Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
CLC have been on an impressive run of singles full of attitude since last year, leading to them picking up a bit of momentum that culminated in their first music show win. Fortunately, they keep that energy flowing forward with the bombastic “ME“.
The reggae vibes at the start threw me off as it sounded like CLC was going down the “Don’t Be Shy“ route. Instead, that rhythm was used as a foundation for the verses, which in the end was rather downbeat but didn’t feel like it due to the sense of flow and the effectiveness of the delivery by the girls. Furthermore, later in the song Yeeun‘s rapping proved to be an ideal match, as she delivers it with a charisma and confidence, proving that she’s certainly evolved from sounding more like a HyunA imitation just a few years ago.
The pre-chorus of “ME” brings forth a pleasant vocal built that gradually ratchets up the volume until the chorus drop arrives. And boy does that drop hit when it comes, essentially mimicking the vibe of “Hate“, with loud Skrillex-esque bass and brass pouring into your eardrums. The impact is certainly there, though it can be for better or worse depending on your preferences.
Personally, the reason the chorus of “ME” ended up working is because that attention-getting effect fades out after the initial burst and eventually a more melodic section takes over in the back half of the chorus as the hook-y repetition comes to the forefront. The first half is less abrasive than I thought it would be on replays and the second half is actually quite catchy.
CLC have always been solid enough, but they really started to take off with last year’s ‘Black Dress‘ album and “ME” makes it about 18 months of quality music. The group has all the necessary elements to be a hit in my estimation, so it’s just a matter of lucking into a breakout at this point more than anything. Hopefully it comes since they’ve been deserving, but continuing their recent trend of steady fandom growth is a nice consolation.
