With over 4,000 songs on my iPhone’s “K-Pop Singles” playlist, I thought it would be fun to add a bit of unpredictability to my song review posts. So as a result, we have the “Random Shuffle Review” feature.

The rules are simple. I fire up my playlist, press “shuffle,” and whatever song plays first gets the full Bias List treatment!

Year Released: 2013

So many K-pop songs released in 2013 have this sense of lovelorn drama that feels miles away from today’s hits. Even lesser-known groups got in on the sound, making the year pop with underrated classics. DMTN had previously been known as “Dalmation,” an unfortunate group name if I’ve ever heard one! They found success with 2012’s ER, but that turned out to be difficult to replicate. Follow-up Safety Zone deserves more attention than it got, and still sounds fantastic today.

Like many songs of its ilk, Safety Zone has the mood and emotion of a ballad, but it’s supported by a chugging beat that makes it closer to a tears-on-the-dancefloor banger. Producers Duble Sidekick were in their prime during this era and give the guys a killer series of melodies to work with. There’s tension all the way through. The instrumental is downright symphonic, sprinkled with searing, siren-like guitar that gives it plenty of atmosphere. There’s a whole musical world brewing just under the surface, and that pressure finally explodes during Safety Zone‘s thrilling bridge.

DMTN sound incredible throughout, imbuing the track with a sense of impassioned longing. Their vocal blend is gorgeous and given plenty of space to shine. K-pop’s requisite rap verse is refashioned into a Bigbang-esque spoken word post-chorus that further compliments the song’s overall theatricality. K-pop producers simply don’t write songs like this anymore, making Safety Zone all that more enjoyable in 2024.

Grade: B+