Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
NewJeans are seemingly releasing a music video for every song on their album, and following “Super Shy” , their next offering off Get Up is “Cool With You“. At risk of repeating myself, I’ll just quote what I concluded about “Super Shy”:
That said, “Super Shy” is ultimately fine and NewJeans is remarkable in the sense that even my least favorite offerings from them are vibey with a light and breezy quality to them that make it easy listens. However, that formula makes them inherently reliant on the foundational beat (good, in this case) and the appeal of the hook (not so good), and this one doesn’t connect on the same level as their previous works.
For better or worse, “Cool With You” gives me the same impression. The UK garage core holds appeal for me and keeps the momentum pumping forward, and their vocals play particularly well here to match the smooth and utterly listenable soundscape. However, there really isn’t much the way of melody and it’s largely just kind of there.
Songs like this feel like DJ bait (hello, Hojo) more than anything, because the reserved minimalism at play is easy to work with and easily modifiable, but you’d also barely notice the song began or end if it came on. I realize that’s the idea, and there’s appeal in the unsettling energy it brings here, but there’s not a lot of interest for me beyond that. I know those who were never into their music will say they feel the same about the rest of their discography, but I honestly don’t believe melodies/hooks like the ones from “Hype Boy“, “OMG“, “Ditto“, or even “Attention” feel nearly as perfunctory or basic.
Anyway, at least the music video had Jung Ho Yeon and Tony Leung in it, and it’s quite neat in a vacuum with her inadvertently serving basically as Cupid, though I’m not sure who in mythology Tony is supposed to be. Probably the strength of this release, honestly.
