Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
WJSN were deemed the winners of Queendom 2 for whatever that’s worth (not much), but the most important thing it signaled was that they’d have another comeback on the way. Indeed, their comeback with “Last Sequence” is marketed as a special single album and it’s their first group return in over a year.
Well, regardless of whatever controversy there was over the winner, WJSN definitely proved it on the field, so to speak, with “Last Sequence”.
As I’ve listened to this, I had to keep conscious of not overrating it just because it’s a major release that’s a dance-pop song where they actually fucking sing over the instrumental, but multiple replays have only convinced me that this should hold up regardless. The appeal of “Last Sequence” starts from literally the first seconds, with an opening that harkens to a rising tide and then droplets rapidly echoing down. That immediately leads into a rather pristine vocal that makes for a captivating combination, and beat hits are then added with cries of “aye! aye!” in lockstep, serving as a great pre-chorus setup.
Thus begins the meat of “Last Sequence”, which is somewhat of a two-part chorus that’s backed by a constant, thumping reverberating bassline and synth accents. Both vocal sections are highlighted by the melodic repetition of “neul yeongweonhi” and are punctuated by the titular hook of “last sequence, last sequence“, and those refrains are enhanced by the latter section also including the catchy “like a finale” and “ichiji anke” interjections in a deeper tone. It’s a surprisingly effective combination that gets even better on repeats.
The verses themselves remain pretty sparse, even during EXY‘s perfunctory rap sequence, but it’s compensated by the fact that it wastes so little time going back to the chorus, so it never really feels like the energy drops, and the tempo changes exist to keep the listener on their toes. Speaking of those shifts, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the outstanding bridge that’s what really prevents it from ever getting too stale. Yeoreum and, naturally, Yeonjung are allowed to take over and they perform to expectations.
“Last Sequence” is really just a song that understands what a fan of pop music wants, providing changes of pace when needed so it never gets bogged down and using moments of relative silence to its advantage by only doing it in order to highlight the song’s strengths, which lie in the melodic refrains and dramatic energy of the chorus.
There’s a lot of uncertainty about WJSN’s future with them approaching seven years, IVE thriving, and Starship Entertainment seemingly putting them in the dungeon a bit, but while it’s true they’ve not managed to hit it big yet, I would argue that it hasn’t ever been an issue of music quality and “Last Sequence” certainly would be a fitting song for them to take the spotlight with.
