Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
While WJSN continues to chug along successfully with their generally ethereal sound, they’re also diversifying nicely, with WJSN Chocome being their quirky and cute sub-unit and now WJSN The Black being their mature and sexy sub-unit. Needless to say that with some of my favorite members in this unit, “Easy” was something to look forward to, and it delivered for the most part.
A unit of Exy, Seola, Bona, and Eunseo seems right for a sleek and sophisticated concept, both in terms of image and visuals, as well as fitting their talents best. It seems like a lot of companies are smartly figuring that they can make addictive music without an amazing vocal within this sound. While he had his forbearers, this generation’s use of this sure seemed to start with SHINee Taemin, and like with his efforts it continues to generate consistent results.
Since there’s not a lot of vocal theatrics in tracks like this, it does depend on the artists to sell the song a bit, and the understated, wispy vocals in the lower register put on here work well. Exy in particular is a bright spot, with her rapping and delivery fitting this concept perfectly.
Basically though, the song itself comes down to the production, and they choose a groovy, funk-based song where it’s hard to go wrong. From the start, the pulsing beat propels everything forward and the guitar riff provides a necessary bit of punch to an instrumental that’s supposed to be a bit reserved. While there’s no groundbreaking originality here, they get the execution right and forgo many of the temptations to do too much with it and get the soundscape sidetracked.
A completely different genre, concept, and vibe but “Easy” kinda reminded me of WINNER Seungyoon‘s “IYAH“. Once you have foundational sound that’s timelessly appealing as the production here, it’s difficult for it to go awry. It also holds similarities in that it doesn’t break new ground and lacks that extra gear by the end, but if you asked me whether I grooved along for most of “Easy”, I’d be lying if I said no. Maybe an odd choice as a single since it doesn’t necessarily jump and demand attention, but it’s definitely a quality addition to any discography nevertheless, and like a lot of understated funk efforts it will likely grow on you with repeated listens.
