overly repetitive, but I honestly could’ve used more of that sound in this, especially after the alluring intro.
The only thing holding me back on embracing this wholly is that I’m unsure if the chorus holds up going forward. On my initial listen, it came off surprisingly flat despite being upbeat, almost as if it was missing a bit of punch or diversity or something. On repeated listens, however, it becomes increasingly addictive, especially when it slows down a bit for the “heart to heart to heart” section. Complicating matters is that I’m not sure if I’m grading on a curve here due to the reality that outside of a handful of songs in 2018, so far the year has left me bored out of my goddamn mind. Regardless, at worst this is a rock-solid start for Fromis 9, and at best this will grow into something I’ll include on my Top 100 for 2018.
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