Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
STAYC‘s continued rise to prominence while coming from a non-major label (albeit with famous backing) has been fun to follow, especially since their discography seems to be the main focus of them winning over fans. Of course, they’ve been slightly more hit-or-miss for me than others, and “BEAUTIFUL MONSTER” provides intrigue if nothing else.
This wasn’t a song that I connected with initially, as I was surprised by the choice of a chill and almost melancholy atmosphere for summer. However, I ended up warming to it because of the emotion that’s injected into the subdued verses, mostly thanks to the vocal performance of STAYC. The reason I’m still on the fence about it is due to the central melody, which is chock full of power notes that jolt the listener to attention, but is underpinned by an instrumental that seemed more like trying to add random synth effects rather than actually trying to help it along with something compelling and memorable in itself.
Still, it’s a pleasant listen because the organization of the song fits the mood, as there’s no non-sensible rap break or ridiculous tempo shifts. “BEAUTIFUL MONSTER” does feel more like a B-side than one of their hit singles, but if so it’s still a quality one and they usually get more leeway (especially around these parts) than groups from marquee companies.
